I know the saddle and bar tape don't keep to my rules currently, but as I say I'm trying to work out what colouring works best... never has a bike foxed me so much on what should be such a simple decision!

Whilst I want to try purple tape, there's a good chance both the saddle and bar tape will end up being grey - I plan to keep the S-Works Toupe (I like it, nice saddle) and get some grey leather paint to sort that. For now the bar tape will probably go back to the dark silver Fizik stuff.

The Ambrosios are solid as a rock out of the saddle, they just don't move. Get them built by a decent wheel builder and there's no reason that they'll be as laterally stiff as anything out there.

You could go for a Baum track without going as over the top as Todd, my friend Neil had one built up with some seriously beefy chainstays, they look awesome and would be an awesome addition to the stable

Neil's is pretty much the same as Todd's.

It's Todd's wheels that really make it a $$$ proposition.

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Baum Ristretto, Baum Mondrian Corretto & the '89 Merckx! | "If you could eat it in one sitting, hold your line." | twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis

Well, that and the custom bar/stem combo.

Todd's is less 'OTT' and more 'attention to detail', and that's what really matters when these frames are as stunning as they are - which is exactly why I want to get the saddle and tape right on this one.

After four coats of Angelus Brand leather acrylic paint:



Just need to lose the Specialized logo now...

Have you ridden it yet? We're still waiting for a ride report

I had the pleasure of taking Darren Baum's Corretto for a spin last week. I was quite lost for words after finished riding it. It was like no metal bike I had ever ridden before. The power transfer felt like a carbon bike. It's almost as if Darren is a modern-day alchemist.

It's getting ridden almost daily at the moment! I should sort a ride report though, you're right.

Very quick snap from today with the new saddle colour:



Still tempted to try purple bar tape...

With the way Darren builds the Ristretto it's a very similar ride to my Corretto, and I had a conversation with Darren about exactly that a week or so ago - he says the same about his Ristretto Vs his Corretto.

To be honest the biggest differences between my two Baums are the integrated seatpost, the colour and the weight!

I see that you are ditching SRAM Red and looking to swap to Campag. I'm rather surprised as on your website you were (initially) very impressed with the new SRAM Red.

My initial impressions haven't changed - new SRAM Red really is very good. There's a number of factors at play here, and it should be known that the main driver for the Campag change on this bike is actually driven by my other Baum. Allow me to (try to) explain...

The biggest 'issue' (although it's a lovely 'issue' to have) is that this Ristretto is as near as damn it every bit as good as my Corretto. This poses a challenge in as much as my Corretto was always meant to be my ultimate dream bike, and I now feel like that 'needs work' to elevate it back up to that position. Being built for integrated electronics leads me to believe that what is needed to make that bike feel truly special again is SR EPS (and carries the secondary benefit of freeing up my Di2 for a K-Edge Ki2 conversion for my MTB). But not yet - I don't have the money to do it.

Switching to EPS on my Corretto also means this Ristretto needs to run Campag so that wheel swaps aren't an issue, hence the plan to switch. In order to differentiate the bikes it'll probably be full Chorus or a Chorus/Record mix that I run on this.

The other factors? Frankly, I'm feeling a bit bored with SRAM Red - I've run it on my second bike for the last 3 or 4 years and whilst the new version is very good I feel like I need to try something else. DA9000 is tempting, but that carries the wheel swap issue, and Campag is better looking!

Finally, the 'hand on heart' honest bit: I am getting some noise that I can't eliminate with the new SRAM Red (although not the chain and cassette noise that you used to get with 'old' Red). Front mech setup is perfect, and I believe the rear mech setup to be too. Pedals have been serviced, wheels swapped and it happens seated and standing. I can't replicate the noise on a workstand to try and dial it out either so it seems to be something that's based on power going through the drivetrain (and it's a regular, recurrent noise so I'm certain it is the drivetrain). The stupid thing is the noises I'm getting are pathetic, barely audible noises, but they're really doing my head in when I hear them!

Boredom and noise aside, I'm pretty decided on the change anyway - it's really the desire for EPS on my Corretto that's the main driver.

Love the saddle Rich, that really is a job well done.

And, well, you know how I feel about Campag

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Baum Ristretto, Baum Mondrian Corretto & the '89 Merckx! | "If you could eat it in one sitting, hold your line." | twitter.com/Tinea_Pedis

Like what you've done with the saddle. I want to do the same with a Toupe Expert for my next build but in a light tan. Can you tell me how you applied the four coats?

I used a paintbrush.

It's rubbing off though so I'm back on the Flite for now.

Apparently you can get some stuff to better prepare the surface (I cleaned it up with white spirit) and some that might help seal the finish a bit better, but I've decided I don't like it anyway so I'm going to clean it off.

Thanks for the prompt reply, appreciated.

That's what I'm here for Rich!