Most cyclists don’t affiliate Pinarello with mountain biking. However with its win within the Paris Video games by Nice Britain’s Tom Pidcock, the Italian model grabbed the highlight after a long time of just about solely specializing in street racing.
The Dogma XC is beautiful, with its distinctive uneven rear triangle and gold and multicolor paint scheme. However seems don’t win medals, and I wished to know if Pinarello’s long-standing profitable streak within the prime echelons of street racing would carry over to the grime. And, contemplating the equally elite pricing of Pinarello’s bikes, I wished to discern the worth of the $13,000 carbon fiber steed that landed on my doorstep.
I rode the Pinarello Dogma XC as onerous as I might for 3 months, specializing in quicker trails indicative of contemporary cross-country mountain bike races. My space is predominantly hard-pack slender trails. Limestone boulders of all sizes, from baseball to basketball, are all over the place. Ledges are plentiful and vary from just a few inches to nearly 3 toes.
As any racer would, I paid consideration to how this bike chased velocity greater than consolation. Given the value and the model’s racing pedigree, I used to be very vital.
In brief: If velocity is the purpose and racing is the vessel, the Pinarello Dogma XC delivers. The bike desires to go quick always. It really works higher on the restrict of health, as its stiffness and suspension traits convert effort into probably the most doable velocity. It’s not a motorcycle to cruise trails in consolation. It’s a rocket that may fly throughout race programs and quicker trails. This, after all, solely applies in case your pockets can shell out the 13K.
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Superb lateral and torsional stiffness -
Distinctive switch of pedaling energy -
Exact and fast dealing with -
No-holds-barred element spec -
Light-weight
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Costly -
Aggressive match is not for everybody -
Solely chases velocity with little regard for consolation
Pinarello Dogma XC Mountain Bike Evaluation
Specs
The Dogma XC can win races on the highest ends of the game, so Pinarello graces it with a no-holds-barred listing of go-fast items.
The carbon fiber flex-stay body has the perfect components of the flagship mountain bike groupsets from SRAM and Shimano. Pinarello specifies a SRAM XX SL Eagle Transmission drivetrain. It mates this to Shimano XTR brakes and a DT XRC carbon wheelset with Maxxis Recon Race rubber.
The body is absolutely built-in for the hydraulic brake hoses. Pinarello makes use of the extremely regarded M40J carbon fiber from Toray of Japan to kind the body.
A FOX 32 Manufacturing facility SC 100mm fork with Kashima coating handles entrance suspension duties, and a FOX Float SL Manufacturing facility with Kashima shock controls the rear of the Dogma XC. The Pinarello Dogma X may also settle for a 110mm fork and 100mm shock with out altering the kinematics.
The entrance cockpit is Pinarello’s Talon Extremely XC one-piece carbon bar and stem. The saddle is a Lynx 2.0 XC, and it sits on a FOX Switch SL with Kashima coating and a 100mm drop.
My massive check pattern weighed a verified 24 kilos with the included bottle cage and tubes within the tires however with out pedals.
What About That Body?
As soon as I obtained previous the putting paint job, it was onerous to not discover the distinctive rear triangle. Astute biking followers have seen the uneven design on Pinarello’s street racing bikes.
This design incorporates separate proper and left halves that differ from one another to raised deal with the totally different stresses on both sides. On most bikes, the left and proper halves of the rear triangle are principally mirror photos of one another, and the rear triangle is a single piece.
On the Pinarello Dogma XC, the 2 halves of the rear triangle are drastically totally different. Probably the most notable distinction is the droop within the non-drive aspect simply forward of the brake caliper. The drive aspect’s chainstay is bullet-straight. Pinarello claims that the design successfully counteracts the forces appearing on the drive aspect of the bike.
One other putting distinction on the Dogma XC body is the “triangulated” backside bracket space. It has a “crossbar” that connects the down tube and seat tube above the underside bracket. It creates a small triangle across the backside bracket that drastically reduces the leverage of the underside bracket on the down tube and seat tube.
And typical of Pinarello street frames, the Dogma XC’s body has creative swoops and curves not current in some other model of body I’ve ever examined.
Path Manners
Pinarello’s solely purpose with the Dogma XC is to win races. Figuring out that, I caught to trails that match the racing profile. This implies they had been quicker and didn’t require me to huck enormous gaps or drops. I needed to navigate rock gardens, tree roots, and ledges, however I by no means wanted greater than the very brief journey suspension on the bike.
However what I did want was extra health. One take a look at the virtually comically low handlebars (nonadjustable) and lengthy prime tube, and I knew this bike demanded that I journey at or close to the restrict of my cardio capability. And I obliged. As a result of I used to be on the fringe of my skill, I caught to trails I’ve ridden for almost 40 years.
I used to be rewarded with probably the most velocity I’ve felt in a full-suspension bike.
Chassis Effectivity
Racing is all about vitality effectivity, and the Dogma XC’s body has the attributes to show each watt into ahead movement.
The “triangle in a triangle” tube configuration across the backside bracket did what it visibly portrayed. The underside bracket was amazingly stiff laterally and rotationally. The carbon SRAM XX Eagle Cranks additionally added to the feeling that each muscle cell in my growing older physique was transferring vitality into the chain and rear wheel.
Even standing and making use of all of the torque I might muster, I by no means felt any considerable motion within the backside bracket. I additionally felt this fashion concerning the head tube. I might pressure the entrance wheels via the angular openings between boulders within the quite a few dry creek crossings on my traditional haunts. The carbon one-piece Talon UItra XC bar and stem, as did the DT XRC wheels, added to the sensation of torsional rigidity and management.
Flex-stay designs have by no means felt that clean to me, however they’re environment friendly with rider energy. The Pinarello Dogma XC was the identical. Mixed with the stiff backside bracket and comparatively brief chainstays, I needed to relearn tips on how to apply energy on the downstroke when climbing steep or dry sections. The fast and direct switch of pedaling forces to the rear wheel compelled me to focus on physique place and smoother pedaling to maintain the rear tire biting.
Sprinting out of turns felt as environment friendly as a few of my gravel bikes. The feeling of fast acceleration, on demand, was astounding and enjoyable. The two.25″ extensive tires, with their comparatively massive quantity, helped preserve a safe feeling within the quicker, higher-speed turns, they usually additionally helped quell chatter whereas on lean.
Pinarello Dogma XC Suspension Dynamics
Pinarello aimed the Dogma X to World Cup-style cross-country mountain bike racing, so it set the suspension up with velocity and precision at that velocity, not consolation. With these standards in thoughts, the suspension carried out as anticipated.
Rear Suspension
The very last thing a mountain bike racer desires to really feel when chasing the rider forward is the feeling that suspension motion is sucking up pedaling vitality. Any wasted wattage going into the fork or shock compressing isn’t driving the rear wheel. The Pinarello Dogma XC was among the many greatest at transferring pedaling forces into the rear wheel and never the suspension.
Within the absolutely open place on each the fork and shock, the suspension didn’t “take up” bumps however moderately attenuated the impact of both tire hitting an impediment. I might hold driving the bike ahead, in an aggressive place, so long as I jockeyed my physique accurately for the terrain.
Being a lazy, passive passenger didn’t work. I needed to transfer my physique round and use my limbs and joints to assist the suspension work. I needed to “race,” in my view, and never simply journey. The prize was velocity, which was repeatedly doable as a result of the bike took the sharp fringe of any hits.
Entrance Suspension
The reverse crown FOX 32 SC fork was the primary of the fashion I’d ridden. I discovered the preliminary journey fairly supple, however then it ramped up in a short time. The shock motion was agency all through its journey. Each ends of the bike held up nicely to bigger terrain obstacles, and I by no means as soon as felt like both collapsed unpredictably.
Damping Changes
I attempted the center damping positions just a few occasions however disregarded them for many of the testing interval. The variations between open and center had been drastic, and with the restricted suspension journey, I by no means felt it was price it.
The locked-out place was very stiff, and I solely engaged it when standing, driving on the roads between trails, or on hardpacked, dual-track flat sections the place I might hammer the biggest gear with out fear. Once more, the suspension “rounded” sharp edges diminished the abruptness of every hit, and my physique did the remaining. It jogged my memory of tightly suspended sports activities automobiles, not customary passenger automobiles.
Pinarello Dogma XC Dealing with
The entrance of the Dogma XC is comparatively steep, whereas the rear triangle is horizontally brief. As one might guess, the bike was snappy and fast to react to any rider enter.
It took me a day to find out how rapidly and exactly the Pinarello Dogma XC reacted to inputs. It required consideration whereas cornering however rewarded me with excessive precision. However I’ve to bolster that it required precision enter from me. Once I was fatigued, the bike let me know by reacting to any sloppy driving with on the spot reactions. At occasions, that meant lacking the supposed strains.
The brief chainstays made climbing steep angles a pleasure so long as I saved my torso down and head over the entrance. The bike might tractor up brief, abrupt pitches that I couldn’t do on different bikes.
However the brief rear finish made quick descending harder. Like cornering, I needed to be mentally and bodily keep on level whereas descending the steep, brief, and rocky downhills I frequent. The again of the bike was vulnerable to skipping out greater than longer fashions, and I needed to hold my weight intentionally unfold out between the 2 wheels.
Different Efficiency Elements
Pinarello graces the Dogma XC with top-of-the-line parts, even splitting groupsets to cherry-pick the best-performing components. For a racer, these selections left little to be desired.
Shifting
The SRAM XX SL Eagle Transmission was distinctive. As soon as I had the ergonomics of the AXS shifter pod positioned completely, I didn’t need to consciously do something about shifting.
I didn’t shift forward of time, nor did I take stress off the pedals whereas shifting on climbs. I hit a button, and the shifts occurred reliably and with a assured “clunk” with out the chain dragging between cogs. Up or down, the drivetrain on the Dogma XC was as slick as might be for a mountain bike.
Braking
I applaud any bike model for bearing what’s probably an additional expense for not mounting full groupsets. Whereas I’ve by no means had points with SRAM Transmission, I’ve generally desired higher braking efficiency from the matching brakes. Seeing the XTR brakes on this bike strengthened the assumption that Pinarello was after each efficiency achieve it might attain, no matter price.
As per traditional with XTR hydraulic disc brakes, I discovered the efficiency top-notch. XTR brakes have all the time offered the perfect preliminary chunk, progressiveness, and energy, and it was no totally different aboard the Pinarello Dogma XC.
The Relaxation
I by no means seen the DT XRC wheels besides for his or her responsiveness, tightness, and stiffness in opposition to entrance axle rotation. They felt like extensions of the body and reacted accordingly. After numerous impacts with rocks at excessive velocity, they rolled as true as they did the primary day.
For my principally hard-packed space, the Maxxis Recon Race tires had been distinctive. They rolled amazingly quick, had nice grip in any respect angles, and I by no means felt the tires squirm. But when I needed to navigate even barely softer terrain or mud, I’d undoubtedly change tires.
The FOX Switch SL dropper put up labored each time I actuated the left-hand lever. There have been no points by any means in the course of the testing interval. Solely time will inform if FOX has squashed the sticking points I’ve had with older, longer-term dropper posts.
Lastly, the match isn’t for everybody; it’s lengthy and low. If you happen to come from a street racing background, you’ll really feel proper at dwelling. However in case you’re used to path bikes, the entrance dimensions of the Dogma XC would possibly really feel overly aggressive.
Ultimate Phrase
Pinarello didn’t attempt to span any gaps between mountain bike classes. It didn’t put 120mm suspension on it (though this bike accepts it), and attempt to name it a downcountry bike. It didn’t slacken the geometry to make the bike extra lenient, nor did it increase the bars as much as accommodate something however flat-out driving.
The Pinarello Dogma XC is decidedly one-dimensional; it’s a race bike. And like a race automobile, it’s not allocating any assets to consolation and places all its chips down on pure velocity.
The Dogma XC delivered on the spot, on-demand energy switch, exact and lightning-quick steering, low weight, and a spare-no-expense components specification. Sure, it’s absurdly costly. However if you wish to journey as quick as you’ll be able to on a machine that responds immediately and exactly to each enter, it’s going to be onerous to prime this machine.
