Pegoretti Custom

"Impeccable racing credentials. Uncompromised handling. Flabbergasting welds."

Bicycling Magazine, May 2000

Who is Pegoretti?

Dario Pegoretti may be the most famous framesmith you've never heard of - a "framebuilder of trust," who's sought out by pro racers to build frames that are then painted and stickered to match their sponsors. It's rumored Pegoretti built all of Miguel Indurain's Tour winning bikes, plus those ridden by Jan Ullrich, Pedro Delgado, Abraham Olano and others. 

Hallmarks

TIG welds are so smooth and blended, the junctions look like dangerously small fillet-brazed joints. With enormous, 18 mm seatstays and oversize chainstays, the Pegoretti has the stoutest rear end we've seen in steel, but the stays spare your backside from road shock and channel power between the bottom bracket and rear hub with uncompromised efficiency. Slightly teardropped top and down tubes work magic, with good tensional stiffness and a subtle ride. 

Ride Quality

This is steel done right - smooth over the road, stiff under power, razor-sharp in corners. The claimed 4 pound frame weight (57cm) isn't even close to light, but you'd never realize it by the way the bike handles and climbs. Screw the weight - buy this frame because it handles, because it's smooth, because it's beautiful. 

Why it's a bargain

Friends will think you're a nut for saying the frame is a steal, but you can't find this craftsmanship, focused performance and clandestine pro racer endorsement for twice the price.

Caveat

The seat angles tend toward the slack end (72 degrees for our 59 cm test bike).

This page was last edited on 03/27/2009