Sorry, what was I doing… something about a custom stainless steel Pegoretti Responsorium road bike painted with Grateful Dead inspiration? I just got lost for a half hour in that iconic Dark Star into St. Stephen live jam. That rabbit hole is gonna take a minute to climb back out of…
Pegoretti Responsorium x Grateful Dead steel road bike
OK, where were we?
The Dario Pegoretti workshop is still cranking out one-of-a-kind custom steel road bikes in Italy. And Sausalito, CA bike shop Above Category Cycling worked with a customer to have this killer custom bike made with a reimagining of Pegoretti’s freeform Ciavete, subtly inspired by the album art of the Grateful Dead’s first official live album – 1969’s Live/Dead.
The Grateful Dead will forever be associated with San Francisco and the Bay Area of the 1960s, so when a client came to us to commission a Pegoretti with a Ciavete paint scheme inspired by the group’s Live/Dead album, we jumped at the chance to help a Deadhead get out on the road with the band once more.
Tech details
Maybe most known for the unique Pegoretti artwork – especially the iconic abstract Ciavete paintjobs. Even more so in recent years than that classic handmade custom steel ride. But while some of you readers lamented the Pegoretti brand finally caving into making disc brake bikes a couple of years back… They do still happily craft rim brake road bikes for discerning cyclists.
The bike itself is the Pegoretti Responsorium. That is a custom-butted, oversized Columbus XCR stainless steel frame handmade in Verona, Italy with custom geometry for the buyer. This rim brake bike gets a Pegoretti Falz full carbon fork with a straight 1 1/8″ steerer, a BSA BB, and 28mm tire clearance front & rear.
And thanks to the fact that Campagnolo remains the last one to make an ultra-desirable, top-tier 12-speed road groupset with rim brakes, you can still get an ultra-premium rim brake Italian road bike!
So, Campy Super Record 2×12 it is!
Plus, fancy matching Campy Bora WTO 45 aero carbon rim brake wheels too!
One-of-a-kind custom Deadhead paint inspiration
The Ciavete scheme is a ‘surprise me’ paint job. But the paint shop does take the buyers color choices and inspiration in mind. For the Live/Dead theme, Pegoretti took the bright red & white colors on a white background from the album’s back cover for the base. Complementing the tiny glimpses of red in the Campy, Deda & Vittoria graphics, while the Brooks saddle and rest of the finishing kit stick with all black.
Then, interspersed it with swirls, reimagined coffins, and Live/Dead typography adapted from the front cover.
It’s decidedly not a replica of Bob Thomas’ original art. And to the regular viewer, it doesn’t shout Deadhead. But a close look into the details is full of Live/Dead Easter eggs.
