GEAR
WHAT WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH
M O S T WANTED
TOM PIDCOCK’S PINARELLO DOGMA XC £TBC
When Tom Pidcock won Gold at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021, of course) he did it on a blacked-out BMC Fourstroke. This is only interesting if you already know he’s sponsored by road team Ineos Grenadiers, with bikes supplied by Pinarello, a brand that until now had no XC mountain bike to its name.
That all changed this year when it launched the Dogma XC, a bike that’s still not listed on the Pinarello website and is only available to Pidcock and teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. It’ll be available to buy in March 2024 next year, perfectly timed for the 2024 Olympic Games hype.
Perfect timing for Pidcock too though, who went out and won both the Men’s Elite Cross- Country Short Track and XCO race, at Nové Město in May. Ferrand Prévot came second in the latter, and fourth in the Short Track. Not bad for a new bike debut.
The bike uses a carbon frame and aluminium shock hardwear, while travel ranges from 90mm to 100mm. To do this you need two shocks though, swapping them out and moving between two mounting points on the top tube to accommodate different eye-to-eye lengths and maintain the same kinematics and geometry. It’s a flex-stay design, like the majority of World Cup XC bikes today, with the shock driven by the seatstays, and the chainstay mounting just above the BB area. The bike’s designed for 100mm or 120mm-travel forks. Of course we’ve no idea how the Dogma XC rides yet, except that it’s “progressive”, according to Pinarello.
There’s also a one-piece bar and stem, a stop block headset to prevent the bar overturning, and internal cable routing. It’s designed for a 1x12 drivetrain and 32t or 40t chainring.
It’s not a pretty bike, in fact we’d go so far as to call it downright ugly. Is it any good? We’d love to tell you but we’ve no idea, except to wonder why Tom Pidcock, a man renowned for his technical skill, managed to crash it on one descent and spin out on one climb while others managed just fine. Could his win be more about the man than the bike? It’s most wanted, then, for what it represents rather than what it is: a bike that’s designed for pure speed, at the expense of looks or ease of use. pinarello.com
SINGLETRACK MIND
Endura’s Singletrack full-face isn’t as feature-packed as the MT500, but the price is keen. For £130 you get an in-mould construction with EPS foam, a micro-adjust fit system, goggle strap gripper, removable padding and big heat vents. Three sizes and colours. £129.99, endurasport.com
BAR LOUNGE WEAR
Part of Peaty’s Pubwear line, this jumper is made from 85% organic ringspun combed cotton (more durable and softer than open-ended cotton) and 15% recycled polyester. It has a tailored fit, feels silky smooth inside and
