Dario Pegoretti has long been a formidable presence in the world of Italian frame builders. He acquired his expertise from legendary Gino Milani whose work was a major influence on every high-end framebuilder of the time. Since 1987 Pegoretti has honoured the Milani legacy by going beyond the limitations of standard tubing to build unique, world-class frames. From 1991 to 1997, Pegoretti built frames exclusively for pro road teams. Put it like this – think of any major rider of the 1990’s and you can guess that they rode Pegoretti frames, decaled otherwise.

Pegoretti bikes have been seen intermittently in the UK over the years but it is only recently that Mosquito Bikes have been able to sell the frames with a regular supply.
In February Dario invited the Mosquito trio of Phil, Roger and Adrian out to Italy to discuss frame building, Italian food and wine and a little bit of business!

“We arrived to a cold and snowy Caldonazzo in the Italian Dolomites from where Dario picked us up and whisked us (in true Italian driving style) to his workshop. For any road bike aficionado the Pegoretti shop would prove a real source of excitement. Frames from over the years cluttered every corner; frame building equipment took centre stage whilst pictures and diagrams on the wall proved a real source of fascination.

Dario builds mostly in steel (80% of his output) with a small range of lightweight aluminium frames making up the balance. The legendary Marcelo frame is built using Pegoretti specified Columbus tubing. Dario places great emphasis on stiffness and comfort in a frame and is dismissive of the current trend to ultra-lightweight frames. Anyone who has ridden a Marcelo will appreciate his dedication to comfort and stiffness, those lucky enough to have ridden one will tell you that you will go a long way to find a better handling frame.

Pegoretti have a reputation for innovative and quality paint schemes. Dario is responsible for the designs but it is Zoran who provides the quality, talking to him it was obvious that he takes great pride in his craft. These are no mass produced and impersonal frames; Dario and Zoran have handled each.

We spent two days with Dario, Pietro and Zoran (the entire workforce). We drank good wine (and dodgy Grappa) with them, we talked politics and music and we listened in as the three of them discussed how they would build a new set of speakers for the workshop. We came away with a lasting impression of a group of guys working together at something they are passionate about and have a love for.

They are enjoying life and aren’t going to be rushed; I will never forget a protracted lunch sitting round the table in the kitchen, drinking wine and listening to the three of them gently barrack one another whist surrounded by the paraphernalia of the bike building world. In these days of business targets and constant pressure in the bike trade, it made a real change.
We eventually did discuss a bit of business. Dario simply saying that he would like Mosquito to become the exclusive importers of Pegoretti frames into the UK, as you can imagine it took a long series of intensive meetings for us to come to a decision on that one!!”

The entire Pegoretti range can be seen at www.mosquito-bikes.co.uk or at Mosquito Bikes, 123 Essex Road, Islington. 020 7226 8765