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Friday Bike Lust & Project Baum: Completion

Written: June 22, 2012
Bike Friday, Hot Bikes, New Kit, Project Baum

It was only ever going to be my new Baum this week!

It’s already a few steps along from where it was last Friday when I collected it from Baum (i.e. as pictured above).  This Ristretto now wears a colour-coded Deda Zero100 stem in place of the 3T (I asked Baum to finish two stems for me so that I have greater flexibility of adjustment if my shoulder issues ever flare again), the red details on the SRAM Red groupset are now colour-coded to the purple on the bike and the bars have changed to the same super-short reach Zipp Service Corse SLs that I run on the Corretto (the bars pictured are 3T, but I left Baum with a set of Enve Compact bars that I’d ordered in a 42cm width, completely forgetting that I switched to 40cm bars a few months back).

These minor changes aside, when the bike was wheeled out of the factory line-up by front-of-house man Ryan on Friday morning I was gobsmacked.  As my second Baum I somehow was expecting to be less excited or enthralled by it, but seeing it changed all of that – I just stood slack-jawed, speechless, overwhelmed, shocked and amazed.  They’ve only bloody gone and blown my mind again!

And then there’s the ride…

My original thinking behind my infamous Pegoretti episode was that I wanted a second bike that would challenge me not to take my Baum out for every single ride.  I wanted something that would make me think about which bike to pick.  It didn’t work that time around, but it sure as hell has done this time.  This bike feels fantastic – eventually I’ll get around to writing more about that along with trying to explain the differences and similarities to the Corretto.  For now all I’ll say is picking which bike to ride is going to be much harder from now on.

I had originally planned purple cables for this one again, but they didn’t arrive in time to fit them before I collected it.  Actually I think that’s a minor godsend as in running a standard seatpost that’s colour-coded there’s already a lot more purple on this one than the Corretto, and I think the purple cables would have been overkill – especially given that there’s more cable visible because of the standard drivetrain, and definitely now that I’ve colour-coded the SRAM Red too.

I’m probably going to get picked up on the silver saddle rails, but the saddle works for me so it’s staying… although I already can’t help wondering what a white saddle would look like!  The bar tape is currently a dark silvery colour too, but that’ll change to black just as soon as I can find some tape I like (unless I get that white saddle, in which case the tape might go white too).

Back to the guys at Baum – I really cannot thank Darren and the crew enough for this bike.  I’m pretty sure I was a pest when we were working on the Corretto, but given that this was originally intended to be a show bike I was possibly even more of a pest this time around (“can I do this”, “will you do that”, “what about…”, “can you just…” – and all whilst they were trying to get other show bikes and magazine bikes built!).  They were saints the whole time.  I was made to feel so welcome when I went to collect the bike last week, and to get to spend a second day there with the guys was a real pleasure.

After a week knocked flat by flu I’m struggling to do the bike justice, but it has given me renewed vigour to get out there and ride whilst I continue the wait for my visa approval.

Two Baums.  I am one lucky, lucky son of a bitch.

UPDATE:  It’s also Baum’s Hottie of the Week this week!

EXTRA UPDATE:  It’s also featured here on prollyisnotprobably.com!



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24 thoughts on “Friday Bike Lust & Project Baum: Completion”

  1. I feel almost cruel saying it… but…the wheels almost ruin it. Clearly you are happy with them and they do look ‘cool’, but that bike is crying out for something classier.

    Fortunately, the colour coded Sram saves it. That was a masterstroke!

  3. I know you are the Bike Tart, but I have been wondering. Do you have a wet-weather bike too? I’m up on the north coast and like Sydney, it rains a fair bit here. Having a bike with mud guards makes a huge difference to my ride enjoyment (and the person sitting on my wheel) in the wet.

  6. Another beaut Rich, really liking the matt grey and of course the purple accents.

    For a pimp wheelset I’m thinking Enve 25 (20 hole front 24 rear) laced two cross with Silver CX Rays to silver King hubs with custom purple “King” lettering, would have to be black tyres, not skin wall.

    And what this about rollers in the rain ??? Ride it wet, clean pit it away, replace stuff when it rots, not point having a crap bike for crap weather, how wants to ride a crap bike !!!

  7. King recently did some special edition purple hubs for Indy Fab – I’d love to get my hands on a set! Well, as long as it’s actually a purple rather than the distinctly pinky-purple the anodised ‘pyrples’ tend to be…

  8. Absolutely love it Rich…and I agree the wheels are a bit whoa-nelly for the build, but it all makes for a pretty mental looking machine…am sure that Enve’s will be the eventual answer…but still, not bad for your “other” bike mate!

  12. I didn’t say a wet weather bike has to be crap, Simon. Mine’s a Ti / carbon Seven with Crud Raceguards fitted. No need for wet feet / arse.

  13. 8.5

    i would switch the wheels for sure – i’m sure they perform, but what i think really jars aesthetically is the carbon weave that MF use.

    i would love to see this shod in campag SR or EPS too – but you made a pact with the devil some time back and insist on inferior groupsets
    ;-)

    p.s. my wife already knows that if we visit melbourne it will get ugly (on the wallet). another class looking frame….

  14. I have no issue with Campag, and if it wasn’t for the fact that my R45 Ambrosios can’t be changed to Campag I’d gladly run it on this (I wouldn’t change the freehub on my MFs, they’re staying on the Corretto once I’m bored of running them on this, and / or when the ‘new bike buzz’ has worn off a bit).

    That said, the new SRAM Red front shift *really is* ‘Di2 good’. You don’t get that on Campag!

  16. How would those sit with your new found bent for hand mades though? If its skinny hoops you are after I would have thought some ax lightness hoops on any number of hubs would give you an arguably better wheel. Also, as great as LW’s are I do feel they have not really ‘moved on’in the last decade….

  17. I’m too portly for the AXs, or at least too close to their weight limit to be confident running them anyway.

    Ventouxs just feel like a set of wheels I need to try – those or their new version of them. I’d also love some Mavic CCUs. I can’t spend that sort of money at the moment anyway though!

    I suspect I’ll end up with something quite cheap – HED are likely as I can get them at a good price through my club, and their new aero profile looks cool as well as them having external nipples (a bugbear of the Enve SES range). I can even get a 30mm front and 40mm rear to replicate the SES 3.4s if I felt so inclined.

  18. Did you get a discount for the 2nd Baum, what about a discount for the 3rd? ;)

  20. Actually I just checked – weight limit on the AXs is 110kg, so they are an option after all… *ponders*

  24. Fizik used to do the Arione in silver (I had one on my Ti Enigma back when they were still called Omega), but it was a bright silver rather than the dark silver of this tape.

    I actually changed the tape to black, but with the white saddle on (which I think looks much better) I think the dark silver tape might make a much quicker return than I’d previously imagined – after I’ve tried white tape too that is.

    And if that doesn’t work, perhaps some grey acrylic leather paint will sort the saddle colour conundrum…!

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