CALDONAZZO, Italy (BRAIN) — An Italian cycling site, cyclinside.it, is reporting that famed framebuilder Dario Pegoretti died Thursday following a heart attack.
Pegoretti's U.S. distributor, Gita, confirmed his passing.
“Dario was my best friend," said Giorgio Andretta, the founder and CEO of Gita. "He was family to all of us at Gita and a brother to me. I am shocked and saddened by his passing. Please keep his family in your prayers.”
Pegoretti was 62. He was known for his craftsmanship and his custom paint jobs and built frames for champion racers as well as collectors. He was one of the first upscale custom builders to use TIG welding regularly. He was named "Framebuilder of the Year" at the 2008 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.
After receiving the NAHBS award, Pegoretti said, “It is an extreme honor to be recognized in this way. It is my hope that the frames I make are used on the roads and not hung as art on the wall.”
Last year, Silca produced a line of custom Pegoretti-painted Super Pista pumps.
"Aside from his mastery of framebuilding, Dario is a remarkable artist and often hand paints his frames using custom designs that he creates himself. He's built and painted bikes for some of the sport's greatest athletes and his frames and anything he paints are sought after by collectors around the world," the company said.
