Pinarello have finally released its full-suspension race bike and it’s as aggressive and uncompromising as the athletes it’s solely designed for. Did our ultra-experienced test editor Guy Kesteven get high on the pure speed of the Dogma XC or was he just glad to survive in one piece?

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Pinarello Dogma XC officially launches 2 World Championship-winning mountain bikes you can buy now: full-suspension or hardtail...

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Designed with the help of Olympic Champion Tom Pidcock, and ridden to victory in last summer’s World Championship XCO event in Glentress, you can’t deny the new Pinarello Dogma XC is officially the fastest cross-country bike in the world. And, like its creator, it’s an aggressive, ‘take no prisoners’ race bike that chews you up and spits you out if you’re not on your A-game. So if you’ve come expecting a fun, trail-ready ride like some of the best cross-country bikes on the market, you’re fat outta luck. Pinarello Dogma XC need to know World Championship winning XCO race bike Tom Pidcock’s personal geometry 2kg frame and shock, builds into a 10.4kg bike Super-stiff power transfer Premium race components Super-progressive suspension Frame and geometry In terms of time spent, there’s not a lot to unpack about the development of the Dogma XC, as it literally went from a team request from the Ineos Grenadiers to rideable prototype in three months, with Tom winning the World Cup at Nova Meste on the bike’s debut. In terms of a product development cycle, that’s unheard of. Which begs the question, how much of the Dogma’s success can be put down to the talent in the saddle, and how much should be credited to the designers? Something to ponder as you read this. The bikes I rode at the launch were the first medium and large sizes Pinarello had made, as both Tom Pidcock and fellow World Champion, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, ride small-sized frames. Pinarello even said it had barely ridden the development bikes in house, as it didn’t want to dilute the priorities of the athletes who would end up riding them. Bold stuff, but a mantra that’s worked very well for the brand with its multi-race and championship-winning road, cyclo-cross and track bikes, so it’s hard to fault Pinarello’s strategy in that respect. Both Tom and Pauline listed frame stiffness – particularly when standing – as a key performance goal, as both riders have a low cadence, high power pedalling style. That’s the reasoning behind the triangulated bottom bracket and asymmetric chainstays to balance left to right rear end stiffness. That rear end is made in two halves, with no bridges, to keep it super short (425mm). Instead Pinarello locks it together with a massive toothed Hirth joint pivot axle through the centre of the oversized axle. It’s not a svelte solution, and the Dogma XC definitely isn’t the lightest XCO frame around as a result (Pinarello says 1,749g for a small without shock, while the new S-Works Epic 8 frame that I tested recently is the same weight with a shock), but it is seriously stiff under power. Despite bushings in the neatly interlaced alloy upper linkages, the flex-stays move freely with a lively rebound spring. The machined shock mount can be unbolted and moved forwards to fit a 210x50mm damper if 10mm extra travel is required. As standard, the Dogma XC will ship with Pidcock and Prevot’s preferred* 190x45mm set-up, …Continue reading »

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No guarantees that riding the same bike as Tom Pidcock and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will improve your race results.

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