The Pinarello Dogma has been a staple of the peloton for years, and while the Specialized Tarmac rivals it for longevity, few other bikes have become as synonymous with one team as the Dogma with Team Sky and later the Ineos Grenadiers. This is the 13th Dogma since 2005 and has been designed both with and for the nominally British team.
The detail photos in my bumper Dauphiné technology gallery seemed to show fairly marginal changes on the surface, which isn’t a huge surprise for a brand that has such a distinctive silhouette for its flagship machine. It’s safe to say the gains are marginal, as befits a bike for a team that pioneered marginal gain as a concept, but marginal or not, there are some interesting things going on.
Main figures
For those of you tight on time, the short version of all the text below is that the new Dogma F is 108 grams lighter, has a new cockpit (which accounts for just under half the weight savings), an even slightly longer wheelbase, 30c tire clearance, and is only available with top spec groupset or as a frameset. Aero gains are there, with a 0.2% improvement in drag coefficient, but this isn’t a huge improvement in real terms.
Anyone wanting to see how this translates into driving performance is in luck. Cycling news was invited to ride the bike ahead of the launch, my first impressions are written up in my Dogma F first ride review.
New frameset
The heart of any new bike is the frameset, and the Dogma frameset is modified rather than overhauled. Up front, the head tube has been narrowed by 8mm to reduce frontal area, mainly facilitated by the introduction of an oval steer tube that creates space for the brake hoses to run along the front of the head tube rather than along the sides as before.
In addition to being narrower, the head tube has also been made deeper, although little was made of this addition in the official presentation I received at the launch.
To match the narrower head tube, the fork legs have also been narrowed in their individual widths, while at the same time being spaced wider to accommodate larger tires – more on this in a second. The downtube has also been slightly narrowed.
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At the bottom, the bottom bracket has been extended forward to create what Pinarello calls an “aero keel.” Hidden by the cranks I didn’t really see much of it in my first shots, but it is quite large.
Both drive-side dropouts are now blind, which benefits both aerodynamics and aesthetics. The geometry is identical to the previous model in most respects, but the fork has been given a longer fork angle (from 43mm to 47mm). This new shape geometry had apparently been extensively tested on the old model and received the approval of the Ineos driver.
These adjustments, in addition to the new cockpit, have only resulted in a CdA improvement of 0.2%. Brands rarely quote aero improvements in terms of CdA, but in real terms this would equate to a saving of less than a watt when driving at 25mph.
Using some slightly complicated mathematics, Pinarello has claimed that this CdA improvement is equivalent to an additional weight saving of 175 grams over the length of a grand lap ridden by Geraint Thomas.
Tire clearance
The new Dogma F can now accept 30c tires, which is quite narrow in terms of recent trends. I presented this to Pinarello’s R&D manager, especially in the context of the trends I saw at Paris-Roubaix, with teams using 34c tires and wider.
The response was indicative of the input that Ineos has on the bicycle. Simply put, allowing wider tires than 30c would have resulted in a less stiff bottom bracket, and this was not something the team was willing to sacrifice for one race. We all know there’s always room for a little more than the stated maximum anyway, and considering we’ve seen the team in Roubaix this year using 32c tires on the outgoing Dogma F (which has a claimed maximum of 28mm), it’s Safe to assume they’ll continue to do the same.
New cockpit
The new Talon Ultra Fast cockpit is measured from the drops, which extend 1cm on each side, so at the hoods 40cm is effectively 38cm. The buds are narrower and less spherical than the older model. This narrowing and slimming makes the cockpit 40 grams lighter, although it is unclear what the weight savings are if you take into account a comparable width at the hoods.
The flare is also designed to work with the new UCI rules for inward turned hoods. Given the oval steerer tube, this is the only cockpit that can be used on the bike, and is available in widths from 34-42cm and stem lengths from 80-140mm.
Weight saving
Almost half of the saving of 108 grams comes from the cockpit. The remaining 60 gram savings comes from slimming down parts of the frame (head tube and bottom bracket) and also using higher modulus carbon in discrete parts of the layout, mainly around the bottom bracket and chainstays. Higher modulus carbon is stiffer, so you can use less of it to save weight, but it is more brittle, so it can only be used in less complicated areas.
Specifications and prices
The new Dogma F can only be purchased with top groupsets unless you go the frameset route. Dura-Ace, Red or wireless Super Record are the only options. Wheel options are also premium, with Princeton Peak 4550 or DT Swiss ARC 1400 wheels paired with Dura-Ace or Red, and Bora Ultras with the Super Record option.
System weights for size 53 without pedals and water bottles are 6.63 kg for Red with Princeton wheels, 6.77 kg for Dura-Ace with Princeton wheels and 6.88 kg for Super Record with Bora WTO wheels.
Prices start at €14,500 / £12,600 / $14,500, and a frameset costs €6,700 / £5,500 / $6,950.
A lifeline for rim brakes
To the surprise of no one, the new Dogma F is a disc brake bike only. What used to be a surprise was the announcement that Pinarello will produce the rim brake version of the old Dogma F.
Yes, it’s a super premium frameset, but where it’s due, it’s a win for backwards compatibility and while it probably won’t sell in greater volume, it will probably be a target for rim brake enthusiasts, or anyone who has a beloved rim brake has a written-off frame and has a perfectly usable rim brake group and spinning wheels.