baum factory visit by peter

background

my bike has never fitted me.  in the early years i don’t think i really noticed it too much.  but then again, i wasn’t really riding that much either.  the old repco traveler that i first got back in the mid 80’s was measured up by standing over the top tube to see what my inseam clearance was.  yep, she’ll be right.  even my next bike a repco superlite was not sized up too much different.  i can not remember any measurements of my body and a match to a particular frame size.  the fact is that it wasn’t a real bike shop either.  it was a toy shop that sold bikes, but growing up that is all we had.  chrome-moly steel and superlight it wasn’t. 

a peugot ventoux frame was a second hand purchase from a mate and we were a similar height so i guessed it would be ok.  however, after reminiscing with him after catching up after 15 years on the weekend, it is clear that we aren’t the same body type and never have been.  it was a frame upgrade for me and served me well for many years.

starting to work in the mining industry and actually earning money meant that my next upgrade would be better.  i visited tbe in belmont after flying down from paraburdoo, and saw phil (now at riders choice).  i was put on a “fit bike type thing” and worked out that i needed a 56cm frame.  as i had already chosen the frame type, the “fit” was more about seeing what size off the rack frame i needed.

i started doing triathlons and was trying to make my road bike into a triathlon bike by changing posts and stems.  after a lot of complaining i was given permission to get a specific triathlon bike.  i was looking at a number of brands, but was interested in making sure i was getting the right size bike for me.  i went to see budgie in bassendean and he took many a measure from many bits of my body.  he then did a few secret calculations and came up with a few choices of frames.  luckily he suggested a frame that i had been looking at and i went with that one.  as with most new triathlon specific new bikes, they came in small, medium and large frame sizes.  if i was going to buy one without a sizing, i would have probably have bought a large as i am around six foot tall.  however, budgie said that i am all legs with a short torso.  in fact he said that for my leg length, i should be around 6 foot 8.  he therefore put me on a medium frame to make sure i could reach the bars without being overstretched.  we had the front jacked up to the max with lots of spacer and a short stem that was almost vertical.  it looked a bit funny, but was really comfortable and i could smash out lots of power on it.

i was allowed to upgrade my road bike and as it was just before the birth of number 1 son, i thought that it may be my last bike for quite a while.  i opted for an Italian carbon that was more about style and name than fit.  as i thought that i was happy on the cannondale, i just got the same size frame (didn’t really check the other crucial measurements like seat tube angle though).  i set it up and thought that i was comfortable riding it.  however, as i stared doing more kms i found that i was not feeling that comfortable and felt stretched out.  after doing the bike fit for the tribike, i thought that i knew what i needed and started experimenting with different components and setups.  i changed the stem length a number of times and went from a 120mm to a 105mm to a 90mm.  during that time i also turned them upside down effectively shortening it again and bringing it up.  i also slid my seat forward on the rails to bring me closer to the bars.  all this because it felt like i was trying to hold two bricks out at arms length.  well that is what i looked like when i was “relaxed” on the bike.  i debated going to see a bike fit expert in perth but was waiting to see if the adjustments i made would help.  i bought some short reach bars which have now pulled my levers back in about 15mm.  i thought that i would now be able to rotate my stem back over so it was not facing upwards.  not so as now i would hit my knees on my bars when i was up out of the saddle.  so in the end i am now running a saddle pushed far forward as possible, with a 90mm angled up stem and a short reach handle bar.  i opted not to get a zero offset seatpost as i thought that this would put me even further forward of the bottom bracket and thought that i would decrease power when seated climbing.  the net result was that i was marginally more comfortable, but was now riding a bike that was not that balanced.

 

options

after my discovery of the upturned stem, i thought that maybe what i need was a longer had tube to get my controls higher and therefore closer to me without getting in the way of my knees.  as the cycling world has finally come full circle and discovered that we don’t just come in small, medium and large, some companies had started doing special frames that may cater for freaks like me.  the cervelo rs and the look optimo are two frames that offer a longer head tube to bring the front up.  i started toying with the idea of getting one of them.  i knew that i really wanted/needed a custom frame, but costs are always a prohibiting factor.  there are cheaper custom alternatives around, but i was not going back to and aluminum frame after riding carbon.  i figured that i may be able to get a last years rs cheap over the net if i looked hard enough and that would fit into my budget (allowance) for bike upgrades. i could then just transfer my parts over and sell my fondriest frame.  i mentioned this plan to my financial advisor (wife) and she was not really impressed.  so, you are going to spend a couple of thousand on a new frame and there is no guarantee that it will even fit you properly.  hmm, not very convincing.  she knew that my master plan involved getting a custom framed bike and i even tried to convince the chiro to tell her that i needed one or my current bike would do me damage.  that wasn’t very convincing either.  i wasn’t really getting anywhere and with the arrival of the new baby was having trouble justifying any spend on the bike at all.  i was hoping that the baby bonus would allow me a bit of cash spare to do some upgrades this year, but that was vetoed in order to put new aircons in the bedrooms.  things were looking pretty grim for the bike this year.

then for some unknown reason, we were discussing finances and the offer of a custom framed bike was bought up and approved. 

 

factory visit

you do not ask questions, you just run with it. a few quick arrangements and i had extended my leave (2 ½ months off is cool) and we had flights booked to head home to victoria.  of course we were really heading back to visit the family and to show off the new baby, but there would be a visit to the baum factory in geelong while we were there.

first call and i talked to james and organised a time to visit.  pretty quick phone call and didn’t really discuss much of what i needed or what the process was.  i had a talk to dr paul about his visit and what he went through to fit the bike.  how long it would take and how long from fit to delivery would be.  it seemed that the biggest issue would be just what colour to get.

a second phone call to confirm the time and i got to speak to darren baum himself.  we had a quick chat and i talked to him about what i had issues with and what i was after.  not a problem, just need to bring my shoes and let him know what pedals i used. 

fit day arrived and i got a phone call to say that it had been double booked and whether i could drop in a bit later.  i was on holidays and we were only staying 45mins away, so no real problem.  i found my way to the factory and it turned out to be just a big shed in a light industrial area.  the only give away was the name “baum” in big letters on the front door, but if you didn’t know what it was, it was just another factory.  i entered to find a guy on a fit bike spinning away with a big fan in front of him.  i thought that it would be a “measure the body and how does this feel” type fit, not a session on the ergo.  this was our double booking and i was ushered through to the next room and introduced to darren.  we sat down for a talk so that he could get an idea of how much riding i did and what type of rider i was.  we had a bit of a tour of the factory floor and david took me around as darren had to deal with some manufacturers that they distribute.  after my frame has been sized, a list of tubes would be put into a box and they would then work their way around the different stations.  i got to have a look at some bottom brackets and drop outs before they are on a bike, as well as a whole bunch of nice titanium tubes.  for my frame, the tubes would be cut and mitered to form a snug fit at all junctions.  the tubes would then be also milled down in certain areas to reduce weight.  as i am not a heavy rider, the tubing can take the reduction in strength quite easily.  the tubes would then be placed into a jig to be held together whilst they are being welded.  the usual cleaning, brushing and painting would then take place.  all up the whole workshop was not that huge but as they only pump out about 100 frames a year it wasn’t really a production line.

 

“fit bike”

i caught back up with darren and he began setting up the “fit bike” for me.  everything was taken into account such as crank length, saddle type, handlebar width and reach and levers brand.  now i just thought that these parameters would just be more numbers in the calculation, but no, darren actually pulls out a flite saddle, checks the bar width, changes the adjustable cranks, puts the shimano pedals on and adds some sram brake hoods.  i said that i was going to put the new dura-ace on but apparently the sram are the same size hoods.  it also gives me some options to go with red if i want to (or afford).

no measurements were taken from my body at all.

he set the frame up to a fairly standard size that he thought would suit my body and got me onto the bike to start riding.  the stem was 120mm and i felt stretched out to the max.  he watched me for a few moments and then commented – “there is something not right here”.  he called in jarred who was doing the previous fit and they both watched me ride for a moment.  “your femurs are too long” was the assessment.  hmmm, i’m not sure i can fix that one.  so the frame was adjusted a number of times mostly up and back.  a lot of the time it was a combination of what i felt and what i looked like on the bike. the earlier comment about holding two bricks in front of me came from darren, but it totally makes sense.  apparently when riding in the hoods, i just don’t seem to relax.  he said that he could constantly see tension in my triceps as i am holding up my body.  a number of adjustments were made until it looked pretty much right.  he then called jarred back in again and they had a talk about what else to try.  a few minor adjustments were made to see how i would react to them.  fairly minor adjustments in one direction and i could feel extra tension in my lower back so we knew which way not to go.  a few more adjustments and we were pretty much their.  the funny thing was that when it was put in a big gear and the power was on, my body position looked fine whether i was on the hoods or in the drops.  however, the same position didn’t quite feel right when just cruising.  maybe i just shouldn’t ride easy.

i was running out of time and had to head home as i had already missed two phone calls asking where i was.  i made a date to come back the next morning and finish off the process.  i was unsure just what was left to do, but i felt that i was pretty comfortable on that setup.

 

design

the next day i was shown the process from “fit bike” to frame design.  a special measuring jig was placed on the “fit bike” and the angles and lengths taken from it.  there is then a special “bike cad” program that takes all the measurements and converts them into a bike design.  my overall size was the equivalent to a 58cm seat tube and a 55cm top tube which equated to a 185mm head tube.  to compensate for my long femurs, the seat and head tube angles were laid back to around 71.5 degrees.  this meant that my knees were not so far in front of the pedals and i may be able to put a bit more power down.  the cad program also allowed for the right sizes and angles of the components like stems etc. and then gave overall measurements for the bike fit.  i had requested that the geometry be traditional with the top tube parallel with the ground.  however, when designed like that, the longer head and seat tube, meant that the back of the bike looked way too big and the gap between the back wheel and the seat tube junction was massive.  darren had taken some artistic licence with the design and as he looks at bike designs all the time, he knew what looked good.  so we ended up with a semi-sloping design and he added the reynolds forks as they are a bit longer so make the head tube look a bit smaller.  all up these cosmetic changes didn’t worry me as the most important thing was that the bike was sized for me to begin with.  if it looked stupid, who cares as long as i can ride effectively.  however, darren made sure it looked good.

the height of the bottom bracket was also lowered a bit (few millimeters) and i asked how that will effect the handling of the bike.  as i said i don’t like doing crits, it wouldn’t really be a problem, although 5mm will not make that much difference to the cornering.  my main concern was that i would get a bike that was balanced.  the chain stays were a bit longer to compensate for the relaxed geometry and still maintain a balanced bike.  the stem was left at 110mm and the length of the top tube allowed me to reach this easily.  darren said that he generally designed for at least a 110mm stem as shorter one affected the balance of the front end.  i certainly notice it on the current bike when i am out of the saddle as you feel like your arms are locked by your sides.

a few other options were discussed and carbon seat stays were something we could go for.  i asked what it would actually do for the bike and the result would be a little more comfortable as it would take out the high frequency vibrations.  the suggestion was that the titanium rear is a more classic look and would retain it’s classic characteristics.  as there would be no change in performance, i decided to go classic.  a carbon post will hopefully do the trick for the vibrations through my bum.

colour was the next choice and apparently this can cause a whole lot of problems as it is such a personal choice.  there are a number of standard choices for the frame of your choice and then there is number of upgrades for extra dollars.  for the cubano, i had a choice of ½ colour or ¾ colour with decal logos.  any of the fancy paneled paint jobs or multiple colours would cost extra as would painted logos.  i was shown a number of frames that they had in the workshop and they also have a bunch of tubes all painted up in the standard colours.  i had downloaded a bunch of photos from the baum flicker album that showed a number of paint schemes that they have previously done.  nothing was really catching my attention and i was still liking the pearl white that dr paul had on his corretto.  i thought about a really understated logo on the frame and asked about the pinstripe version or a silver logo on the white background.  darren suggested that it is important to balance the frame with the colour of the logos and if you drop them it looks a bit lost.  i said that i wanted to have understated logos and he showed me what it looks like via a photoshop program.  he was right, it looked washed out and lost.  i went with pearl white with black logos.  same as dr paul.  maybe we can say that it is the new spr team colours.

so, the frame dimensions all calculated, and colours chosen (can be changed before the build) so i dropped a deposit on it to put it in the system.  i am looking at a late may delivery and i said that my birthday is on the 25^th and it would be a nice present (so they wrote down the date).  i have to work out what groupset to put on the frame now, but have a few months to find the cheapest prices.  the dr paul special wheels are going onto the new bike as are the new short reach bars and current saddle.  unfortunately i will be just impatiently waiting till may before i can ride the new steed.