BIKE
OF THE
MONTH
1 2 3
T
eam Sky’s one-day
record hasn’t been
as impressive as
its achievements in
multi-day Grand Tours, but Brailsford’s
boys pulled a trick from their cycling
jersey sleeves last year – the Pinarello
Dogma K8-S. The French and Belgian
Classics are uniquely challenging
events, their cobbles stressing both
bike and rider – which is where the
K8-S’s rear damping comes into play.
This Dogma debuted in the northern
Classics last year, and was also ridden
over the cobbles in the Tour de France.
Most of this bike’s features are pretty
familiar, from the aero-profile carbon
frame with its internal cable routing,
oversized tapered head-tube (1) and
massive bottom bracket shell, to the
25mm tyres. But the frame has been
developed in association with Jaguar
Land Rover, which knows something
about damping and suspension, and it
comes with Pinarello’s unique DSS 1.0- or Dogma Suspension System (2).
This adjustable elastomer setup offers
10mm of rear-end suspension, smoothing
cobbles, increasing performance by a
claimed 4.6 per cent and comfort by 50
per cent, which should knock the edge off
Roubaix’s brutal pavé. To do this effectively
the frame also features Pinarello’s
‘Flexstay’, chainstays (3) which have
been flattened to act like leaf springs.
According to Sir Bradley Wiggins, “from
the moment you get on it, you realise
the difference straight away, especially
on the cobbles... the improved flex in
the rear is game-changing for cycling”.
The rest of the frame’s tubing is bang
up to date, with flattened teardrop aero
profiling and a novel clamping system
for the carbon aero seatpost, which
houses the Di2 battery and is itself
claimed to improve vertical compliance- of course – by 40 per cent. Rather
than a single bolt, with its seatpost-
crushing potential, this has three 3mm
diameter bolts; the stem clamp has a
similar system, albeit with 4mm bolts.
Elsewhere it’s a pro-level Shimano
Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, kit from
Pinarello’s house brand MOST, a Selle
Italia saddle and Vittoria Open Corsa
tyres. The Fulcrum Zero Nite wheels
have a 25mm-deep front rim, and 30mm
rear, and come with a specially treated
braking surface designed to increase both
hardness and wear resistance.
Let’s just hope that Geraint Thomas and
co can break that elusive Classics duck on
the Dogma K8-S this time...
SPECIFICATION
Weight
7.28kg (58cm)
Frame Torayca
T1100 carbon
Fork Carbon T1100
Wheels Fulcrum
Racing Zero Nite
Gears Shimano
Dura-Ace Di2, 50/34,
11-28
Brakes
Shimano Dura-Ace
Finishing kit
MOST F-Series
stem, MOST carbon
bar, aero carbon
seatpost, Selle Italia
SLR saddle, 25mm
Vittoria Open Corsa
CX Pro tyresPINARELLO DOGMA K8-S
Sky’s Classics-challenging, cobble-smothering Italian flyer
72 // March 2016