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Pinarello launches Dogma F12 X-Light to celebrate hometown Giro stage

Italian brand's Trevisio factory and new flagship store serve as start point for Stage 19

On Friday, the 19th stage of the 2019 Giro d’Italia rolled out from Trevisio, Italy, the town where Cicli Pinarello has been based since its inception in 1952.

Fausto Pinarello, who took over the brand from his father Giovanni, the founder of Pinarello, celebrated the occasion with the launch of a swath of new bikes. The Grand Tour’s stop in Trevisio also coincided with the launch of Pinarello’s new flagship store, next to the brands factory on the edge of town.

Much of the attention was focused on fleshing out details of the new Dogma F12, but there were also a few surprises included in the launch

Pinarello Dogma F12 X-Light
X-Light goes to 12

The standout of the launch is the Dogma F12 X-Light. The F12, which replaces the brands top-end F10 was launched only recently. Like the X-Light version of the F10, the new bike sheds a full 100 g, over 10% of the frames weight. The F12 X-Light will be offered in both traditional rim and disk brake configurations.

Pinarello helps cut weight by using Toray T1100 UD carbon fibre. The unidirectional weave keeps strength up while shedding valuable grams. Beyond the weight savings, and a matte black finish, the Dogma F12 X-Light shares the same features of Pinarello’s Dogma F12.

Pinarello Dogma F12

When Team Sky became Team Ineos earlier this year, Pinarello responded with an early launch of the Dogma F12. Designed to replace the F10, the new F12 continues the incremental improvement of the Dogma line of WorldTour-level race bikes. As the latest in a series of Dogma bikes, there’s no revolutionary changes to be found. Instead, a series of subtle improvements to the flagship bike  keep it up to date, compatible with modern parts, as well as the expected stiffer, lighter, more aero claims. In it’s double step up from the F10, the new Dogma does, though, inch us significantly closer to the day when Chris Froome is joined by Tom Cruise in a promo video for the F14 (which will be soundtracked by Giorgio Moroder, of course).

No cables, no drag. The two screws on the bottom open an access port to help guide wires, hoses and housing through the bar and frame

The Dogma F12 may not take your breath away with any massive changes, but it does promise to move through the air faster. Full internal cable routing (Total internal Cable Routing, or TiCR) on the Talon Ultra bar/stem combo makes a significant contribution to the aero gains. In a nod to mechanics everywhere, Pinarello has made it’s Most stem aero spacers two pieces so riders can change their stack height without fully removing all the internal cables. Further aerodynamic improvements come from dropping the seat tube mounted water bottle by 5 mm, so it sits in the wind-shadow of the frame and downtube water bottle.

In terms of bike feel, the F12 Disk gets a new fork shape with a forward arching fork for a claimed 40% reduction in fork twisting under braking loads when compared to the Dogma F10 Disk. For traditionalists, the F12 uses dual mount rim brakes. At the other end of the F12, squared chainstays have replaced the F10’s oval shape, adding to the frames lateral stiffness under load.

The TiCR system is designed to be compatible with all three major electronic groupsets, including AXS, as well as mechanical drivetrains.

Full suspension road and e-gravel

The ultra-light race bike wasn’t the only new bike on display in Treviso, though. The Dogma F10 FS, which Team Sky raced before morphing into Ineos, also made an appearance. Like the Italian brand’s previous road suspension bike, the F10 FS is designed to excel on the harsh parcours of Paris-Roubaix. Only five of the full-squish road racers were made for Sky to race at 2019 Paris-Roubaix, but the bike is now getting a full release. The F10 FS features a full 20 mm of suspension up front and 10 mm out back. Both are controlled by Pinarello’s Dogma Smart Adaptive System, which reads terrain to automatically lock or unlock the F10 FS’s suspension. As an UCI WorldTour focused race machine, the Dogma F10 FS will only be offered in traditional rim brake format.

One surprise that drew possibly the most attention from the assembled crowd was the Nitro Gravel e-road, or e-gravel bike. Like the Nitro e-road bike, the Nitro Gravel uses a Fazua Evation power unit. For its mixed surface orientation, the Nitro Gravel uses a 1x drivetrain, and can run up to 700 x 42 mm or 650 x 2.1″ rubber. The bike is also fender and rack compatible.

As with the Nitro, the gravel e-bike uses a balance of 250 Watts maximum normal power and 60 Nm max torque to give the bikes assist a more natural feel. If you want to spin, the Nitro grave will help a little. Lay the hammer down, and the motor will help you mash away.

Pinarello Prince FX Disk

Just a hair below the top end of Pinarello’s line is the Prince FX. For 2020, the Prince adds some stopping power with the FX Disk configuration. The Prince FX Disk gets T900 grade carbon fibre, direct mount disk brakes, and all the other features of the Prince FX line.