Dario Pegoretti: fatto a mano!

The artisan...

Where framebuilding equals art the cycling world can look and marvel at Dario Pegoretti. He was well schooled in the seventies learning framebuilding from none other than the great Luigino Milani. He actually continue building in the Milani shop in Verona until 1999.

his art...

During the nineties pro teams sought out Pegoretti for his functional frames and badged them under different makes. His star value was already high. Roche, Indurain, Tafi and Boonen are just some of the stars that had the honor of riding his bikes.

What is remarkable is that there is currently a wait time of 2 years for his custom beauties. Only about 600 frames are made per year with Pegoretti & his staff of two hand painting each to a work of art. In May 2007, Pergoretti was diagnose with Lymphoma. And not one to stop what he love to do he set out to create art with his beautiful frames. Columbus steel tubing is his material. Working through his cancer treatment & side effects he put his experience graphically on his frames. It was so well received that in 2008 in Portland Oregon, he was awarded the North American Handmade Bicycle Frame Builder of the year.

At the 2007 Tour de France, Tom Boonen rode a Pegoretti Marcello badged under Specialized to win two stages and the coveted green jersey. Which goes to show that his bikes are still sought after and won on. And you gotta love the way that these frames are lovingly & meticulously hand built. And the names are catchy and enduring; Responsorium Ciavete,(I don't give a f*@k!), Big Leg Mama (from a Frank Zappa song), Marcelo, Love #3, Duende, Luigino, Wild Women don't get the blues & 8:30 (aluminum).

His inspiration... he listens to some of his favorite's; Pink Floyd, John Coltrane and Ravel's Bolero. Dario Pegoretti is a self made artistic scribe of the bike. A unique innovator. His frame's are made for a lifetime. Come to think of it... any of his stunning frame's I wouldn't mind owning!

the rider...

...and the steel!