Gorgeous!

Gorgeous!

One of those with DI2 and I wouldn’t need to buy another bike. Fantastic.

Absolutely gorgeous!

Classic beauty, well thought out and executed. 

Posted an enthusiastic comment, got married, updated your profile name & picture, posted a more enthusiastic comment and all that in under 5 minutes! Impressive.

Ahhhh, i also have a Baum that Darren & the team have created, not dissimilar to Todd’s bike, slightly different spec however, Pearl White, Durace all round and love it, puts a smile on my face every time i ride it, pulls plenty of looks & comments and i just smile & gloat, i can highly recommend them.

zip ties, farkin zip ties – everything else perfect, just get rid of the bloody zip tie

Thank you, I don’t mess around. 

“Not built as a weight weenie”, yet it has Ciamello brakes, nanogram pedals, etc….

C’mooooooooooon!

Hold off for a few months on the Di2 purchase

completely agree – its not like its rolling around on aksium race wheels either ;-)

gorgeous bike…  makes me want to rebuild my litespeed palmares (yet again)

Nice work Todd, especially the subtleties, right down to your name on the downtube.

As we’ve found out, you open yourself up to a new level of trolls and nitpickers doing this.

So what’s the alternative to having zip ties on the crank anyway?

epoxy it – you wont even know the magnet is there

It is very nitpicky, granted – but whoever put together this bike is evidently somewhat on the anal side also. Just seems such a shame to go to all the effort, and expense, then finish the crank with a zip tie, it would hurt me every time i looked down. Campag super record cranks should not have zip ties on them, its not right.

Take it or leave it!

My name is Todd and I want my bike back!  :)

Race tape on the back side only, still ugly, or glue… you are going to be committing to the position with that one though!

Haaa. Lightweight Tubs. For functionality.

Sweet!

rare earth magnet inside the pedal spindle.

Agreed.

For cadence, I buy cylindrical neodymium magnets and put them inside the pedal axle to avoid the fugly crank zipties. You can get them on ebay for cheap. Now I just need a way to conceal the sensor on a Ti frame…

You guys are nuts. I just did a bike build project and now I don’t even want to post it on my own blog for fear of the critics!

Actually from the picture they are  “Ciamello breaks”, which is a little unfortunate!

Lucky he has his name on it…just in case there are 3 or 4 exactly the same parked outside the local cafe

oh yeah….beautiful rig

lovely bike who gives a shit about a fn zip tie…. jealous much????

lovely bike who gives a shit about a fn zip tie…. jealous much????

I was gonna offer up my bike, but you guys are brutal. Forget it!!

I was gonna offer up my bike, but you guys are brutal. Forget it!!

Wade would you like to put my Giant Composite 1 on the bikes of the bunch… it’s stock and its a ripper, your readers would love it. Surely no one would look at it with green eyes and everyone can go and buy the same.
Really nice bike Todd and thanks for sharing.

Real Estate agent fridge calendar magnet doublesided sticky taped on?

The Gravitas were chosen because I liked the finish, but they were purchased prior to the spec of the bike being finalized.

After lengthy discussions with people who know much more about riding/racing than me (and issues with my WW bike) we decided to build it to be bulletproof for my power and weight (85kg/1750+w) the brakes look awesome, but leave a bit to be desired in the braking stakes (I wasn’t sure if Wade was being Freudian wih his “Breaks” comment) in comparison to the Campy option.

The pedals are Speedplay Zero Ti’s… Not Nanograms (Too heavy for them?)

Di2? I’m holding our for intuition shifting like the Parlee Prius. At the moment the whole thing isn’t integrated enough (battery mod just isn’t enough!) too many cables, we’re due for a revolution – the technology is there, just got to bring it to consumers!

The Electrical tie is a throwback from actually riding a work of art. I forgot this one prior to the photo shoot. I took my Garmin off it.

I’m not worried about what people say about it, I have thick skin… And to be honest I’m waiting for people to start telling stories of riding past me walking on the TDU (I was “off-color” on the Challenge ride) or gracefully “laying down” at traffic lights on a Total Rush ride one Saturday morning. (I’m not big on clipping out – I’m from the country!)

As for the Lightweight wheels… Someone wise said they are like the Hatori Hanso sword of bike wheels. Try as you might, you won’t find better.

I’d like to thank Darren, Jodie, Dave, Sticks and of course Nick and JB for making the whole experience so enjoyable.

The team are consumate professionals – they have even been polite enough to work with my lousy bike mechanic skills ( shhhhh!) – they have all helped make my Baum experience first class.

This bike rides like a magic carpet and my Baum will last my lifetime – if I can stay upright on it (a shattered Clavicle in April after a bloke crashed in front of me on a training ride requiring a Ti plate in my shoulder! Only minor bike damage luckily…)

I can see myself on my Corretto forever!

Gor any questions? Sing out! Hope to see you on the road!

P.S – thanks for the write up & pics Wade. Nice to catch up with arguably one of the most influential people in Aussie cycling. I love your Stage 21 party theory ;-)

Wasn’t that my idea? Infact, I gave you the magnet…

Hi Arthur,

I’m a big fan of Giant bikes. If your bike has an interesting story behind it or if it’s customised beautifully I’d love to feature it. If it’s simply a floor model bike which anyone can buy, that’s fantastic, but the theme of this is showing off people’s Ferraris or restored classic cars, not my Mazda 3.

Jaycar sell em.  Perfect solution.

Meticulously maintained, props to it’s cleanliness, pro!

Nice ride Todd

Spoke to Nick at Baum today (before I saw this!) and mine will be in the production queue soon, once I’ve organised a trip to Geelong.

Ha ha ha… I was thinking the same thing but too afraid to mention them due to Wade’s comment about the black Lightweight decals. It’s so bloody heart-wrenchingly beautiful…. you want absolutely nothing interfering with those gorgeous lines.

The first one yes. Now I buy them in bulk.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230434560835

One of the best and worst things about the baum is the fact that its custom made. Being custom means it’ll be tailored to you and to you alone – but, you have to join the queue and endure the wait for your dream machine.
How long is the wait going to be for you?

Sure but it seems like people like are a bit savage on the guys with all the good gear… the funny part is the really harsh critics probably all drive Mazda 3′s (not that anything is wrong that!)

C’mooooooon , Ti is so 1995, and Baum’s are as about as inspiring as a root canal..  each to his/her own, at the end of the day you still have to push the pedals around.

I don’t believe it’s jealousy…. it’s pure admiration for Todd’s stunning Baum Masterpiece blended with an addiction to witness the creation of absolute purity. :) 

And I’m pretty sure they don’t use Zip Ties to hold up the Mona Lisa.

In any case… don’t let it get to you… we’re just bike lovers talking bikes here. :)

My other bike doesn’t have “handmade in Australia” etched into it at the point where the Garmin unit would have to sit.

Agreed… Tune, Lightweight, King Ti… yes they are all functional but not functional over weight. What a joke. Gorgeous bike no doubt. Why solder the cables? Surely that’s a weight weenie thing and what are you saving there… 5 micrograms?

ha! yes…you’re probably right. I think all the criticism is all in good fun and nothing personal. Showing off your beautiful bike demands great respect for the smallest details! 

Ha ha ha…. It’s not meant to be malicious criticism against Todd’s bike… it’s against Zip Ties. I loathe putting them on my daughters 16″ Barbie treadly.  Show us ya bike ya big goof!!!

Nice photography as always and a beautiful frame, with an impressive price tag on the build, but politely, come on..

I don’t need to see mudguards but lets be honest; a Toyota Yaris is functional and a Bentley with custom paint and all the options is not.

Props for the alloy bar, though.

The only way my bike would feature on bikes of the bunch is if I got my girlfriend to pose next to it like in the hot rod mags, nothing sexy about a Giant Composite 1 on its own!
Anyway love the new section Wade… now I got to do some work so maybe one day I can buy a bike to get on here!

Ride them every day. With the Continental tyres, they ar elle surprisingly durable. When they are getting new rubber, I ride handbuilt Enve 45 clinchers with custom black labels. They just don’t ride anywhere near as nice as Lightweights though!

It’s about building a bike about maximing function whilst looking totally fuucking awesome. The build was completed at Baum, they did not miss a thing. I chose Tune Bobo over CK because I liked it’s simplicity and knew it was functional. CK is nice, but shouts a bit.

Soldered cables… That’s the artisan craft a handbuilt bike manufacturer can undertake that is true to form and function.

I added the Cable-tie so I knew what my cadence was. I was so eager to get out and ride it and enjoy it. I’ve never been back to change it. I promise I’ll fix it tomorrow! :-)

Eatmorelard – Welcome to the family. Your wait will go by in a flash! In the mean time their Flickr page kept me sane! See you on the road in no time!

Norm, I’m in on Friday for fit #2!! ;-)

Regarding Chris King bling, if you want to “quieten” it down a bit, go for the sotto voce range. Lettering is “stealth” so the appearance is not as loud as the usual.
Kind of like the decals on your Lightweights come to think of it…!

Yeah, mass producers gave up in 1995 to focus on churning out carbon. Only the strong survived and only the truly skilled can take it to this level.

All the gear and no idea

Luxury and functionality are not mutually exclusive

I’d have to agree too.
Damn nice bike though.
The only thing on the bike that doesn’t say Weight Weenie to me is the frame.

You ride a Giant Composite 1 as well don’t you? Hey man chin up, its all about priorities.
Nice bike Todd.

Very nice bike. I would spear up everytime I walked into the garage to mount that.

I am sure they are actually Zipp ties. Probably a special Baum Carbon woven edition. Nice pushie Mr Todd.

No chance, I am still using Ultegra.
Nice bike!!!

Luxury? Are we talking about bed sheets or racing bikes? Cycling, the new golf.

Todd, that’s one of the sweetest BAUM’s I have seen and I have drooled over a few. I borked at the length of the que. I settled on a customized new Super6 EVO as my ‘dream bike’. It’s sub 6.5kg and is an efficient and functional ride and no exotic parts. Its most surprising quality is its smooth ride – not sure how it compares to Ti but one day I might be patient enough to find out. Again, really, really like your Baum – especially the restrained yet bold paint design.

bikes must be shod in lightweights to be featured here?

About time a cool chick on the scene! Welcome miss!

Todd, i just like your bike, thanks for showing it to us.
bring it back to SA in January and ill shout you a coffee at my local in the city.!

It’s actually also the logo for my side business that I sponsor some bike guys with.

The colors were inspired by the Audi Group B Rally cars from the golden era of Rally… My logo is also similar to the Audi “rings” logo. Not intentional, but a nice detail Jared pointed out to me after painting.

If you have a custom bike made, that you’re going to cherish forever, why not mark your territory :-P

It’s actually also the logo for my side business that I sponsor some bike guys with.

The colors were inspired by the Audi Group B Rally cars from the golden era of Rally… My logo is also similar to the Audi “rings” logo. Not intentional, but a nice detail Jared pointed out to me after painting.

If you have a custom bike made, that you’re going to cherish forever, why not mark your territory :-P

Thanks for the backhanded compliment. I get by remarkably well for someone with no idea. :-)

Coincidence… They are the biz though.

I’ll hold you to that Ben! I think there are a few coming over that would love a good ride – I’ll be there Sunday for RLC til after the Challenge ride on Friday I hope.

Wish I could he there all week! But It’s one of our busiest time of the year with our business.

Big fan of the Cannondales… They’re one of the best around.

I was happy to wait with Baum as I took the advice of everyone I found on one including a friend who I admire and respect who has literally done everything worth doing on a bike who owns more than one Baum. He said you won’t find a better bike in his experience. There isn’t a better endorsement in the world if you ask me!
.
I grew up in Geelong also, so there was that homegrown attachment as well.cite nice to have one of the best frame builders in the world 10mins from home!

Once that was sorted, the next step was deciding I was willing to live on rations for 6months to be able to afford it! Hahaha!

Awesome bike!  I’ve never had a custom bike and likely never will due to lack of funds, but I would be interested to know how the discussion goes with a builder like Baum in terms of what you are looking for in a bike, and how they can modify and individualize the build and bike for your particular desires/riding style/etc.   i.e. if I would give them a shout and tell them I’m looking for a full on race bike for hilly road races, and I weigh 74kg, how “different” of a bike are they making for me?

Thanks!

HOLY FUCKING CANNOLI!

That’s ace.

That right there is a bloody masterpiece. Enjoy your ride Todd.

I know. I have a pair on my Look. just wondering aloud…

that’s a beautiful ride right there.

I went to them with my idea… I just wanted their top of the line frame initially. We discussed my characteristics as a rider – a no good at anything, got a solid kick – I wanted to race it, and I wanted it to look good!

I initially intended to just get a frame/seatpost/stem, and ride it with SRAM Red, but my WW bike was quite painful with Sram on it – it flexed and cluncked a lot and my other bike has Record10 which rides very well for 5 years old… So I decided to get a new Grouppo – you have lots if time to find fault in every other bike you have over 6 months wait for your new one hahaha. I was also going to Europe on a bike tour to ride my ass off and see 5 stages of the tour this year, so Darren set the geo to handle well and have enough room in the cockpit for me to climb out of the saddle.

Darren factored in some issues I had with my bar height (I liked it Realllllllllly low, but I’ve been cleaned up by cars on two separate occasions and have a strange back posture which coming up a centimeter straightened out and made me ride better)

Beyond the geometry, Darren and Dave then custom butt all the tubes to give the bike the right amount of compliance without compromising tube thickness/strength… So essentially fine tuning every section of the bike. All of their tube thickness and measurements are kept on file forever in case you have issues with your bike and need repairs. If you are heavier they will only use oversized tubes and take material away… If you are lighter they can really push the boundaries with smaller tubes and take material away as well – they built a bike for Eurobike a few years ago that was under 6kg for a Ti bike with off the shelf parts at a medium size…

I guess they can explain it to you a bit better. My friend who was giving me advice has a Corretto and a steel track bike and he LOVES them, when I went to have a look at getting one, I thought “I’ll get the same road bike”. So they tailored my ideas around that.

I’m so happy with the outcome. If anyone is considering it, I say do it! I had a $500 deposit to join the line, then they call to arrange a time to do the bike fit, pay a 50% deposit and it is built 2-3 months after depending on the spec/your inability to choose color.

If its come up sooner than expected, you can defer your build position in the line for a few weeks prior to your bike fit to help save for the Lightweights or Enve’s you’ll ultimately want after leaving the factory/hiding out on Flickr checking out all the cyclobling!

The service is first class and their product is worth the wait.

After a few duds, I wanted a bike i could jump on and ride and be comfortable knowing the whole bike was not going to explode under me (ww bikes do crazy things!) all parts were fresh, ready for hammering away all day if necessary. the first time I rode it, I was blown away! It just wanted to fly and I was comfortable (even though my other bikes were comfortable, this one was just felt perfect straight away.

As for

I went to them with my idea… I just wanted their top of the line frame initially. We discussed my characteristics as a rider – a no good at anything, got a solid kick – I wanted to race it, and I wanted it to look good!

I initially intended to just get a frame/seatpost/stem, and ride it with SRAM Red, but my WW bike was quite painful with Sram on it – it flexed and cluncked a lot and my other bike has Record10 which rides very well for 5 years old… So I decided to get a new Grouppo – you have lots if time to find fault in every other bike you have over 6 months wait for your new one hahaha. I was also going to Europe on a bike tour to ride my ass off and see 5 stages of the tour this year, so Darren set the geo to handle well and have enough room in the cockpit for me to climb out of the saddle.

Darren factored in some issues I had with my bar height (I liked it Realllllllllly low, but I’ve been cleaned up by cars on two separate occasions and have a strange back posture which coming up a centimeter straightened out and made me ride better)

Beyond the geometry, Darren and Dave then custom butt all the tubes to give the bike the right amount of compliance without compromising tube thickness/strength… So essentially fine tuning every section of the bike. All of their tube thickness and measurements are kept on file forever in case you have issues with your bike and need repairs. If you are heavier they will only use oversized tubes and take material away… If you are lighter they can really push the boundaries with smaller tubes and take material away as well – they built a bike for Eurobike a few years ago that was under 6kg for a Ti bike with off the shelf parts at a medium size…

I guess they can explain it to you a bit better. My friend who was giving me advice has a Corretto and a steel track bike and he LOVES them, when I went to have a look at getting one, I thought “I’ll get the same road bike”. So they tailored my ideas around that.

I’m so happy with the outcome. If anyone is considering it, I say do it! I had a $500 deposit to join the line, then they call to arrange a time to do the bike fit, pay a 50% deposit and it is built 2-3 months after depending on the spec/your inability to choose color.

If its come up sooner than expected, you can defer your build position in the line for a few weeks prior to your bike fit to help save for the Lightweights or Enve’s you’ll ultimately want after leaving the factory/hiding out on Flickr checking out all the cyclobling!

The service is first class and their product is worth the wait.

After a few duds, I wanted a bike i could jump on and ride and be comfortable knowing the whole bike was not going to explode under me (ww bikes do crazy things!) all parts were fresh, ready for hammering away all day if necessary. the first time I rode it, I was blown away! It just wanted to fly and I was comfortable (even though my other bikes were comfortable, this one was just felt perfect straight away.

As for

Sucky iPhone response keeps bipping out on me… Sorry – I’ve been up all night at work trouble shooting! Tired and over it… Talking/thinking about bikes is keeping me sane!

The wait is around 4 months at the moment. I am chomping to get down to Geelong asap. Infact, cough, cough, I feel a cold coming on, cough, cough. Maybe I should take tomorrow off work…

The hardest bit is going to be which awesome paint job I go for!

This is the one I’d go for. One day…

sp, that was my original go to bike. I have two Cannondales today (a CAAD9 and a Systemsix). I rode the EVO and is it is one sweet ride. In the end I decided I wanted something more individual that I could enjoy for many years (not that I said to the boss that this is the last bike I will ever need, of course!). I thought if I bought something like the EVO it would end up as just a. n. other (albeit awesome) bike in the garage that I would ultimately want to upgrade.

You won’t go wrong with the EVO and there is no way I can justify what I am about to spend but I’m not stopping the kids going to school (possibly because they are not at school age yet!) and I’m still putting food on the table!

Lovely bike shame about the Campy.

Yeah, I’m crying in the corner cause of your comments…. they may use a nail thought… carbon composite? titanium? steel is real?

Agreed Steve modern Campy is not a patch on the lovely alloy spiders and other parts they made in the 80s. Todd congratulations, it’s obviously an  extremely well made bike with your stamp on it but is it just me, Ti somehow never caught my imagination.  Perhaps it’s too clinical a material and dare I say it dull? I can appreciate the paint, the beautiful welds but I’d love someone to offer up a lugged steel creation by Llewelyn for example. Anyone care to feature theirs? 

Agreed Steve modern Campy is not a patch on the lovely alloy spiders and other parts they made in the 80s. Todd congratulations, it’s obviously an  extremely well made bike with your stamp on it but is it just me, Ti somehow never caught my imagination.  Perhaps it’s too clinical a material and dare I say it dull? I can appreciate the paint, the beautiful welds but I’d love someone to offer up a lugged steel creation by Llewelyn for example. Anyone care to feature theirs? 

Beautiful bike Todd.

I’ve perved on Baum’s Flickr account many a time, so it’s nice to hear more about the process behind their creations. Enjoy the ride!

you’ll be getting an invoice in the mail for my saliva damaged keyboard!

Anyone prepared to write a “how-to” article on replacing the Zip Tie with a magnet?

Elegantly simple. Carbon has given way to some great designs (and some truely awful ones) but this bike is the perfect example of less is more.

Not sure a magnet will “stick” to a titanium spindle in a peddle – he mentions Speeplay Zero Ti’s.  I’m not sure on this, read it somewhere.

Thanks for the response!  Sounds top notch.    Maybe someday will be able to treat myself.    Enjoy your riding!

Quattros, those were the days. I bet we’re not going to see anyone copy the current Citroen or Ford WRC colourschemes any time soon for their custom bike, that’s for sure.

Todd and eatmorelard – Its refreshing (given the tough critics that have posted above) the positivity you have posted on my dale – thanks guys – its the right bike for me now. I can still play the ‘upgrade’ card in about another 3-4 years and given Baum’s unmatched quality, craftsmanship and Aussie made attributes, it is definitely the next ‘dream bike’. On a bike like the Corretto, I could only play the ‘upgrade’ card once! 

In Axle Solution to Zip Tie6.35 x 12.7mm Rod – Rare Earth magnet
$21.00 on eBay, or $1.80 from Aussie Magnets [in Burwood, Melbourne]
http://aussiemagnets.com.au/product/–6.35-x–12.7mm-Rod-%28Rare-Earth%29.html

To me painting Ti is almost sacrilege.  Leave it bare! Painting only adds weight.
Eventually it will look old and out dated.
But I suppose it can just be repainted again.

Yep, there’s something about high contrast colours that do it for me, although hard to pick a fave, this one is high on my list. And it matches my Corporate Colours… maybe I could claim it as a business expense….. seriously, any accountants out there know if that’s legal? I promise to ride it everyday to work!!!!

Very keen to organise a ‘Baum ride’ (of course open to owners of all bike, not just Baum-a-philes) as Nick will be over there again for the week.

Keep an eye on the blog.

Unfortunately your travel to and from work isn’t claimable.  Unless you carry your tools with you ;)

Just one more reason to become a pornstar I guess.

How about a Bentlet as a team car? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keHXghwfaHU

dont worry about it, I have little gear and even less idea.

love the bike, a piece of artistry on 2 wheels

that is some beautiful welding…

Todd can you come and clean mine?

They’ll repaint it for you… but thats why I tried to stay as tradiotional as I could. By the time it looks outdated, I’ll order a new one!

Get your business to sponsor a cycling team like “HARD-ON racing” for their new team bikes… for the exact amount and WHAMMMO! Business sponsored and colored to match your business corporate colors! Brilliant!

We thought about doing that… I’ll post a picture of my design whenI get home!

DO IT! (just no cable ties! ;-P)

Drop in to say G’day – I’m going in today for a new bike fit for my next machine… ;-)

Like this one?  I love this one from Baum’s site.

I saw Baum’s Gulf Oil (GT Ford classic) version, which is one of his best. Would like to see a Martini Racing version though (Lancia Delta Integrale, the next best ever car behind the Quattro)…

This is really informative. I’ll keep visiting for more of your posts. 

This is all very American Psycho. All the prattle about cable ties and general frothing etc is pretty much like the cream business cards. 
I never realised how true to type Patrick Bateman was. Perhaps Ellis was ahead of his time on the pun.

beautiful bike!

I ride my Cubano GTR  also since 12 month. http://www.boutiquecycles.com/bikes/details/cubano_gtr/

It was quit easy to create/design/build the frame located in Austria togehter with them at BAUM in Australia :D