TI dreams become reality

As frames made of carbon fibre are becoming more and more mainstream, customers are searching for new materials to set their very own frame apart from the rest of the pack. One material which surely is worth a closer look within this search is Titanium. One new company which tries to fascinate customers with their craftsmanship is Baum, a company based in North Shore, Southern Australia. One speciality of the guys is certainly the nomenclature of their product lineup, where every frame is named after a special Italian coffee creation.

Similar to Litespeed with the Archon, Baum offers their frames with individual paintjobs, enabling the customer to choose out of a wide variety of more than 55,000 colors and designs. The durability of the coating is achieved by using a two component system, where the bare metal is treated with a special adhesion primer, which is finalized with a colored topcoat. To ensure highest quality standards in color match and stone-chip protection Baum utilizes a PPG Automotive paint system for this purpose. But next to the optics the frames of Jo Banks and Darren Baum also seem to impress with their technical datasheets. The frames can be build as light as 950g, but then there is a weight limit of 85 kg for the rider to consider. The pictured Cubano weights, with a frame at 1080g in the shown configuration ( including coating, company emblem on the headtube, seat clamp and cable stops ) at a frame size of 57cm, just over 5.2kg. These weights are possible due to the multiple butted tubes of the frames ( e.g. the Corretto can consist of tubes in ti grades of 9 to 3/2.5 ) and additional machining in the areas of the bottom bracket, the headtube and dropouts. Customization into the endmost detail.

The prices range from $4995 for the Romano to $6995 which have to be paid for the Coretto ( all values in Australian dollar ) - incl. fork & headset. For frames shipped abroad you can substract 10% GST tax on those prices, but do not forget to add your country specific VAT and additional costs for custom clearance. The shipment itself will cost you between $125 to $200, depending on how long you can wait, but always fully insured. The leadtimes on the frames are 8 to 12 weeks at present, depending on the material of the bike, Titanium being the latter. Have a look on the full price list for yourself:

Steel framesets
Cappuccino
Frame, Baum carbon fork & Ritchey Pro headset $2495
Upgrades:
• Edge 2.0 or Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork +$150
• Espresso paint (single band, two band) +$200
Espresso
Frame, Edge 2.0 or Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork & Ritchey Pro h/s $3595
Upgrades:
• Chris King headset +$120
• Wound Up fork +$100
Ristretto
Frame, Edge 1.0 fork & Chris King headset $4195
Upgrades:
• Time carbon seatstay +$400
• THM Scapula SP fork +$795

Titanium framesets
Romano
Ti frame, Edge 2.0 fork & Chris King headset $4995
Upgrades:
• Reynolds carbon seatstay No cost
• Paint (single band or ¾ painted) +$400
Cubano
Ti Frame, Edge 2.0 fork & Chris King headset $5995
Upgrades:
• Reynolds carbon seatstay No cost
• Edge 1.0 fork or Reynolds Ouzo Pro SL fork +$125
Corretto
Ti Frame, Edge 1.0 fork & Tune Bobo headset $6995
Upgrades:
• Time carbon seatstay +$500
• THM Scapula SP fork +$795

Prices for complete bikes can be found on the Baum website . Next to their lineup of racebikes, there is also a similar collection of MTB frames waiting to be explored, named similar after Cappuccino, Espresso, Ristretto, Romano & Cubano. The frame of the Ti model Cubano weights just around 1350g. A singlespeed option, 29′ frames or even carrier eyelets are possible.

The guys from Baum Cycles are searching for potential distribution partners in key locations around Europe at the moment, you can contact them via email: Jared(at)baumcycles.com and - honestly speaking - we think it would be a shame if not more of these frames could be seen around Europe in the near future.