Test Pinarello Dogma XC: How good is the Olympic champion hardtail for € 11,000?
Jan Timmermann
· 27.11.2024
The name of the Pinarello Dogma XC Hardtail is enough to make cycling fans' eyes sparkle. Up to now, legendary racing bikes from Italy have run under the Dogma label - beautiful and sinfully expensive. Like a title of nobility, it also adorns the first Pinarello hardtail. It is thanks to the team riders of the Ineos Grenadiers squad that the Italians, with their penchant for racy design, jumped on the wide rubber band bandwagon in the first place. The road pros also wanted to compete at the highest level in MTB sport and needed a suitable base - among them none other than Pauline Ferrand-Prévot and Tom Pidcock. True cycling jacks-of-all-trades who can ride mountain bikes at the highest level as well as asphalt cutter tyres. Today the Tour de France, tomorrow the Cyclocross World Championships, the day after tomorrow the Olympic Games in cross-country MTB: an ordinary, average hardtail would suit neither the legends nor Pinarello.
Not long after Pidcock and Ferrand-Prévot had been racking up one XC World Cup victory after another, the pictures of a Pinarello hardtail prototype in public for the first time. Wild shapes, strong asymmetry and, of course, the sporting dominance of the pilots aroused great curiosity. In April 2024, Pinarello finally let the cat out of the bag and presented the production-ready Dogma hardtail. Now normal people can own the same bike as the best of the best. A stroke of marketing genius was Pauline Ferrand-Prévot's Olympic victory shortly after the release of the. Pidcock also won gold at the Games in Paris on a Pinarello Dogma - albeit on the Fully of the same name.
Details of the Pinarello Dogma XC Hardtail
- Area of application: Cross Country / Marathon
- Suspension travel: 100 mm
- Wheel size: 29"
- Frame material: Carbon
- Complete bike price: 11,000 euros
- Price frameset: 5000 Euro
- Weight: 9.1 kg
The race hardtail from Pinarello: everything but ordinary
Naturally, only the highest quality carbon fibres were considered as the base material for a top mountain bike from Pinarello. The chassis of the Dogma XC is made entirely of Toray M40J carbon fibre, with the layup varying at different points on the frame depending on the load specifications. Together with the asymmetrical triangular design of the rear triangle, Pinarello aims to achieve a particularly high level of stiffness at the rear. The non-drive side is additionally reinforced in the carbon laminate to withstand the high forces of the world's best cyclists. The Italians are not exactly known for restraint and even speak of the stiffest bottom bracket area in the mountain bike world.
According to Pinarello, it has also invested a lot of development effort in the one-piece carbon cockpit on the new Dogma hardtail. Low weight, high steering precision - that's the promise. To protect the frame from damage, the steering stop limiter stops at 60 degrees of steering angle. However, this is clearly too early for our taste. The problem is not the risk of collision between the handlebars and top tube, but between the fork crown and down tube. In practice, the Dogma has the turning circle of a log lorry due to the extremely early onset of the limit. This alone unnecessarily restricts the bike's ability on winding courses. Pidcock probably never steers, but steers the black and red rocket with speed and power alone. For the average person, the steering stop is more of a bug than a feature, as is the tight tyre clearance of a maximum of 2.3 inches.
Price question
It goes without saying that a Pinarello Dogma is not available at a bargain price. Sales only start at 7000 euros. The top model costs 11,000 euros, and the price of 5000 euros for the frameset alone will bring tears to the eyes of anyone interested. In any case, the high-end hardtail is rarely seen in the "real" world. However, the value of a Pinarello Dogma should not be measured by cold figures alone. The price-performance ratio of a Ferrari can hardly be rationalised. The Italian is the most expensive bike in our comparison and also has the most expensive and heaviest frame:
- Bike Ahead The Frame frame: 912 grams / 1970 euros
- Cannondale Scalpel HT Lab71 frame: 1035 grams / no individual sale
- Pinarello Dogma HT frame: 1215 grams / 5000 euros
- Storck Rebel Platinum frame: 1160 grams / 2499 euros
Features of the Pinarello Dogma XC hardtail
- Fork: Fox 32 Factory Float SC SL
- Gear system: Sram XX1 SL Eagle AXS, 1 x 12
- Gear ratio / bandwidth: 34, 10-52 / 520 %
- Brakes: Shimano XTR 160/160 mm
- Seatpost / Diameter: Most Carbon / 30.9 mm
- Wheels: DT Swiss XRC 1200 Spline 30 mm
- Tyres: Maxxis Rekon Race Exo TR; 29 x 2.25"
How the Olympic champion hardtail rides on the trail
Stretched far forwards and crouched low, racers take a seat on the Pinarello Dogma XC Hardtail. The handlebar/stem unit is so long and flat that the rider is immediately forced into a sprinting position. The grips with double screw clamps unfortunately look inconsistent on the lightweight supersports bike. We would have liked the control centre to be a little higher to ease the handling of the race file and relax the neck muscles, but design seems to be more important to Pinarello than functionality. The one-piece spacers can only be replaced when the hydraulic rear brake system is opened. Mamma mia! Managgia!
Pinarello opted for somewhat unusual proportions for the geometry. The Dogma XC Hardtail has the slackest real seat angle in our test field. Although the customer is only given a small amount of seatpost to pull out anyway, with a large extension bikers pedal far from the rear. On steep ramps, there is a lack of pressure on the cranks. This is probably not a problem if you are a cycling demigod, but for everyone else it takes some getting used to. Together with the long front triangle and the low front end, the Pinarello hardtail is difficult to control in technical climbing sections due to the large lever. To keep the Dogma safely in line, you definitely need an experienced hand on the handlebars.
The Pinarello Dogma XC hardtail brings up the rear of our test group not only in terms of frame weight but also wheel weight. The acceleration of the Dt Swiss carbon wheels is not bad per se, but it is the slowest in the comparison. The fact that the Dogma still pulls away passably is thanks to the chassis, which converts the power input directly into speed. When it comes to bottom bracket stiffness, Pinarello really seems to have hit the nail on the head. It is all the more astonishing that the rear triangle has a considerable vertical flex, which can even be clearly recognised with the naked eye when the rider drops into the saddle. This compliance ensures the best seat comfort values we have measured in a long time. Unfortunately, the seat area of the frame creaks and cracks loudly from time to time - unpleasant for such an expensive product!
Experts only: The Pinarello hardtail on the descent
The Dogma XC shows a similar picture downhill as it does uphill: dawdling is not an option! Due to the 468 millimetre reach and the 100 millimetre stem, the Pinarello Dogma quickly feels bulky and not very lively at low speeds. Due to its length, it feels significantly slower in many riding situations than the other top candidates from Bike Ahead and Cannondale. Without a dropper post and with tame profiled tyres, a solid riding technique is required. On cross-country trails, the bike can only show its strengths when the basic speed is high and the rider is extremely confident. This should also apply to the braking behaviour, as the Shimano XTR stoppers provide sufficient stopping power, but the small 160 brake disc on the front wheel in particular quickly reaches its limit.
It's not just the handling that is affected by the unconventional combination of geometry and cockpit. Although the filigree Fox 32 SC SL actually does a sensitive, confident job, it is weaker than the Lefty forks in Cannondale and Bike Ahead with so much load on the front. Its rebound is also almost impossible to adjust on the trail, as this requires a long 2.5 mm Allen key. For the same reason that the fork has a hard time in the Dogma, the advantage of the slack head angle on steep descents is cancelled out and the feeling of safety suffers. If you don't have the surname Pidcock, you should definitely order the Pinarello with a higher steering centre.
From the test lab
Measured values
- Total weight: 9.05 kg (without pedals)
- Frame weight: 1215 g
- Weight of wheels: 3933 g
- Acceleration of running wheels: 3301 kg x cm²
- Seat comfort: 12.01 mm
We determine the weight of the complete bike without pedals in the BIKE test lab. The wheel weight is per set with tyres, cassette and brake discs. The following applies to wheel inertia: the lower the measured value, the easier it is to accelerate.
Review of the Pinarello Dogma hardtail
- Uphill riding behaviour (15%): 2.75
- Play instinct (8%): 3.75
- Downhill riding behaviour (12%): 2.75
- Downhill suspension (10%): 1.50
Driving behaviour grade (45%): 2.65
- Weight without pedals (12%): 1.25
- Inertia impellers (6%): 2.50
- Seating comfort (12%): 0.50
Lab grade (30%): 1.20
- Equipment quality (5%): 0.90
- Usability/added value (5%): 3.00
- Transport volume bottle cage (5%): 0.50
- Saddle retractability (5%): 5.00
- Quality/processing (5%): 1.75
Equipment grade: 2.23
Overall grade: 2.23
Conclusion
Pinarello fans simply have to realise the following: The Dogma Hardtail is an extremely stubborn mountain bike. Special proportions and design features on the frame and cockpit make everyday life difficult for bikers. But that's not what the Ferrari of race bikes with a rigid rear end was built for. The concept may work for the best professionals in their field. Rationally-minded average consumers are better off keeping their hands off the red-hot dogma. - Jan Timmermann, BIKE test editor
Pro
- High starting rigidity
- Very high seating comfort
Contra
- Flat real seat angle
- Long, deep front end plays with geometry and equipment advantages
- Price-performance ratio
Jan Timmermann
Editor
