Pinarello has a new Dogma F: no number required
Pinarello has a new Dogma F: no number required
Pinarello has today unveiled its new Dogma F, the successor to its three-time Grand Tour-winning Dogma F12 and the latest in a Dogma family line which stretches back almost 20 years.
The Dogma F maintains the same performance focus and signature design cues as its predecessors. Improvements in aerodynamics and stiffness are paired with Pinarello’s asymmetric philosophy and signature wave-like shapes of the Onda forks.
At first glance, it appears Pinarello has opted for subtle updates to some tube sizing and profiling, however, upon closer inspection it is clear Pinarello has made significant updates to the seatstay design and seat tube interface. The seatstays on the new frame are dropped much further down the seat tube, and feature the ever-more-popular wing-like profile taking the stays out and away from the frame before dropping to the rear hub.
Pinarello has never offered dedicated aero or climbing bikes and it is sticking with a one-bike approach for the new Dogma F. By way of reasoning, the Italian brand points to the varying terrain riders encounter in the real world and reminds us that everyday riders are not specialists.
In designing the bike, Pinarello focused on handling, performance, and comfort first and foremost, with weight being of secondary importance.
Bucking the recent trend of disc-brake-only performance bikes, Pinarello will offer the new Dogma F in both rim- and disc-brake variants. However, slightly different cable routing on the new frame means the bike is only compatible with electronic groupsets.
As you might expect, the new bike is said to be a significant update to its older sibling. Pinarello says the new Dogma F is its purest expression yet in the art of balancing aerodynamics, weight, geometry, tube shaping, and choice of carbon and has backed this up with some data.
Pinarello claims that, compared to the outgoing Dogma F12, the new frame is 265 grams lighter (size 53, disc-brake version), and 12% stiffer at the bottom bracket. Most notable of the weight-shaving updates is a 3D-printed titanium saddle clamp, which saves 35 g compared to the F12 version.
In the two years since its launch, the F12 has faced as many questions about its weight as a WorldTour pro will field in their whole career. While Pinarello says weight was not top of its list of priorities, it has found an 11% saving in the combined weight of the new frame, forks, seatpost, and handlebar.
Claimed weights for the new Dogma F are 6.9 kg for the disc-brake version with SRAM Red Etap AXS and DT Swiss Arc1400 with no pedals, and 6.8 kg for the rim-brake Dura-Ace Di2 9100-equipped bike with rim brake variant of the same wheels. I weighed the 55 cm review bike at 7.4 kg with Favero Assioma pedals and a single Most bottle cage.
Pinarello also quoted wind-tunnel-verified CFD comparisons suggesting the new Dogma F rim brake is 3.2% more aerodynamic than the F12 rim, while the disc-brake bike sees an even larger improvement of 4.8% compared to the F12 disc.
These savings translate to a claimed 1.3 W and 2.6 W saving at 40 km/h and 50 km/h – hardly earth-shattering savings, but the Dogma F12 was already regarded as one of the most aero road bikes in the peloton.
While other brands have opted for greater tyre clearance on modern road bikes, Pinarello is bucking another trend in offering clearance for a maximum 28 mm of rubber.
Pinarello has retained a similar geometry as found on the outgoing F12, and offers 11 frame sizes (two less than with the F12), 16 handlebar options, and two seatpost setback options.
Japanese carbon fibre specialist Toray provide the same Torayca T1100 1K weave with nanoalloy technology as used in the F12. Pinarello claims this Torayca T1100 carbon is at the top of the quality-to-price ratio and is the same carbon used in modern aircraft.
Since the Dogma F8 launch in 2014, Pinarello has followed a steady course with new iterations of the Dogma roughly every two years. After the F10, and more recently the F12, the expectation was to see an F14 sometime this year. However, Pinarello has decided to drop the numerical classification for its new flagship model, and hence the new bike is simply the Dogma F.
Pinarello says the dictionary definition of the word “dogma” was the inspiration for dropping the numbering scheme used for the previous seven generations of the Dogma frame.
Dogma:
“noun – a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true: the dogmas of faith”
I can’t yet comment on whether everything Pinarello claims of the new Dogma F is “incontrovertibly true” – that will have to wait for an upcoming in-depth review of the new bike. In the meantime, we have Pinarello’s word on why the new Dogma drops the number: “A Dogma is a dream bike, regardless of the model, and so we chose to use a simple F, as a link with the past and a symbol of the present, while also creating an identity for the future.”
While the new Dogma F announcement is later in the year than Pinarello typically unveils new frames, it is just in time for the Tour de France. The Ineos Grenadiers will all line up for the Grand Départ on the new bike.
The new frame is available in three colours: Plutonium Flash (as pictured), Eruption Red, and Black on Black, with component options from SRAM, Campagnolo, and Shimano.
Pinarello says a limited number of bikes are available in July and August for select Pinarello dealers, with the Dogma F planned for wider release in September. As of the time of publishing, Pinarello could not yet confirm pricing for the new Dogma.
Stay tuned for an in-depth review of the new Dogma F in the coming weeks.
I have a Plutonium Flash (silver) Dogma F with SRAM Red Etap AXS and DT Swiss wheels in for review. 
Initial impressions are good; full review to follow. 
Pinarello retains its signature look with the wave-like Onda fork. 
The wave-like design extends onto the new dropped and wing-like seatstays. 
Another look at that seatstay/seat tube interface. 
The Dogma F: all about the aeros.
