Who is building in the spirit of Dario?

[Ryun]

I'd say Bixxis/ Doriano DeRosa
round tubes
large chainstays
Just doesn't have the artistic paint

[jtbadge]

Hate 'em, or love 'em... Speedvagen.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

In fairness I used to have the same silly, bad take on it. I thought the head tubes were goofy and the tube shaping just weirdly ostentatious and the names totally over the top. It's just steel right?

Then I rode one and realized what kind of idiot I'd been.

"Show me a man who hasn't changed his mind, and I will show you a man who hasn't got one."

(Forget who, but semi-famous and it has stuck with me.)

I would have been on the Pegoretti bus if I'd had the means--if only to try and see what the fuss is about.

My sense of Dario's work though is that he had an almost unequaled chance to build a lot of bikes for pros, sometimes in a hurry, and got to a point where he just knew where stuff should go for balance, usability responsiveness. The aesthetics were an overlay--underneath they were machines for going fast, matched to individual riders who asked him 'I want a bike that feels like X--or does Y well' or 'can you tweak this I want a little more Z when I'm descending'--whatever the request. And he could translate that into a finite thing--a tool for racing.

[82Picchio]

Originally Posted by martl

Festka, Sarto, Zullo...

Zullo pre-dates Dario. If the styles are similar, then Dario built in Zullo's style.

[82Picchio]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

Landshark is the new Pegoretti.

Stop it. Land Shark has been around forever. Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro on a Shark. Slawta paint jobs were crazy before Dario ever picked up a paint brush or a paint gun.

[colker]

Originally Posted by Ryun

I'd say Bixxis/ Doriano DeRosa
round tubes
large chainstays
Just doesn't have the artistic paint

This^

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

Landshark is the new Pegoretti.

I was going to suggest Landshark in my original post, but to me it seems that after he stopped building steel frames, the colorful finishes stopped, too.



I also have to agree with the other mentions for the Speedvagen frames, Llewellyn, and the recently posted Mercian.

[Rudy]

Originally Posted by thunderworks

IMO, Dario's work was artful and beautiful (most of the time at least), but I really don't think he pushed any functional design boundaries or material boundaries. He positioned himself as an artist whose medium was bike frames. I suspect he had a really good grasp of geometry, but don't know that from personal experience. I've never ridden one of his bikes.

I think there are probably numerous builders who work similarly - some well known, some not - Baum, Vanilla, Dave Anderson, Kirk come to mind. In Des Moines, Ia, there a guy who has been building for over 40 years that most bikies have never heard of - Jeff Bock. I think his work aesthetically is the best traditional, lugged steel bike work ever . . . But practically no one knows him.

To answer the op's question, I think there are lots of really (really!) good builders for bike enthusiasts.

Jeffrey Bock Custom Cycles is located in Ames, IA. Follow on FB. Outstanding framebuilding and paint. An Ephgrave resto is currently featured.

[mhespenheide]

English and Engin, by my vote -- in terms of single builders who push the boundary.

[martl]

Originally Posted by 82Picchio

Zullo pre-dates Dario. If the styles are similar, then Dario built in Zullo's style.

true but it wasn't the question who came first. Zullo built very fine, but quite conventional bikes for a long time. His work recently reminds me of Dario because he sticks to steel and does nice graphical paintjobs.

[classtimesailer]

Our planned trip to Italy included a made for me Pegoretti in consultation with Dario. Alas, an emergency appeared and burned those earmarked dollars. If we plan a similar trip in the future, I think I visit Cinelli and get the XCR. The spirit is Italian. No?

[colker]

The correct answer is... no one!
Dario Pegoretti was unique. There are great frame builders out there. They all have a bicycle in common... but that´s all.
Buy buy buy.
This thread is obscene; it´s one year of the passing of an original master and great human being w/ many friends in this site.

[scottcw2]

Originally Posted by colker

This thread is obscene; it´s one year of the passing of an original master and great human being w/ many friends in this site.

How is this thread obscene? I admire Dario’s talents and I am looking for recommendations of similar talents.