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In this week’s Bikes of the Bunch column, CyclingTips reader Ascanio (who wished not to be named in full) shares the story of their beautiful titanium Baum Corretto road bike, and what the bike means to them. and their Italian heritage.
I am writing this at the Alpini museum and bar, watching a procession of people in ceremonial costume, over the old bridge of Bassano del Grappa.
This is the place my family left after WWII. Monte Grappa is a sacred place for many, including me. However, I only discovered it when I came here on a cycling trip with my dad. We stocked up on polenta, ate Asiago cheese to recover, drank coffee in tiny bars, traded jokes in our old dialect, and cycled through heavy rain. I crashed after the brakes on my rental bike failed and I still have the scars.
I brought my Baum Orbis with me on the next trip. It was an all-rounder: could sprint, travel 250 km and ride nails. I struggled against 26% of notes in straight speed (53/39), in a relatively relaxed position on a bike that I have never weighed (but probably weighed over 7kg). I did my best to destroy myself on this bike, riding every day, in all conditions, with every group, every climb. The bike never failed me but my buddy’s brakes did so while he was in front of me on a downhill, and I ended up with a broken femur.
Sitting on the sofa, dreaming of the mountains, I started to design a bike that belonged to Bassano del Grappa and that would be made by Baum. The colors would pay homage to the Alpini soldiers. The name would be Frankie, after my great-grandfather Franceso, a very tall guy who was part of the Grenadiers special division of the army.
The bike had to climb well. After spending six hours on the trainer in Geelong, trying five saddles, adjusting the crampons for over an hour – talking about everything from artificial intelligence and fasting to Cadel Evans’ fixie-based training – Darren [Baum] and I opted for a design that basically looked like my Orbis, but assuming I would be mostly on grades> 10%. The gear would assume I had to increase grades> 20% after riding too much… or drinking too much grappa.
The group would be Campagnolo, of course, given that the company was created and remains here (among others: Castelli, Sportful, Selle Italia, Wilier, SiDi, Gaerne, Basso, Battaglin and many more). I was tempted to make it a “super light” climbing bike by equipping it with THM / Lightweight / Extralite parts, reducing maybe 500 grams. However, I do know what it’s like to be stuck in a European country town: there are no disc brake pads with special compounds, mechanics to reset your SRAM Red, or glue for your. singles. I also break stuff. I needed rims, tuners and doubles. Simple.
As it turns out, Darren Baum named his titanium rim-brake bike the Corretto, from a range of coffee-inspired names (Ristretto, Cubano, and Romano). The Bassanese drink a lot, you see: they take an Aperol spritz as soon as the bar stops serving cappuccino at 10:30 am (at the same seat). They follow up with Prosecco (also from here) before lunch, Lugano (white wine) during lunch, a beer in the afternoon and – when you have to complete that last block of work of the day – you take a corretto coffee. That is to say, coffee “corrected” with grappa. Usually you take a local (Nardini / Poli) or homemade grappa and toss it in the cafe. However, you can also take the grappa before, after, next to or to wash the cup.
End a ride in Corretto, with a corretto, in Bassano: perfetto.
To build
Framework: Baum Corretto Titanium
Fork: Enve 2.0 50mm
Helmet : Chris King 1 1/8 Black SV
Pair of wheels: Campagnolo Bora OMC 33
Controllers: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Crankset: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Lower support: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Front derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Rear derailleur: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Cassette: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed 11-34
Chain: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Brakes: Campagnolo Super Record 12 speed
Tires: Pirelli P Zero TLR SL 26mm
Handlebar: 3T Superleggera Team Stealth 42cm
Stem: 3T ARX 2 Team 120mm 31.8 6 degree
Saddle stem : Enve offset 5mm
Cage : King Ti
Bar tape: Silca Nastro Piloti Black
Saddle: Prologo Zero ii No
Pedals: Speedplay titanium
Gallery
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