One of the great joys for any bike mechanic is to be able to spec, source and build a new bike from scratch. I've done this on countless occasions but I wanted to share my latest one with you.
If you've never heard of him, Dario Pegoretti was one of the great bike builders. He specialised in steel road frames and was licensed by the likes of Pinarello to build race bikes for their team in the 1970's and 80's. His bikes were ridden by such greats as Indurain, Pantani and Cipollini and I was fortunate enough to order a custom made Mxxxxxxo a couple of years back.
I specced the bike with Dario's trademark 'Ciavate' paint scheme. In essence you have no say in what colour or pattern he'll paint it - whatever mood he's was in the day your frame came up for painting is what you got - no complaints, no refunds. Mine came in a rather fetching red, which I was very happy with as everyone knows red bikes are faster.
For the component I had to go Italian... Campagnolo for the groupset and wheels, Fizik for the saddle, 3T for the bars and stem and Michelin for the tyres. Ok, a bit of French in there but the majority of the bike is Italian.
The build was nice and easy. A threaded bottom bracket (albeit Italian) and external cabling makes for a happy mechanic.
Dario passed away in August 2018 but the brand lives on (https://dariopegoretti.com) If you ever find yourself in the market for a custom steel or stainless steel frameset and have the patience to wait then please look them up... the work is as good as it gets.
