A few weeks back, while most of the pro peloton was jetting off to their first races of the season, I was invited to Spain. Precisely, Denia and the four-star Syncrosfera hotel. A venue that sees many big-name riders hole up throughout the winter due to the option of sleeping in hypoxic rooms. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there to better my performance with a month’s worth of napping at a simulated 2000m; instead, I was there to test the new Pinarello F-Series bikes, not that I’m complaining!
If you’re familiar with Pinarello, you’ll already know that the letter F has been thrown about liberally over the years; there was the Paris FP, the numerous Dogmas, from the F2 released in 2011 through to the F12 and the current Dogma F. And now to add to that and to clean up the range Pinarello is simply calling the new bike the F-Series.
The new F-Series line is taking aim at those who want a race-ready bike but don’t or can’t afford the Dogma. Basically, the exact market where the Pinarello Prince always sat. That’s right, the Prince is no more; in its place sits the F-Series.
Geometry
The new bike’s geometry mirrors quite closely that of the machine that Ineos use to great effect. There are a few tweaks to differentiate it from the Dogma, the F-series have a slightly higher stack, and the reach is marginally longer across the sizes. Fork rake and head angle are identical, coming in at somewhere between 69.5 degrees and 73.4, depending on size. The fork rake is identical to the Dogma. What does differ is chainstay length, again this is different across the sizes, with the smallest offering mirroring what you get with a Dogma being 406mm or 408, and then the larger sizes gaining a millimetre or two over the larger size Dogma’s. It’s a bike that Pinarello hopes should cater to a market that wants a “proper race bike”.
The new F-Series has a clean three-bike line-up, the F5, F7 and F9, with the F9 being the all-singing, all-dancing top dog in the range. All three share the same mould, so there’s no difference in appearance, but the choice of carbon under the glossy paint differs. The F7 and F9 are constructed from Toray T900, with the F5 using the slightly heavier but more shock-absorbing T700 carbon. As for sizes, well, Pinarello has been quite generous in this department, offering the new bikes in nine different sizes, quite a range, as most bikes we see today come in roughly seven size options. So finding the right fit should be smooth, depending on how plentiful the bikes are. Sizes range from 43cm centre-to-centre through to 59.5cm.
The details
As I’ve mentioned, the F5 carries a slight weight penalty due to its use of T700 carbon, with an unpainted frame tipping the scales at 995 g for a size 53cm; the F7 and F9 in the same size, unpainted, shaves 40 grams off of the F5’s weight, coming in at 955 g. All three models share the same fork, no change in carbon layup here, so all come in at 520g uncut.
Like most race bikes today, integration is de rigueur, and the F-Series doesn’t shy away from toeing the line. Both bars/stem and seat post are proprietary. The seat post is shockingly skinny on first inspection, and the cherry on top of it is that the new F-series can claim to be the first mass-produced bike to have titanium 3D-printed seat clamp and seat post clamp. Why? Well, it’s that all-elusive weight-to-performance ratio. Either way, it’s a welcomed addition, as parts like these are often forgotten about or corners cut on high-end bikes.
Tyre clearance is obviously a hot topic, but don’t expect anything extreme this is a pure race/road/competition bike, so it’ll “only” accept up to a 30mm wide tyre. Man, to think that’s a minimum now!
As with all Pinarellos, their asymmetric seat and chain stays are incorporated into the design. It’s something I’ve questioned in years gone by, but now in a world where bikes only come in disc brake options, it makes better sense than ever. The head tube also gets the asymmetric makeover for the same reason.
Aerodynamics have been addressed, and many of the design elements that are found on the Dogma are included here. From Pinarello’s TICR integrated cable routing system, aero seat post, a downtube that hides the bottle cage away right through to that very narrow top tube. It’s all very slick looking.
Price and range
Pricing and range options differ from territory to territory, with the biggest notable difference for a region being that the F9 isn’t even offered in the U.K. or U.S. at all. Quite a surprise.
As mentioned, the bike comes in three frame options, with the F5 coming in three build options—either an Ultegra mechanical with Fulcrum racing 800DB wheels €5,150, this is only offered in Europe. And two Shimano 105 Di2 builds one version with Fulcrum Racing 800DB wheels at $6,000 / €6,150 / £5,250. As for the same set-up with MOST Ultrafast carbon wheels, this will retail for $6,950 / €6,800 / U.K. N.A. Each of these is available in what Pinarello calls Impulse blue or Impulse grey.
Stepping up to the F7, this again comes in two group set options, Ultegra Di2 $8,800/ €8,850 / £7,000 or just for those in Europe with SRAM Force AXS at €8,750. Both with the MOST Ultra Fast 40 wheelset. Colour options this time around are either Razor black or Razor red.
Lastly, the F9 comes in two builds and a single colour option, a glistening deep pearlescent white. The Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, 12-speed groupset, matched with MOST Ultrafast 40 wheels or the Sram Red AXS will dent your pockets for €11,900.
As for a frameset, well, again, you’re in luck, or at least you are if you live in Europe as it’s the only region where Pinarello is offering the F9 as a frame set only, price, €5000.
First ride review
I’ll preface this by admitting that I’ve never been taken with Pinarello, or at least since they started playing about with the Onda forks and stays; they’ve just somehow never appealed, I know, a shocking admission for a Brit. So, the new F series bike is the first Pinarello I’ve thrown a leg over in at least 15 years, so please take what you want from that statement.
With that admission, I should cut straight to the meat of this review. Did I like the bike? Pinarello has done a sterling job at producing, I think, a bike that should appeal to a market that you could say has been underserved as of late and neglected a little while the industry jumped on the gravel/all-road trend. It’s a bike for those that are looking for a high-end race-orientated machine that can handle long days in the saddle without breaking your back. Something that can take on elite-level races and is equally at home in the (not as popular as a few years back ) Gran Fondo scene.
We spent just one day getting to know the bike, so this is more of a first-ride review rather than a full in-depth analysis. But that one ride sure took some great roads for seeing what this bike offers.
And what it has to offer is a ride that’s got it all, it’s comfortable, feels fast under you, stiff enough for its intended use, and light enough to tackle any given climb without holding you back. Basically an exceptionally well-rounded bike. But all that comes at a cost, especially the top-tier F9 that I rode. With a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 12-speed groupset, Pinarello’s in-house MOST Ultra fast carbon wheels (Vision metron 40s rebadged) wrapped in Pirelli p-Zero Race TLR tubeless tires, MOST proprietary one-piece carbon bar and stem and their in house branded saddle the asking price is up there in the wallet-draining league. At €10,000, it’s very pricey, so it should ride nicely. And it achieves that, thankfully.
This may sound slightly nuts, but bikes at this price point, teetering into the mental money category, always seem somewhat lost. I’m guessing if you are the type to have ten grand to splash down on a bike, you’ve got the extra three or four for the top-end model, in this case, the Dogma F. A bike that though slightly different in geometry, isn’t a million miles away from what the F-Series is. And let us be honest here: most who pay superbike money buy them for the bling and kudos factor rather than their race-ready potential.
But slip down the range, and the F7 and 5 make a lot more sense. The F7 with Ultegra Di2 or Force AXS loses nothing in performance over the F9 but costs somewhere in the region of 2-3 grand less. And as for the F5, at €4500, it almost seems, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, a good buy. Especially if you got the mechanical Ultegra, a groupset that is more than enough for anyone, heck I’ve seen it used on pro bikes at the cobbled classics many times.
All in all, the bike is lovely, not just in the way it rides but in its looks; yep, I’m a convert; the slightly toned-down Onda curves aren’t as “different” as they used to be. The fact that the bike’s silhouette is recognisable over many “samie” top-end bikes pleases me too.
Pinarello is delivering here a bike of old that, a few years back, before the huge boom in gravel and all-road took over, would have been an ideal choice for many. Does that mean it’s very late to the game? Heck no, it’s a welcome addition, a bike that may not be on trend, but one that is simply a great standard race bike that performs sublimely, a classic bike with all the advantages of today’s technological advantages. A bike that does one job, and one job only, not an N+1 killer, not a multi-use machine, but a bike that is ideal for the tarmac, be it in a race, a long ride or out the Sunday cafe burn-up.
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