Rebel Seven WMB

ABSOLUTE
BRUTALITY
The super-stiff Storck Rebel 7 is
incredibly fast… if you can handle it
F
orget about storks bringing
babies; German performance
fanatic Storck never delivers
anything less than highly
focused, high-velocity bikes. This
new 650b version of its Rebel hardtail
is no exception.
Tough contender
With 29ers now the accepted choice for
easy rolling cross-country speed – for any
rider big enough to fit the necessarily
slightly bigger frames, that is – 650b
race hardtails need to punch hard first to
avoid questions later. And few bikes give
anyone trying to follow them a bloodier
nose than the Rebel.
Given the girth of the downtube, the
supersized 92mm press-fit bottom
bracket, the huge hollow 142x12mm
dropouts and a seat tube/toptube/
seatstay junction made with bigger tubes
than most BB clusters it’s obviously a
seriously muscular bike.
The instant the clack of you clipping
into the pedals (it’s certainly no dull
thud) echoes through the tubes, you
realise there are some serious steroids
coursing through its carbon fibre veins.
As the chain tautens there’s a totally
direct, undiluted sensation that you’re
standing directly on the DT Swiss
freehub pawls, ripping torque onto the
trail through (thankfully) stiff spokes.
There’s a slight snarl and scuffle from
the Schwalbe tyres as they brace against
loose grit and you’re gone. Bars sawing
from side to side, finger rattling the XT
shifter through the ratios like the trigger
of a semi-automatic rifle, it’s a symphony
of speed superlatives.
The 7 delivers
on the German
company’s highspeed vision
at a Glance
STORCK REBEL 7
PRICE £3699
TOPTUBE LENGTH 23in
SEAT TUBE LENGTH 15.7in
HEAD ANGLE 70°
SEAT ANGLE 72°
BB HEIGHT 12.6in
CHAINSTAY LENGTH 16.7in
WHEELBASE 42.5in
SIZES S, M (tested) L
WEIGHT 10.53kg (23.21lb)
FRAME Carbon fibre
FORK Fox F100 FIT
Evolution 27.5 CTD Remote,
tapered, 15QR, 100mm
WHEELS DT Swiss M1700
TYRES Schwalbe Rocket Ron
Evo Pacestar, 650bx2.1in
CRANKS Shimano XT, 28/40T
GEARS Shimano XT
BRAKES Shimano XT,
180/160mm rotors
OTHER STUFF Spank bars
and stem, Lynskey titanium
seatpost, WTB Volt saddle
CONTACT
www.storck-bicycle.cc
What goes up…
The frame is around 100g heavier than
the best-in-class Scott Scale 700, but
even with relatively sturdy XT
transmission and brakes and its all-alloy
Crank Brothers finishing kit, it’s an
impressively light bike. This brings all
the normal acceleration and climbing
advantages, and the smaller (than the
now de rigueur 29in) wheels give it an
edge in reduced inertia.
As we’ve found with the other 650b
race bikes this issue, the first few meters
out of every corner or up each fire road
climb are a chance to kick some space
between you and bigger-wheeled bikes.
Shorter forks, spokes and stays give a
much tighter connection to the ground
than similarly light 29ers, so you can
turn in harder and later, relying on the
pin-sharp feedback to keep the tyres
sliding and under control.
The slack 72 degree seat angle and
long 100mm stem mean there’s more
breathing space for sustained efforts
than the 23in toptube would suggest.
While it makes for crowded bars, the
twin-lever Fox CTD remote means you
can switch easily between the fork’s
Climb lockout and the suitably tight Trail
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STORCK REBEL 7
If this bike were any
stiffer it would slice
through the rocks
instead of over them
Lots of space for
bigger tyres, mud
and splinters of
rattled backbone to
drop through
Chunky dropouts
and stays add
to the bike’s
muscular looks
“The monster-tubed
Storck hits trails
with a Rebel yell”
damping without letting go of the fat,
ribbed grips. The PaceStar compound
Rocket Ron Evo tyres are as fast as you’ll
get without losing your knobbles, too,
which all adds to this bike’s obvious
race readiness.
The mid-sized wheels’ mixed
performance makes it fun outside the
tapes too. The 70-degree head-angled
steering is accurate without being too
snatchy on really steep or loose descents,
and the precision tracking and low
weight make it easy to pop and hop
over trouble.
As long as the trail is smooth or soft
it drifts and slides with impressively
consistent control, helped along by the
precisely metered bite of the XT brakes.
The gear cables and rear brake pipe are
clamped under the toptube, which makes
servicing and set up much easier than
internal routing, though at the expense of
a bit of weight, frameshouldering comfort and
general tidiness. More
practically there’s a ton of
mud clearance around the
rear wheel so it can take
much bigger rubber than the
2.1s fitted.
Cabling isn’t
pretty, but it’s
neat and works
…must come down
Despite Storck’s claims of ‘vertical
compliance’ and ‘a high degree of
vibration dampening,’ the Rebel is an
absolute ass-kicker. We’re not talking a
bit of buzz and a need to dodge big rocks
and be careful off drops either; the Rebel
turns even duck boards into toothrattling, spine-shaking jackhammers,
bruises your feet on long rocky rides and
gives you a proper ‘brain against skull’
staccato concussion on stepped descents
if you’re too heavy on the brakes.
Reach a rough climb and that
unflinching power transfer, so efficient
on smooth trails, suddenly needs a lot of
traction control from the rider. Every
ripple or rock can kick the back end up
and blow your grip if you don’t trim
torque at the right moment. While
traction is definitely better than a
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similarly stiff 26in-wheeled bike, you
can’t just meathead your way up
anything rooty, rocky or cobbled the way
you can with a more compliant or
bigger-wheeled machine.
Whatever they say in their bumph,
German frames are generally a lot stiffer
than those from other countries, so if it’s
coming from Deutschland, damping isn’t
likely to be its strong point. Here, the fat
grips and adequate but not amazing
Evolution-spec damping in the Fox fork
mean palms are punished on longer,
rougher rides, and even with plenty of
seatpost showing above the low-slung
frame, you soon learn to be wary of the
saddle on more chaotic trails.
While the Germans led the 650b field
in 2013, and being ahead of the curve
then cost a premium, there’s a lot more
competition for mid-sized race and trail
honours this year. That makes this ‘intro’
spec of Crank Brothers and Shimano XT
look expensive against similar (if less
kudos-commanding) mainstream bikes,
though it’s comparable with other
‘boutique’ builds. Storck also includes a
bike fitting, which includes sizing the
cockpit components to you, in the price.
Summary
Light, massively powerful and confidently
planted, the monster-tubed Storck hits
the trails with a proper Rebel yell (or
possibly a shriek of pain). It’s ready to
race, reach far horizons in record time
or pin the local singletrack. Just don’t
expect it to be a cosy and comfy
experience though and the prestige name
comes at a premium.
★★★★★
“Expensive and brutally stiff, but an
explosively powerful, laser-guided
race and fast trail weapon.”
also consider
Scott Scale 710 £2799
tester says...
The Rebel was on our northern ride
roster through Christmas last year
and got roped into race fork testing
against our resident Scott. Its low
weight and serious power surge
proved a big hit with those who were
interval training prior to shaving legs and
sticking a race number on in spring. Unlike a
lot of nervous or floppy-wheeled Euro
racers, the Storck stays entertainingly
pinned and playful even in the
slipperiest, sketchiest situations. Guy
The Rebel 7 is
a race-ready
machine, but still
great fun – if brutal
The Fox fork
remote isn’t pretty,
but it totally earns
its keep here
Surprisingly relaxed angles and a
forgiving SDS rear end make this an
amusing and confident trail bike, while
a sub-kilo frame weight can cause
serious damage to any start line.
www.scott-sports.com
Giant XTC Advanced 27.5
2 £2499
The new chassis uses a new lay-up and
design cues from XTC Advanced 29ers:
a hidden seat clamp, flat flexstays and
the big Overdrive 2 front end.
www.giant-bicycles.com
Merida Big Seven £2000
Merida’s Big Seven frame mixes
bio-fibre into its carbon composite,
which is apparently a good thing.
You get a full XT drivetrain for only
£2k too, although brakes and wheels
are less exotic than the Storck’s.
www.merida-bikes.com
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