Pegoretti frame catalog

Unable to find an acceptable replacement for the Reynolds Ouzo Pro, Dario Pegoretti designed his own fork.  The result is the Falz (sickle in the Italian dialect that Dario speaks).  "Falz" is representative of the shape of the new fork.   Dario has always found the aesthetics of tradional curved forks more to his taste than the straight bladed forks so common today.  His design starts with the traditional arc of the fork blades and continues with an updated flat-crown design.

Flat-crown forks give a little more compliant ride than sloping crowns as the fork legs are slightly longer allowing for better damping.  The crown also offers increased clearance for larger tires.  25 or even 28mm tires will easily fit the Falz.  The appearance of the massive flat-crown on the Falz fits well with oversized tubes whether tig-welded or lugged. 

To match the stiffness of oversized tubing, the fork must have a high degree of lateral stiffness.  This is something Dario has found lacking in severl of the forks he has examined over the last few years.The Falz was designed with more lateral stiffness than virtually any other fork while retaining the compliance derived from the flat-crown design.  This makes it the perfect match for the ride his steel frames are noted  for. One feature which has become increasingly common in the battle for lightness is the loss of a machinable fork crown. 

The Falz has an aluminum cap on the crown which allows for precision machining for alignment of the headset crown race. Some other forks use carbon for this which cannot be machined as precisely and thus can reduce the precision and longevity of the headset. Other features include carbon fork tips and 1-1/8” carbon steerer in an extra-long length to allow use on the largest frames.

The appearance of the Falze has caused a bit of grumbling.  Standing alone, it's square-shaped crown and slowly tapered, flat sided legs are unique and startling.  Once you stick it in a D11 the large diameter of head tube and headset take the edge off and result in an attractive statement in which every part benefits aesthetically from the effect of the whole.  Dario IS the master.

Once you get the Falz on the road it is clear that Dario has hit a home run.  The ride is well controlled and smooth under every circumstance.  It integrates perfectly with Dario's frames.  Our riders have chosen it as among the best forks for high speed and descending on the market.

The Falz fork serves to further complete and enhance Dario's offerings.  Good looking and functional, it is well mannered and comfortable and meets the most exacting standards for a performance

"Because even intellectuals fall in love at least three times in their lifetimes. Our 52cm custom (53.5 cm top tube, 50cm seat tube and 100mm head tube) is probably the last new Love #3 we will be seeing, if you are looking for an alloy Pegoretti, snap it up."

Replacing the 8:30 AM (another name inspried by a Zappa tune) in 2006, Pegoretti's Love #3 is an scandium rendering of the Marcelo. Being aluminium, Dario considers the Love #3 to be a mercenary frameset of sorts -- it's a "pure race bike" that "50% of the people want, and 70% of them don't need." The oversized chainstays (30mm) and large diameter main tubes of Columbus XLR8 are custom drawn to Dario's specifications. The tubes are relatively thick-walled, in deference to Dario's concern with the ride quality and longevity of his frames rather than with a mindless quest to shave grams (though, at 1225g in the 54cm frame, we were able to break the UCI's weight limit without breaking a sweat). As usual, the attention to detail is mind blowing. .

Beautiful as it is, the Love #3 is well suited for hard riding and racing. Owners report that, unlike any other alloy frame they have known, the Love #3 has a Marcelo-like ride: smooth, comfortable, predictable on descents and very fast. All exactly what you would expect in a race specific frame.

From his super-human welds and museum quality finish to the frame's aggressive stance everything is a bespoke reflection of the artist's vision. The Love #3 features a unique removable derailleur hanger bolted to oversized, hooded alloy dropouts. It uses an Italian threaded bottom bracket, a 30.0 seatpost and a standard 1 1/8" headset. The Love #3 comes with a Falz fork and is available by special order, only. This means a couple of things: first, expect delivery to take at least 7 to nine months and, second, the odds of one just "showing up" in your size are as near to zero as doesn't matter. If you have made the very sensible decision to own a Love #3 (or any Pegoretti other than a Marcelo or Duende), then place the order or plan on doing without.

Scandium (in this case) is Columbus' superb aluminium alloyed with zinc and magnesium, then "doped" with scandium and zirconium. This improves its weldability and its resistance to heat-induced fatigue. This results in a longer-lived frame since it minimizes the impact of the welding heat on the material. Columbus' XLR8R scandium allows Pegoretti to shave substantial weight: a size 54cm frame will come in at 1225g. Not exactly ethereal, but reasonably light. Columbus also went to great lengths to maximize XLR8R's vibration damping when compared to other aluminum alloys.

Should you come to the reasonable decision to own a Pegoretti, please allow the enthusiasts at Lakeside Bicycles to offer your their assistance. Our hours are Pacific Time 10-7 M-F, 10-6 Sat, 12-5 Sun, you can e-mail us at info@lakeside-bikes.com or, if you would like to learn much, much more about Dario Pegoretti and his frames, just click this link.

An album by the Argentine musician Dino Saluzzi inspired the name of this stainless-steel bicycle. After a lengthy collaboration with Columbus, Dario began production of the Responsorium.  Handcrafted from custom drawn Columbus stainless XCr tubesets, the first thing you will notice is the comfort of the ride.  XCr is 20% stronger than Columbus Niobium Spirit which means that Dario can use a thinner walled tube with more substantial butting.  Coupled with 16mm chainstays (2mm smaller than the Marcelo) the Responsorium is the lightest (100g less than the Marcelo) and most comfortable frame in the Pegoretti line.

The 55cm frame comes in at a respectable 1678g and the Falz fork at 425g.  Each frame comes with a Falz fork and Chris King D11 headset.  The Responsorium takes a 31.6 mm seatpost and a 32mm front derailleur clamp.  As with all Pegorettis it has an Italian threaded bottom bracket.  Because XCr is being run exclusively for Pegoretti it will remain in short supply, if you can't find what you are looking for in existing inventories, we suggest you order now.  Lead times are over two years and there is little or no chance your dream frame will "just show up".

 The Responsorium is the only Pegoretti with a weight limit, if you are over 180 lb or plan on becoming over 180 lb, you are out of luck.   The Responsorium uses a 31.6 mm seatpost, a 31.7 front derailleur and Chris King D11 headset. They come with a FALZ fork painted to match the base frame color.

Should you come to the reasonable decision to own a Pegoretti, please allow the enthusiasts at Lakeside Bicycles to offer your their assistance. Our hours are Pacific Time 10-7 M-F, 10-6 Sat, 12-5 Sun, you can e-mail us at info@lakeside-bikes.com or, if you would like to learn much, much more about Dario Pegoretti and his frames, just click this link.

Should you come to the reasonable decision to own a Pegoretti, please allow the enthusiasts at Lakeside Bicycles to offer your their assistance. Our hours are Pacific Time 10-7 M-F, 10-6 Sat, 12-5 Sun, you can e-mail us at info@lakeside-bikes.com or, if you would like to learn much, much more about Dario Pegoretti and his frames, just click this link.

Named for the Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention song (appears on the 'B' side of the CD release of "Absolutely Free") and for Dario's mother, Big Leg Emma is based on the Marcello with the addition of oversized tubes (22mm chainstays vs. the Marcello's 18mm) and internal re-enforcing gussets.  It is, by far, the stiffest steel frame in Dario's stable and is designed for Clydesdales or over-quadded crit specialists.  If you need a 60 or 62cm frame, it is probably your baby.  

After you hear it described, the design elements of the Big Leg Emma are straight forward: One, that wider diameter tubes are less prone to flexing under load. Two, the down tube and the chainstays directly effect bottom bracket deflection.  It is all pretty obvious until you add a sprinkle of Pegoretti genius. 

To get there Dario took a page out of Falerio Masi's book (he used a similar technique to stiffen the chainstays of track bikes during the 70's) and added gussets (stiffeners) to the oversized downtube.  Prior to welding up the frame, Dario laser cuts several small grooves into either side of the downtube.  He then brazes in horizontal anti-flex plates and finishes it off by brazing ornamental covers over the incisions. At the end of the day Dario achieves his goal of an uncompromisingly stiff race frame without sacrificing vertical compliance or aesthetics.

The Big Leg Emma is available as a frameset with a Falz fork.  As with all of Dario's frames except the Marcelo and the Duende, Big Leg Emma is available in all the standard, Pegoretti sizes or as a custom and (at no additional cost except for Ciaveta) in any of Dario's current palet of finishes.    We ask for a full deposit in return for which I will gently annoy the people at Gita on a weekly basis until your baby arrives.  I have no Idea how long it is going to take to get here (18 to 30 months is a guess and probably wrong) but I guarantee it will be worth the wait. The Big leg emma uses a 31.6 mm seatpost, a 31.7 mm front derailleur and a Chris King D11 headset. It comes with a FALZ fork painted to match the frame base color.

Should you come to the reasonable decision to own a Pegoretti, please allow the enthusiasts at Lakeside Bicycles to offer your their assistance. Our hours are Pacific Time 10-7 M-F, 10-6 Sat, 12-5 Sun, you can e-mail us at info@lakeside-bikes.com or, if you would like to learn much, much more about Dario Pegoretti and his frames, just click this link.

Currently in stock in 56cm Venetian Stucco, 57cm Fiorellin, and 58cm Faema as seen in the images above.

Named after a Nick Drake song as covered by the jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, Day Is Done is the most recent addition to Dario Pegoretti's lexicon of steel framesets.

Day Is Done was developed as a performance lugged  frame using classic construction and the benefits of oversized tubing.  The headtube is 7 mm shorter than a tig-welded frame.  A “ring” can be added to the upper lug to increase the height if requested.

The Columbus Spirit Niobium tubing is based on the tubeset designed for the Marcelo with modifications to optimize it for lugged construction..  The Cadnezia oversized lugset was developed in a collaboration between Dario and Darrell McCulloch of Llewellyn Bikes in Australia.  The rear dropout attachment is amended with a hollow tube through the stays offering an increased surface for brazing and providing a striking  visual effect.  The brazed tube also increases lateral rigidity of the chainstay at the critical juncture with the dropout.

Building lugged frames is a more gentle and time consuming process that TIG welding.  In addition to cutting and milling, each tube must be fitted to a hand tapered lug and then, patiently silver brazed together at relatively low (600^o C to 900^o C) temperatures.  Due to the low temperatures and reenforcing of the lugs, this process results in an extremely strong and readily repairable frame.  In the hands of a superior builder working without time constraints, lugged steel represent the pinnacle of bicycle frame esthetics.

“There is a reason for the “holes” in the stays at the dropouts. The small cylinders that are brazed into the stays give more surface area to braze the dropout. Since Dario likes to use non-tapering stays, he can’t use conventional dropouts as there wouldn’t be enough contact area. This is an alternative to using the “hooded” dropouts he uses on the Marcelo and Responsorium that he feels fits better with a lugged frame." -Nelson Frazier, Gita Sporting Goods

Except for the three frames shown above, the Day Is Done is available only by special order with either a Falz carbon or a steel fork at no additional cost. 

Should you come to the reasonable decision to own a Pegoretti, please allow the enthusiasts at Lakeside Bicycles to offer your their assistance. We can be reached by phone at (503)699-8665, our hours are Pacific Time 10-7 M-F, 10-6 Sat, 12-5 Sun, you can e-mail us at info@lakeside-bikes.com or, if you would like to learn much, much more about Dario Pegoretti and his frames, just click this link.