There are few bikes more successful than Pinarello’s Dogma, the all-round speed machine propelling Team Sky to Grand Tour glory on no less than eight different occasions in the past seven years.
Ridden by the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, this bike has been the key tool of success for nearly every one of Britain’s Grand Tour victories. But what is it about the Dogma that makes it so dominant? Let’s find out…
The winning formula
The bicycle manufacturing company, Pinarello, has always had racing in its DNA. Their founder, Giovanni Pinarello, competed in several editions of the Giro d’Italia in the early 1950s and though he was a competent professional, Giovanni Pinarello was no Chris Froome. He struggled to stand out in a peloton that contained the likes of Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi and Fiorenzo Magni.
In fact, it was this lack of distinction and recognition that led him to create his own brand of bicycles. In 1951 Giovanni Pinarello finished dead last in the Giro d’Italia, receiving the coveted maglia nera for his exploits. With dreams of pink however, he set about turning dead last into first place – even if he couldn’t achieve it, someone riding one of his bicycles surely could.
The brand was born in 1961 and since then has kept abreast of the constantly developing technologies that have transformed the road racing world. From the classic skinny tubed steel road bike with weighty metal rims, to the super sleek carbon fibre creations of today, Pinarello has dabbled – and won races – with them all.
The most well-known bike within Pinarello’s roster is undoubtedly their Dogma, an all-round speed machine that first hit the shelves back in 2002. It wasn’t until 2010 and the launch of Team Sky however that the Dogma started to scalp some big victories.
Its biggest came in the summer of 2012. Piloted by Bradley Wiggins, the Dogma steamrolled the rest of the competition, winning the Tour de France by a massive 3’21†margin over second place who was none other than Chris Froome, Wiggins’ teammate who also rode the Pinarello Dogma.
It has been a dominant decade for Pinarello’s Dogma and many other manufacturers have been left scratching their heads as to why the bike is so damn successful. Pinarello claim that the key to its success is actually in its asymmetric design.
“Asymmetry, a famous characteristic of all Pinarello frames, significantly increases the overall stiffness of the frame: different sections between the left and right sides allow a more balanced response to the forces during a ride. Since 2009 we have studied and implemented this concept on our bikes, to offer each rider a bike as balanced as possible,†explains the company.
Pinarello also pioneered a lot of aerodynamic technology, as well as some crucial weight saving hacks. Their Dogma F8 featured a lot of these upgrades and soon made them a staple for future iterations of the machine.
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Off to the Tour
The newest iteration of the Dogma is the Dogma F12, a mean looking machine that is due to make its Tour de France debut this summer under the control of Team Ineos’ two leaders, Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.
Pinarello claim that the new bike is “even more aero, even more powerful, even more beautiful†and we’re certainly not going to be the ones to argue with them – it looks like it means business.
The biggest change can be seen in the new Talon Ultra integrated handlebar that cuts drag by 5%. They’ve also tweaked the frame and fork, boasting a significant 7.3% reduction in drag. Pinarello claim that these aerodynamic improvements add up to an 8 watt saving when travelling at 40km/h, which – as we all know by now – can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Fancy trying out one of the most successful Grand Tour bikes of all time? Then head down to the store, our friendly team will be more than happy to size you up for a test ride. If all the bling isn’t for you, then check out the rest of the Pinarello bikes we stock here.
