Pegoretti Cicli Great Googoolee Moogoolee

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at International Bike

Favorite Ride:
Last one...next one....

Bike Setup:
Shimano Ultegra
Bontrager Race Xlites
Hutchinson carbon comp tires
Dura-ace pedals

Summary:
My first high end road bike...I'm in heaven. Responsive, fast, handles like a dream. I'm a fairly big rider 6'4" 210 and I like to push as hard as I can. It just says go ahead. After lots of homework and recommendations from riders I respect, I chose this bike for the steel frame with its oversize tubing, a great big guy bike. It is so solid and a truly beautiful work of art in its welds and paint job. Dario is an artist in every sense of the word. It is fast, light, and really responsive. Heaven as Duke Ellington would say.

Strengths:
Response, feel, handling, stiffness, looks...the whole banana.

Weaknesses:
Don't know enough yet about the headset issue that one reviewer mentioned. Can't say I know of any weaknesses other than fear of it breaking some day!!

Similar Products Used:
Fuji finest
Lemond alpe d'huez
Specialized Langster

Price Paid:  $1800.00 at International Bike

Favorite Ride:
Last one...next one....

Bike Setup:
Shimano Ultegra
Bontrager Race Xlites
Hutchinson carbon comp tires
Dura-ace pedals

Summary:
My first high end road bike...I'm in heaven. Responsive, fast, handles like a dream. I'm a fairly big rider 6'4" 210 and I like to push as hard as I can. It just says go ahead. After lots of homework and recommendations from riders I respect, I chose this bike for the steel frame with its oversize tubing, a great big guy bike. It is so solid and a truly beautiful work of art in its welds and paint job. Dario is an artist in every sense of the word. It is fast, light, and really responsive. Heaven as Duke Ellington would say.

Strengths:
Response, feel, handling, stiffness, looks...the whole banana.

Weaknesses:
Don't know enough yet about the headset issue that one reviewer mentioned. Can't say I know of any weaknesses other than fear of it breaking some day!!

Similar Products Used:
Fuji finest
Lemond alpe d'huez
Specialized Langster

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Competitive/Alberto'

Favorite Ride:
Lake Michigan Shorelin

Bike Setup:
- Campy Record 10 triple, 11-21 cassette
- Campy Eurus Wheels, Vittoria Open Corsa Tires
- Deda Black Magic all carbon fork
- WR Composite Carbon Seat Post
- Selle Italia Prolink Trans Am Gelflow Saddle
- Ritchey WCS Bar and Salsa Stem

Summary:
I echo everything Brad S. the last reviewer said. A simply superb, awesome bike. I own a stable of fine rides, but if I had to pick just one, this would be it. Stable, fast, comfortable, and with a fit and finish that is mind-boggling. And, since it was on 'close out' (since the US distributor decided not to bring it in for 2003, even though Pegoretti is still building this bike) I have to remeber to wipe that stupid grin off my face when I finish riding!

Strengths:
"Steel Ride" but with the oversize EOM 16.5 tubeset makes it the stiffest steel frame I have ever owned or tried. Out of the saddle it digs in like no tomorrow, but when you hit a pothole, it reacts like steel and doesn't beat you up at all. Stable, and on a long drop, it goes down like a brick on butter, but then climbs remarkably well afterwards. Handling is without vice, and fast without being twitchy. The paint scheme is almost like viewing a bit of modern art, I like it, some may not, but clearly appropriate for this work of art.

Weaknesses:
None, other than you must now special order it through a dealer if you want one.

Similar Products Used:
Serotta CSi, Fondriest Status Carb, Pegoretti Luigino

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Tiramisu Import (www

Bike Setup:
Custom geometry and custom paint job (fork painted to match frame also) (sourced from Tiramisu in th

Summary:
Awesome, awesome frameset. This bike is most definitely the nicest machine I have ever ridden, quality-wise, ride-wise, handling-wise, and looks/craftsmanship-wise. The oversize steel tubes really add some stiffness to the bike, so much so that it's hard to ride slow. It begs me to get out of the saddle and pound on the cranks, as the rear triangle doesn't flex one bit, and the front triangle is super solid when out of the saddle and yanking on the bars.

At the same time, this frameset provides a remarkedly good ride considering it's oversize tubes, the Deda all-carbon Black Magic fork helps a lot w/ that I am sure, as does the thin-walled Dedeccia EOM 16.5 tubeset.

This bike is so stable, that descending in the Rocky Mountains near Boulder, CO at over 50 mph I can remove my hands from the bar no problem, bike stays rock solid and straight (not many bikes I have ridden before that I feel confident enough to do that!). But at the same time the bike responds when you want it to. I can descend fast, steep switchbacks faster on this bike than any other I have ever ridden (and I have owned quite a few bikes in my riding career). Dario's geometry (and the weight balance this geometry brings) really makes this bike a great climber and descender, and the welds are really neat and tidy. The paint job is really an eye catcher also.

This is a modern version of a steel race frame, but w/ old world Italian craftsmanship. The little details make this frame so much better than a mass-produced bike. Pegoretti is basically still a two man operation w/ Dario doing the welding and his brother Gianni running the business end of things. You can tell that the Pegoretti brothers take pride in what they build. The painting is contracted out, but done in Italy, to a much higher standard than I have seen come out of Italy in the past.

I highly recommend this frame for someone who isn't a weight weenie, but is looking for a robust and solid modern steel frame that enjoys riding fast, but wants old world craftsmanship and attention to detail not found on most current "modern" frames and is willing to pay for that quality. I would compare this frame to a Richard Sachs in terms of quality, details, and craftsmanship, but on steriods in terms of looks, drivetrain stiffness, and handling.

Strengths:
geometry, handling, solid feel, stiff drivetrain, paint job, great welds, Deda Black Magic fork, WR Compositi post.

Basically this is a frame I will NEVER sell. I will ride this bike until it breaks, which will hopefully be 30,000 + miles, which would be good for such a light and thin tubeset as EOM 16.5

Weaknesses:
Cane Creek Zero stack headset (which is the headset that will work w/ this frame) - I like the internal headset (NOT integrated, the internal headset uses small cups that press into the oversized headtube, not bearings that rest directly on the frame) design, as it allows Dario Pegoretti to use an oversized headtube, which in turn allows more welding surface area for the very large top and down tubes. However, Cane Creek headsets suck (bind, don't adjust perfectly). A bike this good should be using the new Chris King Perdido internal headset, which is very similar to the Cane Creek Zero stack headset in design, but way better in quality. I have pointed this out to Dario and hopefully he will offer the King Perdido headset as an option in the future.

Maybe weight if that is important to you. These aren't what I would call "featherweight" frames, even for steel, but the robustness and solidness of the frame while descending and sprinting more than makes up for the extra 0.5 lb this frame gives up towards a lighter steel frame. However, this aren't pigs either, they are in my opinion competively light, especially for someone my size (6'3" and 166 lbs)

Cost - these don't come che

Similar Products Used:
Bianchi CDI, LeMond Zurich, Torelli Alu Wing, TEC Mercury, Torelli Stilleto, Merckx Team SC

Price Paid:  $2095.00 at Get Outside Ridgewoo

Favorite Ride:
Harriman NY State Park to West Point

Bike Setup:
Full Chorus, Easton carbon bar, look pedals

Summary:
Light, responsive, supple ride. Absorbs road vibration and climbs and sprints extrmely well. Handles better than any bike I've ridden. Good for tight crits and the long haul

Strengths:
Looks cool and handles even better than it looks...with the unparalleled feel of steel.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Colnago, Pinarello