l'equipe Bouledogue tout noir to ride the Lightest, Stiffest, Most Durable Frames on the Planet

Bouledogue tout noir doesn't compromise. We ride bikes that are precise, beyond stiff, and always with molosser-like tubing. For the past two year's we rode a bike that met those requirements very well, but with recent changes the team was hunting for new ride and found one that literally pushes the previous rig off the page (of bike rankings).

In 2009, Bouledogue tout noir riders will be stretching their legs aboard bikes built by Storck of Germany. Independent testing on stiffness, weight, and ride quality by a major European magazine elevated Storck bikes into four of the top five places--including the top step as "World Champion"--proving that these sleds just crush the competition. After looking at the quantitative data and this video, people will be rethinking about that Scott or Cervelo as the best carbon ride around. To put things in perspective, Storck's entry level carbon fiber frame (the CD 1.2) is known as the "Madone Killer" by industry experts.

Our partner Tati is the only platinum Storck dealer in the Midwest and the only place to find these rigs. What is even wilder is that most of the Storck bikes slated for US distribution are going to sell out before they even arrive on our continent. For more on Tati and to investigate landing your own Storck, go to the Tati website or just peruse Tati's own take (shamelessly lifted by me) on Storck :

"Storck is a German brand led by an engineer's engineer with an obsession with simultaneously building the stiffest and lightest road frames in the world. And for the most part, Markus Storck has achieved this for the past decade. German Tour Magazin's annual wrapup of strength-to-weight ratio, head tube deflection, and bottom bracket stiffness has had three or four Storck models in the top five in every category in recent years. Storck doesn't just purchase modified molds. The firm models dozens of patents, ranging from the very first carbon fiber crankarm design to the latest vacuum void control process for carbon tube fabrication. Storck is the only company for which Zipp produces private labeled wheels (the Storck/Zipp 69mm rim is faster than a 404 and much lighter than an 808).

But then worry set in. Sure, Storck can produce a durable 740g frame -- but does it make sense to market such a thing in this economy?

Pro shops around Chicago are scaling back, hedging bets, and even folding. 2009 prices for components, frames, and bikes are set over the summer -- before the dollar began to really fall, so we will see another year of 10-20% increases, which could really hurt the high end. But Storck is odd that way. Storck neither has model years nor did they raise prices for 2009; in fact, several models fell in price.

And so while a Fascenario 0.7IS frameset is still listed at $9,500, the not-so-humble CD 1.2 has been lowered to only $1,700. And those in the know understand that even Storck's entry level frames are stiffer and faster than most companies' top of the line, gimmicky offerings...having closely examined all of the boutique road brands -- I feel confident that Storck is heads and shoulders above all of them in terms of construction quality, engineering, and surprisingly, value."