Pinarello brings back Dogma XC for Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot

Pinarello is making its return to mountain biking in an appropriately dramatic fashion this week. After teasing a prototype dual suspension bike for the last couple of weeks at European races, the Italian brand is making it official. The Pinarello Dogma XC will return to World Cup racing in Nove Mesto under Ineos’ stars Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot.

Pinarello Dogma XC returns

It has been a while since Pinarello made a serious effort to produce a cross country mountain bike that was competitive on the World Cup circuit. That changes with the Dogma XC. To create a race bike worthy of its stars, Pinarello hired a new design team and worked with Pidcock, Ineos team members and, when she joined the team at the end of 2022, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to produce the new bike.

“I’m really looking forward to trying this new Pinarello Dogma XC out at Nové Město,” Pidcock says. “I got my first look at it back in March and my initial impressions were positive. It handles brilliantly, is super-responsive, and ultimately is fast. It’s a bike that’s still in development, and it’s going to be fun working with Pinarello to make it even better. I’ve never really been involved in the development process of a bike before, feeding my thoughts and suggestions back in, but it’s something I’m definitely enjoying and Pinarello’s engineers are committed to producing bikes that help us win races.”

“To be working with Pinarello on developing the bike is super cool. It has a good mix of lightness, responsiveness and rigidity, and allows you to really put the power down,” Ferrand-Prévot adds. “Pinarello’s engineers are constantly asking us for feedback and it’s fun being part of the bike’s progression. I’m looking forward to going on a journey with this bike and it’ll be great to finally get the chance to ride it at the highest level of competition.”

Flex-stays, but different

The result is a cross country race bike that is a distinctly Pinarello twist on the familiar flex-stay dual suspension platform.

There are a few features beyond the stunning custom paint schemes that make these bikes stand out. Pinarello uses a distinctive bottom bracket area, oversize bearings and an asymmetrical frame design to make the Dogma XC’s rear end as stiff as possible. This lets Pidcock and Ferrand-Prévot get the instant power transfer they want for cross country racing and keeps the lightweight carbon fibre frame tracking true through rough terrain.

Adjustable travel

The Dogma XC uses an adjustable suspension design, so Pidcock and PFP can adapt one frame to work for the demands of different World Cup courses. That is probably especially important for Pidcock, who continues to mix road and mountain bike racing (though he doesn’t seem to lack confidence about his ability to adapt quickly to the mountain bike). In the short travel setting, the bike has 100 mm front travel and 90 mm of rear wheel travel, using a 190x45mm rear shock. In the long travel setting, Pinarello gives the Dogma XC a 120-mm fork with 100mm of rear wheel travel (using a 210x50mm rear shock).

Integrated cockpit

Pinarello borrows from the design of its road bikes to bring a custom-designed, fully integrated cockpit to the Dogma XC. A one-piece bar-stem combo saves grams and gives the cross country bike more precise steering with minimal flex in the system. Cables, including wires for the SR Suntour’s Axon suspension, are all run internally through the headset. That creates the somewhat comical necessity for the front fork wire to exit the head tube exactly where less integrated cables would normally enter the frame.

Pinarello adds a headset bearing with an internal stopper, limiting the bar rotation to 60 degrees to prevent damage  from the controls contacting the frame in a crash.

Asymmetric frame design and split rear triangle

The two chainstays on Pinarello’s bike look very distinct. This is intended to allow the bike to counterbalance the higher forces applied to the non-drive side during acceleration. Non-drive side chainstays are beefy, while the drive side stays are curved to create more room for chainstay and chain clearance.

Instead of a bridge between the two sides of the rear triangle, Pinarello opts for what it is calling a split rear triangle. Two pins are molded into the carbon fibre layup of the frame, allowing for shorter chainstays, better mud clearance and room for wider tires.

Pricing and availability: Pinarello Dogma XC

Pinarello is clear off the bat that regular consumers will have to wait a while to get a Dogma XC of their own. The bike is currently slated for a wider release sometime in the summer of 2024. You may need that time to start saving up as, like any other bike carrying the Dogma label, this one will not be cheap.

Technical specifications: Pinarello Dogma XC

• Carbon fibre front and rear triangle, Ergal aluminum hardware
• Asymmetric frame
• Split rear triangle design (patent pending)
• Seatpost diameter: 30.9mm
• Dropper seatpost compatible with internal cable routing
• Geometry developed for double travel setup:
  – Front: 100mm – Rear 90mm (with 190x45mm rear shock)
  – Front: 120mm – Rear 100mm (with 210 x 50mm rear shock)
• Standard mount rear shock with 90° inverted fixing points
• SRAM Transmission 1×12 compatible, chainrings 32 T or 40 T
• Chain line: 55mm
• Maximum crankset arm length: 175mm
• Compatible with Stages power meters
• TiCr internal cable routing
• TiCr integrated headset with 60° internal stopper
• Boost Standard, 12mm diameter conical thru axle, compatible with UDH
• Standard flat mount 160mm, compatible with 180mm (adapter needed)
• Maximum tire clearance: 29 x 2.35 inches
• Two bottle attachments

Pinarello Dogma XC