Like all Pegoretti steel frames, the Duende is made from heat-treated Columbus Niobium Spirit steel. It's identical to the tubing used on the Big Leg Emma and the Marcelo. Due to socketed nature of the Duende's dropouts, during the framebuilding process Pegoretti only needs to miter the chainstays and seatstays at the ends opposite the dropouts. The resulting savings in framebuilding time (it's quite considerable) equals a nice savings in cost, making the Duende come in at about $400 less expensive than the Marcelo. And the resulting ride quality is one that's smooth enough for centuries, but stout enough for serious racing. It's an ideal all-purpose machine.
