New Pegoretti Duende Pics

Photographer extraordinaire, Dean B. has been working his magic around the shop and has come up with a batch of new photos for Dario's Duende model.

Not familiar with the smooth ride of the Duende? Check our recent post on it elsewhere in this blog. As scarce as these things are we were able to get our hands on a 51cm and a 55cm Duende in the gray "ABVD" colorway pictured. We also have a 56cm in the 'Lori' colorway.

Call the shop 415.389.5461, email or come by to talk about how we can custom build your next Italian dream bike.



You may notice that the Duende comes with a painted head badge rather than the bolted on metal head badge that appears on all of his other models.




A clear way of seeing the difference between the Duende and the Marcelo is the stays(both of which have the same front triangle). Duende's stays though straight have a gentle taper.



The cluster beautifully TIG welded. Of course all of Dario's steel bikes require 29.4 seatposts, that is except for the stainless steel Responsorium.

The Parlee Z5 Has Arrived

Oh yes, we've taken delivery of one of the first Parlee Z5's to come out of the Parlee Cycle's shop in Peabody, Massachusetts. At less than 800-grams, it's the lightest Parlee ever and, thanks to design touches like a BB30 bottom bracket, it's retains all the performance that built the brand.

More photos and a full write-up in the next few days.

AC Service Center Update

If any of you have been in the shop over the past two weeks, you’ve no doubt noticed that we’ve got a large corner carved up for our new service center. After a couple of years out in the garage, we began to suspect that Chris was suffering from LMS or Lonely Mechanics Syndrome. Yes, it’s true. So, as the days grow shorter and darker, we’re making the move to bring the bulk of the AC service center into a clean, well lit place.

As the shop is something less than the 30,000 square-foot bicycle super store a few miles north of our humble spot in Mill Valley, putting a service center in meant a very serious rearranging of just about everything in the shop. In order to carve out the roughly 10 x 12-foot space that Chris will now call home, we moved bikes, wheels, couches, televisions and anything else that stood in the way of progress.



What does it all mean for you, our customers? Beyond seeing Chris without having to walk out back to the garage, you’ll have the luxury of sitting at a new counter that we’re going to install around the service center. You’ll be able to watch videos and maybe someday drink an espresso. What’s more, we’ll be updating the menu of services that we offer to include some high performance tunes and maybe even an annual service plan for those of you that we see most often.

The current plan is to have things in working order by November 1st. Based on where we’re at today, it feels pretty realistic that we’ll hit that. Stay tuned for more info next week.

It's 8:30....Do You Know Where Your Pegoretti Is?

Visit his shop in Northern Italy and you’ll realize that Dario Pegoretti’s head is filled with music and art and both of these things are reflected in the frames he makes. Named for the Weather Report’s 1979 album and the time at which work starts at his shop every morning, the 8:30 is an amazing frame for what amounts to modest money. No longer in production, the 8:30 is patterned directly after the Love #3, the bike that has the AC Elite team singing Dario’s praises. But instead of the Columbus XLR8R Scandium tubing, Dario has chosen Columbus Altec II 7005 for the 8:30. The result is a slight weight increase over the Love #3 – Pegoretti’s lightest frame ever – but a pretty significant drop in price.

Like its sibling, the 8:30 comes with massive, 30mm chainstays, stiff, non-tapered seat stays, alloy KGB-style dropouts, a replaceable alloy derailleur hanger, dropped top tube/extended headtube on sizes 58 and above and the touches that have made all of Dario’s frame masterworks: the paint and beautiful Pegoretti headtube badge. A proprietary anodization process used on the XLR8R increases the bond between the frame and primer, resisting corrosion and helping to keep that amazing finish looking just that.

The 8:30 is a true Italian road racing machine that offers the signature Pegoretti performance, handling every road condition you can throw at it. It climbs and sprints like a champ; is stable on fast descents and loves to carve its way through the corners. And what’s best – it’ll punish the competition without putting much hurt on your wallet. We think that there’s absolutely nothing in this price range that offers the same ride quality, so now there aren’t any excuses left for not getting on one of il maestro’s hand built legends.

Turns out, we still have a few 8:30 frames in the shop. Give us a call @ 415.389.5461, email or come by to talk about how we can custom build your next Italian dream bike.

THE NEW MOOTS VAMOOTS RSL

It's been a while on the road side of their bike range, but MOOTS has decided to revamp their already incredible lineup with a couple changes for 2010. The Vamoots CR has really only changed in name and the updated Vamoots has new geometry (which we will review in the future) but the big news is the totally new MOOTS RSL. In the past Moots had the SL which for the road and Psychlo X models used Reynolds 6/4 tubing for the main triangle. But other than that, the SL model looked the exact same as the 3/2.5 version. For 2010, that is definitely not the case! The hard part is finding a starting point since everything has changed! This is a completely new MOOTS, from the bottom bracket to the head tube to the seat post.


The bottom bracket is the heart of the new MOOTS RSL. They use the new SRAM press fit 30 oversized bottom bracket. Their objective is to maximise stiffness in the bottom bracket cluster where power from the cranks is directly transferred from rider to the rear wheel. Looking at this in person I'd say they have easily met that goal. MOOTS also says that by doing this they have delivered 38% more stiffness and reduced weight by 5%. The result being a more immediate and efficient power transfer from rider to wheel during sprints and attacking climbs. This is what is going to help MOOTS bridge the gap to all the way oversized carbon bikes out there, only with a MOOTS titanium bike you are getting the reliability, durability and longevity of a metal bike (not that there are not some nice strong durable handmade carbon frames out there like hmmm Parlee, but well made titanium is king).


The press fit bottom bracket. Fits inside of the bb shell in seconds. Will have adapters to fit pretty much any crank system out there...



The oversized bb shell is also used so that MOOTS can use a oversized down tube, seat tube and chain stays. Like I said, this is a brand new MOOTS!



Those oversized chain stays then lead to these beautiful CNC machined 6/4 modified Breezer-Style dropouts. Some of you may notice that this is not a replaceable derailleur hanger. This is correct and for a good reason. Before aluminum and carbon bikes there was no need for a replaceable hanger because w/ steel and titanium you can bend the piece back after a meeting with the ground. Worse case (which we have not had to do in our 4 years with MOOTS) you send the frame back to MOOTS, they cut the hanger off, weld on a new one and you would never even know. But here is the really good part about non replaceable derailleur hangers; you get better shifting. There is no flex at all and it leads to better shifts every time, not a major difference, but it's all in the details and they add up...



Then we move up to the chain stays which are also entirely new. MOOTS calls them 6/4 titanium micro diameter seat stays. Their objective was to reduce weight and increase strength with the results being 32% lighter and 20% smaller resulting in a laterally stiff rear triangle and lighter overall frame weight. I can tell you they look stunning as well.



MOOTS went to work on the head tube as well, they machined the outer wall to save weight and also machined the vent holes inside the frame! This is attention to detail in every way. By doing this they made this part of the frame 21% lighter than a standard Vamoots.



Another view of the machined head tube...



In this picture you can see a few details. One, the slimmer seat stays and two, the fact that MOOTS chose to use a non integrated seat post clamp! This is pretty big as MOOTS is really known for this feature. But there is a reason for this; they can't! The seat tube is oversized and extremely thin and they would burn through or warp the titanium by brazing a clamp on, hence the new style on the RSL. The third thing you may not of noticed is that MOOTS also developed an oversized seat post to go along with the oversized seat tube. 30.9 and yes, they make a seat post for this new size as well!



Moots didn't stop with just a new frame and seat post, they made a new SL version of their stem as well. This piece is heavily machined and features 6/4 titanium bolts. It is 22% lighter than the MOOTS Open Road stem and comes in at 121 grams for a 90mm version. There may be lighter options out there, but none are as strong and beautiful!



In addition to the new stem and post, they have added new colors, black, red and blue for the stem faceplate and seat post clamps...

We have already started taking orders for these and expect the first ones to arrive in January. Give us a call or stop by the shop with any questions or to get on the list!

*NOTE: The main tubes are not 6/4, they are 3/2.5 but what makes the MOOTS RSL so special is that they actually send all the tubes to the Reynolds (not composites, but the real Reynolds in the UK) factory and have them internally double butted.
*NOTE: The complete bike you see here is a touch over 14lbs with no crazy lightweight parts on it.

Thanks!

Pegoretti Duende: Firm Where It Needs To Be, Plush Everywhere Else

Lovingly crafted in a small shop in the Dolomites, Dario Pegoretti’s steel Duende offers the smooth ride quality and steering precision that reminds all of us of what you might call the golden age of hand built steel frames. Thing is the Duende has the stiffness and pedal response of any modern racing frame. Dario has made this possible simply this by combining the front triangle of Marcelo and the rear triangle of the Palosanto. The result is bike that’s equally at home in any bike race as it is on a century or credit card tour.

The oversize tubes of the bike’s front half resist torsional flex, while the smaller tubes of the seat and chain stays give a comfortable ride. Don’t get us wrong – this ain’t your father’s Oldsmobile. You still get to have all the road feel and responsiveness you need, without having to soak up the full force of each bump in the road with your backside.

When he was a contract builder, making frames for the superstars of professional cycling in the ‘80’s and ‘90’s, Dario began to collect feedback from the riders – feedback that eventually lead to him experimenting with frame geometry that’s specific to the types of material he is using to build them. The Duende’s geometry provides a very precise feel without being twitchy and simply begs to be cornered. In fact, the way this bike flows down the long, twisty mountain descents close to the shop make it a favorite for those mid-week afternoons when the road is dry and there’s not a car in sight.



We love carbon and all of the other wonder-alloys that are used to make the other brands of bikes we sell, but there is something inherently wonderful about the steel blends that Dario creates that we don’t often experience with those other materials. For the Duende he uses Columbus Niobium Spirit drawn to his dimensions.



We love Dario's creations and try to keep as many of them around the shop as we possibly can. Right now we have frames in 51cm, 55cm and 62cm in the grey ‘ABVD’ paint scheme (named for the cancer treatment he received) and a 56cm in the white ‘Lori’ paint scheme (dubbed after his girlfriend who authored the scheme).

Dario builds the Duende with 1cm increments from 48-cm to 62-cm and if you want to custom order a Duende or any other Pegoretti, it’s roughly an eight month wait. Custom geometry (which includes any Pegoretti paint scheme) is a $220 up charge. If it’s you want a non-stock paint scheme it’s definitely possible, but the options are so great that you’ll want to call us.

Call the shop 415.389.5461, email or come by to talk about how we can custom build your next Italian dream bike.

A Little More On The Love #3

We gave you the broad brushstrokes on why we love Dario Pegoretti’s handiwork a few days ago. Today we want to give a little more information on one of our favorite Pegoretti frames ever, the Love #3.

The secret weapon of the AC Elite team for its light and ultra stiff Columbus XLR8R Scandium tubing, the Love #3 is the bike Dario dreamed up for performance riders searching for the tuned feel of an alloy frame. According to the results of our guys and their passion for the frames, Love is a fitting name for Pegoretti’s lightest ever frame.

Continuing the tradition that he started in his work with Deda, Dario worked carefully with Columbus to make the Love’s triple-butted, 7000-series aluminum tubeset that has been fortified with Scandium and Zirconium. The addition of Scandium reduces the grain size of the alloy, giving it greater strength and the Zirconium helps the material stand up to the elevated temperatures of welding. The result is that a Love #3 can be lighter than other Pegoretti aluminum frames (like the CCKMP and Fina Estampa), but will be stiffer, more durable and more dent resistant.

The fine details include: Beefy, 30mm chainstays, alloy KGB-style dropouts, a replaceable alloy derailleur hanger, dropped top tube/extended headtube on sizes 58 and above and the beautiful Pegoretti headtube badge. We send all of our Love #3 out the door with an Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork. *Please note, most bikes being shipped now from Dario will include an Edge composites fork instead of the Reynolds... Call for details...

Here’s what the guys on the team have to say about their Love #3’s:
“Going up some of the toughest climbs and down the gnarliest descents while racing has given me absolute trust in the machine that Dario built for me. Not only am I infused with confidence, my Love #3 quiets my doubts and allows me to concentrate on the task at hand…..suffering.” AC Rider Chris Turner.

“Rides like nitro-glycerin, corners like an X-acto knife, is metal in a world of repeatable plastic and is hand-made by the master himself.” AC Rider Ian Tuttle
“A simple and calculating ride that gives one the confidence to push limits. The huge chainstays make the Love #3 super responsive and stiff whether accelerating up a steep climb in a road race or attacking out of a corner in a criterium.” Chris Johnson.


OK. That should have you interested.

Dario builds the Love #3 in size with 1cm increments from 48-cm to 62-cm. Custom geometry (which includes any Pegoretti paint scheme) is a $220 up charge. If it’s only custom paint that you require, put an additional $220 on top of the Love #3’s $3300 stock price. *Please call though, prices vary due to color options and paint schemes. Also, Prices for 2010 will be going up slightly...

Right now we’ve got a 52CM and 58CM Love #3 in orange and a 57CM in the ‘Manovella’ paint scheme and if you want to custom order a Love #3 or any other Pegoretti, it’s roughly an eight month wait. *Very rough quote! But worth any wait!

Call the shop 415.389.5461, email or come by to talk about how we can custom build your next Love.

Dario Pegoretti; a quick snapshot and what's to come...

Imagine if Mario Andretti offered to give you driving lessons. Imagine if Eric Clapton wanted to teach you how to play the guitar. Imagine Eddy Merckx tagging along with you to races and offering up the knowledge gained from his countless victories. Imagine the same hands that built the frames, which carried the greatest stars of cycling to glory in the ’80’s and ‘90’s built one for you. Although doubtful that you’ll be driving with Mario, jamming with the Slowhand or hanging out with the Cannibal, having Dario Pegoretti build a frame worthy of a Tour de France champion – just for you – is entirely within reach.

As a frame builder, Dario Pegoretti completely defies the mold. He is part scientist, part engineer, part artisan, and 100% passionate artist. In the beginning of his career he was a contract builder, making frames for the major Italian brands when they needed batches of custom bikes for the professional teams they sponsored. It was extremely rewarding work for Dario, and he was proud to know that so many professionals were on bikes that he had touched. Ever imaginative, the master builder started to watch the guys as they rode and began collecting feedback from them.

For il maestro, good enough isn’t motivating, so he started working with tubing manufacturers like Columbus and Dedacciai to develop better solutions for the frames he wanted to create. He rejected the notion of standard geometries and sought to design frames that were specific to the type of material he was using, the shape of each tube, and the kind of rider that it would carry. He further defied Italian tradition by moving away from lugs and embracing TIG welding. The result is that each frame to come out of Dario’s small, music-filled shop is a true, highly informed and custom work of art--a work of art that’s meant to be ridden and enjoyed on the types of roads that make all of our hearts beat fast.

Of course we love Dario and his frames and regularly order as many as we can pay for. We're also one of only two teams that he's ever sponsored! The result is that we generally have six to 10 Pegoretti masterpieces in stock at any given time. Over the next week, we’ll show you the batch that are currently in our care. If you like one you see, drop us a note, we’d love to build it up just for you.

Thanks!

Vamoots RSL: The Lightest & Stiffest Moots Road Frame Ever

If you’ve been into the shop, you know it’s no secret that we’ve got a little thing for Moots frames. They feature unmatched workmanship, a timeless design and, above all, an incredible ride quality. Not just incredible compared to most bikes, but incredible when compared to any other titanium bike on the market! So when the guys from Steamboat Springs introduce their lightest and stiffest road frame ever, we tend to pay attention.

John from Moots says the new Vamoots RSL (Race Super Light), which was introduced at the annual ‘Interbike’ industry trade show in Las Vegas last month, weighs just 1,180-grams (or 2.6-pounds) and is the stiffest Moots road frame ever thanks to an oversized and heavily manipulated custom tubeset. Stiffness is boosted thanks to the use of an oversized, BB30 standard bottom bracket design—which means that only certain cranks can be used with the RSL. One very noteworthy exception to the ‘burly’ adjective are the 6/4 titanium seat stays which are pinner little things that do little more than support the rear dropouts and provide a place to hang the rear brake. When you make the rest of the bike ultra stiff, you can build some extra compliance and trim weight with the rear stays.

Cost for this bad boy is going to be around $4300 and, yes, the standard Moots lifetime warranty applies.

Call us at the shop to get your order in now. Frames should begin shipping in extremely limited numbers next February.

Levi's King Ridge Gran Fondo

Alright. So we checked out the first-ever Levi’s King Ridge Gran Fondo this weekend. Amazing event. Crazy turn-out for a first time ride on pretty rough terrain. Excellent weather and, if you’ve ever ridden up in West Sonoma, some of the best riding in the world.


A few largely unsorted thoughts in the wake of Saturday’s event:

Regardless of what kind of shorts you’re wearing, Assos Chamois Crème is the first thing you should put in your gear bag for a long ride over really rough roads. I’d volunteer more details, but that’s probably all you need to know.

When you climb to the top of King Ridge, you’re nowhere near the top of the climb that you need to do to get to the descent that takes you back to the coast. More like halfway there and you're too far from home to do anything other than gut it out.

It’s windy on Coleman Valley road and climbing it is much harder than it looks on TV when the riders are doing it in the Tour of California.

Judging by the number of times his name was painted on the road, Steven Cozza is very well liked in West Sonoma.

Tom Ritchey has one of the world’s best properties along the top of Sea View Road (near the intersection of Fort Ross Road.)

Carlos Perez from Bike Monkey Magazine did an amazing job of organizing the ride. Full road closure at every corner for a hundred plus miles.

It’d be nice if the Assos Luftschutz jacket packed down a little smaller.
FRS Energy Chews are rancid, only have 20 calories each and are wrapped in foil that is impossible to take off while riding.

Between BMC and Bissell there are a hell of a lot of pro bike racers that live in Santa Rosa.

Levi must've raised a lot of money for charity.

Have your credit card ready when they open registration for next year--it’s going to sell out in the first few hours.

Pegoretti Love #3, Above Category style

This beautiful Pegoretti Love #3 belongs to Jun H. of San Francisco. What I loved about this build most of all was the thought that went into every last piece of the bike. The final decision was the wheels. The bike has actually been ridden for a while until we made the choice. In the end it had to be the Fulcrum Racing Light tubulars, sans decals. Outstanding choice, as much for how well they perform, but also how they are a perfect match on this bike. Also, for all of you who are wondering, this is the 'Baci' paint scheme that came on the Marcelo a year or so back, but we had done on this Love... Enjoy the photos below...



The Fulcrum Racing Lights without decals. Even the valve stem is red! That was more by accident though, the Vittoria 320tpi tubulars are one of our favorites. Campagnolo Record 11spd, FSA SRM, King ti cages and Look Keo ti pedals...



The little touches; red aluminum water bottle cage bolts...



You don't see this too much anymore, the spare tubular tucked under the saddle w/ a toe clip strap. Even the Chorus seatpost took some thought. The only difference between the Chorus and Record post is that the Record has a carbon top clamp. Selle San Marco Aspide saddle, carbon rails, good padding, super light at 118g. Nice combination...



3t Rotundo Team bar and stem. The bar is carbon, the stem aluminum w/ ti hardware. Please do not discount the classic shape handlebar, when you get the fit of the bike right, it's one of the best shapes out there...



MASSIVE chainstays! Despite how stiff it looks, this is a quite comfortable bike, but rest assured, it will propel you forward w/ zero wasted energy! Dario knows how to build 'em...



Another view...



Always makes us sad to see these bikes get picked up, but we know this one is in good hands! Thanks for reading...

The World's Most Storied TT Bike: FOCUS Izalco by Walser

FOCUS Izalco Chrono by Walser
Whatever you do, don’t go searching the internet for information on Swiss composites guru Andy Walser. You’ll be sucked into story after story about the bikes Walser has provided to top professional racers from Jan Ullrich to Brad Wiggins and Lance Armstrong (which he only used for testing) to the entire Gerolsteiner team during the time that they were sponsored by another rather sizeable bicycle manufacturer.

FOCUS Bicycles of Germany have teamed up with Walser to bring most of the wind cheating features of Walser’s essentially one-off race bikes to the rest of the world in a UCI legal format. Features adopted directly from the original Walser include a slim and aero shaped headtube, concealed brake and shift cables, flush mount seatpost clamp, the tallest and most aerodynamically shaped tubes possible, and a slippery seatstay/downtube junction that has been copied by nearly every top manufacturer for its excellent aerodynamic properties. The key thing that wasn’t carried over from the original Walser design was the use of ultra-narrow hubs and bottom bracket. While the narrow configuration created less drag in the windtunnel, many riders (like Armstrong) found that it limited their ability to generate watts out on the road.


For 2010 you’ll see the Chrono under the MILRAM ProTour team yet again and an elite domestic road squad. The 2010 model comes as a frameset or with either of two different levels of specification (SRAM Red or Shimano Ultegra-level)and with a new version of the 3T bars as those used on the 2009 model have been deemed illegal by the UCI. To make the Walser design something tri riders could embrace, there’s also an ‘Izalco Tri’ version with multi-sport specific geometry. Drop into the shop for a closer look at the world’s most storied aero bike design.

I gotta admit, I was a little miffed the first time I ever saw a Chris Kingheadset. It would’ve been about 1983 and some vaguely non-traditional rider (he wore a hardshell helmet at the time and that immediately made him suspect) had a sliver one (the only color they made) on his Gios Torino. Didn’t really make sense to me why anyone would use something other than a Campy headset. Oh, you don’t need to overhaul it after every ride in the rain? And, what’s that? It lasts more than a season or two? Eventually (that’s after trying those old Mavic semi-sealed headsets) I came around to the Chris King way of doing things and have had dozens of bikes with King headset. Most recently a Moots Psychlo-X which has been through the ringer.
These days King Cycle Group is up in Portland (they left their cozy shop in Santa Barbara many, many years ago) and are making all manner of components and even wonderful steel frames. Yet, like that guy that played Doogie Howser, M.D., it’s tough for them to outrun their first big hit. I guess I wonder why they’d even try.


King headsets press in easily, last longer than any frame I’ve ever had and never go out of style. King makes their own sealed bearings and puts a ten year warranty on every one of ‘em. Try to get ten years out of a headset from some other company. Let’s not forget that King headsets have been about the same price (about $125) for what seems like ever. Hands down, best value you’re ever going to find for a bike.

What’s that you say? Your new, 950-gram carbon frame doesn’t take a traditional headset? It’s got a tapered steerer tube? Not a problem. King now makes a range of ‘InSet’ headsets that mate with most frames on the market.

Give us a call or bring your bike by to be fully winterized with a new King headset.