August 27th, 2008 by 
kwc
The Bike
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The Absolutist 0.9 is striking in person. As you might guess from the name, this is a bike design that lives on the extremes. I had seen plenty of photos in advance, but nothing prepared me for how stocky the bike is. The Stiletto Aero fork is as wide as my whole hand where most forks are two- or three-fingers thick. The head tube rises up from the fork like a Doric column, bulged out in the center with a beefy Storck logo. The down tube, seat stays, and chain stays are similarly super-sized — there’s little secret to how Storck achieved the stiffness of this bike. After a month riding the Storck, other bikes started to look dainty.
Needless to say, the Absolutist is built to sprint and makes no compromises. The super-sized chain stays have inward bulges to improve lateral stiffness and, in a big twist, there are rear-entry dropouts. This dropout trick, which Markus Storck learned from his days with Klein, is to reduce axle slippage while sprinting. At first I was annoyed by this feature, but I just had to get used to it. Removing the rear wheel is a dirtier affair, but I eventually found it easier to put the rear wheel back on. We had some problems with stripped screws on the replaceable alloy derailleur hanger, but a trip to the local bike shop for screws solved this quickly. The SRAM Red setup tops off the sprint-forwardness of the bike. I enjoyed being able to pull the right shift lever in so that I could shift in the drops.
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The bike came equipped with CSC team issue Zipp wheels and Schwalbe Stelvio tires. The wheels carry the Zipp moniker, but they’re actually training wheels that are a blend of Zipp hubs and DT Swiss spokes and rims. These wheels won’t turn any heads on the road but they’re light, spin up well, and will let you put in good miles on the bike without any worries. The Stelvio tires have good grip and a magnetic attraction to leaves, which I was often picking out of my front brake. I was hoping to also test with the Storck-designed Zipp 69ers to really push the speed of the bike, but I’ll have to cross my fingers for another day.
August 27th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Awesome review Ken!
August 27th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Nicely done!
Your crash story sounds a whole lot like “I was just riding along…”
August 27th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Very cool review!
August 27th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Beautiful bike
Nice review Ken
August 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I had a chance to ride this bike and it is everything it’s said to be and more. I am saving my money and when I have enough I’ll be on a Storck!
March 25th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
This bike doesn’t sound enjoyable to ride at all! What is the point of riding something that feels like a tree trunk?
May 30th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I am now an Absolutist owner and I love it. This bike is so smooth and you can do really dangerous things with it on the first ride!
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:23 pm
The review is “spot on”. The Absolutist is not made for bicycle touring or even the Saturday morning 60 mile fast ride with your friends. This is a racing bicycle. Oh yes, you can do everything on it (which I do)and it performs perfectly, just have a dentist in the family to continually replace loose fillings from the vibrations and jarring. If you are looking for a true racing bike that will transfer every watt of energy from you to the road, especially in a sprint, then this is your bike.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I rode a Storck Scenario CD .9 until I got struck by a motorist from behind. I’m replacing my previous Storck with another Storck. Until you ride this bike you cannot understand how fast, stiff - but comfortalbe, and light this bike is.