One of the most enjoyable things we get to do here is designing a bike from the ground up. Taking the critical information from the customer like height, weight, fit, riding style, aesthetic leanings, etc. and turning that into a complete package. For sure you have to trust the fact that the end result we have in mind is going to turn out as the bike you have dreamed about for months or years. This is what makes custom bikes both fun and challenging to build. Of course it's easier to walk into a shop or stare at a catalogue or website and see beforehand exactly what is available which for some is all that is wanted or needed. But if you are looking for something truly unique, something that rides and handles the type of riding you enjoy most or simply looks different from what is readily available from any of the bigger manufacturers then this is the way to go.
For this particular Baum Corretto we were looking for exactly that. A ride that matches how the owner rides, accentuates his strengths and helps overcome any of his weaknesses by providing a strong, light and stable platform and, in the end, looks amazing and different from anything else out there.
One thing that this particular customer wanted was a frame that looked a bit more classic than the standard Corretto frame set. So we used smaller diameter tubes and a 27.2mm seat post as opposed to the larger tubes and 31.6mm post that comes standard. He also loves climbing and spends most of his time doing that so we put on an ENVE 1.0 fork instead of the standard 2.0 which saves about 50g. After going back and forth a few times we settled on a mechanical group as apposed to electronic.
The colors were actually pretty easy to come up with as the customer had a favorite jersey that was green with a bit of yellow and red on it. We let Ryan at Baum HQ in Australia choose the paint scheme and colors which ended up being Poison Ivy Green, SRAM Red and Lightening Yellow. The paint scheme is Baum's GTB with triple stripes. Baum then supplies a rendering of the paint scheme to us so that we can go over it w/ the customer to make sure we have the direction nailed. Of course and as you can see here, it always looks better in person!
Like we said, the finished product is always much more spectacular in person, but the renderings give a good idea of what it will look like. We always say that if you like it on the rendering you'll LOVE it when you see it in person the first time!
Chris King or Tune headsets come standard on the Baum frames. We mostly use the Chris King headset but if you are looking to save every last gram or get a lower stack height the Tune is the way to go. Having the barrel adjustors on the head tube is nice as well, shifting is perfect and you don't have to worry about the cables rubbing the paint off.
King titanium cages are re-finished by Baum to match the chain stays.
This customer has 9 speed Campagnolo on his old Serotta that is now his bad weather commuter and 10 speed Campagnolo on his road bike so it made sense to equip the Baum with the new 11 speed Campagnolo Super Record. Since he really focuses on climbing we wanted to keep the bike as light as possible so in addition to the super light group we used Fizik Bull 00 bars as well. Even though the 3T stem looks totally fine with the Fizik bars as they are blacked out, we did end up putting a painted Fizik stem on the bike.
A Fizik Antares 00 saddle keeps the weight down up high.
If you want to keep the weight down on any bike your best bet is anything from Lightweight out of Germany. Any of their wheels will do the trick but for comfort and low weight, the Gipfelsturm is our favorite. We did the standard version of these wheels for this bike, they also come in a Schwarz Edition which has blacked out logo's and Ceramicspeed bearings. Sub 1000g wheels that you can ride anywhere.
For tires we chose our favorite Vittoria Corse SC's in 25mm. We could have saved a little weight going w/ the 23mm versions but this bike will be ridden on the dirt and gravel trails as well and we wanted to give him a little more comfort and durability.
The gorgeous bi-ovalized and heavily scalloped raw rear triangle that sets the Baum apart from all others.
The finished project. This bike checked all the boxes, light (14.2lbs as it sits), extremely durable, beautiful and unique. The owner has a few hundred miles on it already and said it climbs better than his already light carbon bike, but feels more stable descending and much more comfortable on the beat up gravel and dirt climbs.
We've been doing this for close to 10 years now and if you've been wanted to do a special project like this for yourself, contact us and we'll get you started on the best bike for you!
Thanks for reading!
-AC
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