Why my Baum is cheaper than your TCR

My Grandmother grew up in the first half of the century in London. She lived through World War II and all the horror that it brought and it changed her forever. I can already hear you thinking... 'what is Mike going on about', but please stick with me. 

MIKE BOUDRIE

Until the day my Nan left us, she barely threw away a thing. She only purchased what she needed and kept pretty much everything or gave it away to someone that needed it.  If you're thinking 'hoarder' you are wrong. She did not have much, but what she did have was of quality. I'll always remember her saying, 'buy well Michael, no plastic rubbish, and definitely nothing brown'. I'm not sure about the brown bit, I'm still working out the hidden meaning there, but the first part is clear.

So, with this pearl of wisdom in mind, I thought about my early road bike riding days, England in the early '90s smashing it out on an awesome steel Peugeot as a wirey 12-year-old. That bike took me hundreds of ks around England and France before it was handed down to my brother who exacted the same punishment on it. The Peugeot was finally sold six or seven years later for more than we paid for it. I'm sure it's still going strong some 25 years later... I wish we'd never sold it. 

After that, it was a few more cheap steel bikes that came and went, then jumping onto new-fangled aluminium, before reaching what I thought was the holy grail, carbon fibre. But I was wrong. Oh so wrong. Firstly, I realised all carbon was not made equal, ride quality, stiffness, weight was on a varying scale. What I did find, was that all my Carbon bikes had one thing in common, they had a relatively short life span, and this life was not increased as I spent more money. I rolled through two high end frames in three years after each cracked in a different place on the frame, when the third arrived under warranty I sold it. I also crashed a beautiful Colnago C59 and never had the nerve to ride it at any speed afterwards.

Looking back, I have had eight carbon fibre bikes (including a couple of TCRs), costing between $2k and $10k over a period of 10 years at a total cost of $50k give or take. A couple were lost to crashes, a couple to warranty and a few sold for a fraction of their purchase price. So let's say I was all done and dusted at a net cost of $40k, that's at least $4k a year, and if Id kept on buying top-end carbon that average would have increase very quickly to six, seven eight grand. It's a big pile of cash, and many people spend more than that. My morning bunch in Melbourne is full of carbon bikes at the upper end, that cost between $7k and $10k and more than you would expect are well over $10k. There's also nothing particularly special about these machines, they are functionally exceptional, but are ultimately just expensive throw-away items that depreciate faster than luxury cars and have a shorter life expectancy. 

This is where the sun comes up and I unveil my Baum Corretto. It was built in a big shed in Geelong by men and women that are experts in what they do, there's no automated mass production to be seen. A piece of art as much as a tool. It's built for me based on my riding style, shape and flexibility. I've owned it for 4 years and put more K's on it than any of my previous bikes, yet it still rides perfectly, not a creek or a crack, it feels smooth, it's fast when needed and comfortable when needed. It has been down the road on two occasions and somehow the frame did not get a mark. If one of my carbons had been down the road I'd be seriously thinking twice about riding it again. 

Yes, my Baum cost a lot, the build did not get much change out of $18k BUT, and it's a massive BUT, it's already costing me less per year of ownership than every TCR I've owned. It will also ride better, look better, is as light and fast and moves without sounds. It's also built for me, and not the masses. Plus I'll never need to throw it away. You can check out my review HERE.

So when a new bike day is approaching, do yourself a favour, investigate the custom option, look at steel or titanium and I'm sure you'll find that it makes sense. 'Buy well Michael', I should have done it sooner, thanks Nan.

My only issue is that James now says that I 'need' a new gravel bike... I guess it's "buy well twice'.

Note - This is not a paid piece and these thoughts are my own.