Frame of Mind

Hidden away in a small workshop in the hills just outside Trento, Italy, Dario Pegoretti creates some of the finest bicycles in the world—a fact acknowledged this year by Wallpaper* magazine, which proclaimed his Luigino Pista model the “Best Ride” in its annual Design Awards. Welding each steel frame by hand, Pegoretti and his studio produce around 600 bikes a year, which, given the level of demand, means a two-year waiting period for customers (and a price tag of between $2,000 and $5,000). For this, clients get to own not just a magnificent feat of engineering, but also a piece of cycling legend—Pegoretti has created machines for champion riders including Stephen Roche, Marco Cipollini and five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain. Pegoretti’s status is celebrated sartorially this season as part of a new line of Club Jerseys from high-end cycle wear brand Rapha. To bring Pegoretti’s story to life, photographer Ben Ingham, whose work includes evocative images for stylish cycling quarterly Rouleur, was sent by Rapha to the Pegoretti studio in Italy to capture the blazing passion of this master artisan. “He’s very poetic,” says Ingham. “When he starts to talk… it’s like a diatribe, but a very eloquent one.” The film, previewed exclusively here, is set to become a 20 to 30 minute short which will screen at the Rapha Cycle club spaces debuting this month in London and New York, as well as at Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle, an exhibition of the work of six cycle artisans including Pegoretti at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design, which opens May 11.