Pinarello X Series 2026 first ride Prosecco Hills, Italy; X-STAYS 2.0 boost comfort, reduce vibrations

Pinarello X Series 2026 first ride Prosecco Hills, Italy; X-STAYS 2.0 boost comfort, reduce vibrations

New Pinarello X 2026 First Ride Review – Joyride? | GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine

Relaxed riding position? Comfort? Yawn … Sounds pretty boring. Even for an endurance bike. With the new X Series, Pinarello wants to prove that endurance can be fun without being extreme. Does it work? We’ll find out in our first ride review.

Pinarello’s launch video for the X Series shows people laughing. They laugh while riding. They laugh while sharing snacks. They laugh while taking a break. So, this bike is about joy. Not the joy of winning, but the joy of riding. Until now, joy has played a rather minor role in how Pinarello have positioned themselves as a brand. The company from Treviso in northern Italy have built their reputation on success and exclusivity. Iconic winning machines, rather than experience-driven fun bikes.

At the very top of the pecking order sits the Pinarello Dogma. It comes in two flavours. The Dogma F is the uncompromising WorldTour racer. The Dogma X is the more accessible option for everyone who wants to go fast without every second ride ending at their local chiropractor. It comes with slightly more relaxed geometry, more compliance at the rear, and more tire clearance. What the F and X have in common are prestige and price. You’ll need to have around €15,000 tucked away before swinging a leg over that distinctive top tube with its signature Pinarello kink. That’s not so funny.

The X Series is different. More attainable, more relaxed ergonomically, yet still unmistakably Pinarello. Just how much joy the new 2026 Pinarello X is to ride, we’ll tell you in our first ride review.

Endurance Athlete – The Pinarello X in Detail

Atlas Glow is the name of the orange-and-black paint job, its metallic pigments sparkling in the Italian morning sun. We’re in the Prosecco Hills, and the colourways alone are already putting us in a sparkling wine kind of mood. Pink, blue or titanium – the Pinarello X is elaborately styled and clearly has no interest in understatement. The design language is typically Pinarello: extravagant, with the curved Onda fork, a new elliptical head tube, and the signature kink in the top tube. Add flowing transitions and an integrated cockpit to the mix, and you’re looking at quite a statement. The biggest update, however, is found at the rear: X-STAYS 2.0.

On the previous generation, the seat tube and seat stays were connected at four points, with the stays also joined together by an X-shaped structure. Pinarello called this complex construction X-STAYS, designed to provide more compliance at the rear without compromising lateral stiffness. To make it work, the seat stays themselves were remarkably slender.

The latest iteration of the X-STAYS keeps the name, but loses the X-shaped brace, with the seatstays now taking a more direct route to join a little lower down the seat tube. According to Pinarello, who have already implemented the design in the Dogma X, the result is even more comfort and control, with fewer vibrations reaching the rider.

The X-STAYS 2.0 also make for a much cleaner-looking rear end. The previous version had a touch of over-engineering about it; the new generation feels far more coherent with the flowing shapes of the Pinarello X Series. And the obligatory aero question? Pinarello answer it with a shrug: X-STAYS 2.0 are about compliance, not aerodynamics.

Also new is a storage compartment in the down tube. With the Dogma X leaning more towards the racing end of the endurance spectrum, Pinarello can give the X Series a more distinct all-road identity – storage included. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of turning bike frames into luggage compartments. Quite apart from potential compromises in down tube stiffness, there’s always the fear of being driven mad by something rattling around inside the frame. To keep things quiet, Pinarello equips the X Series with a practical sleeve that can be pulled out of the down tube without too much fiddling. A strap connects the compartment lid directly to the sleeve. Whether that adds to the joy is up to you. At least it keeps the frustration at bay.

The generous 40 mm tire clearance and flexible seatpost fit neatly into the X Series’ all-road ambitions, too. The latter offers up to 10 mm of flex and will already be familiar to Pinarello fans from the Grevil. Less pleasing, at least in the larger frame sizes, are the somewhat compressed proportions of the X Series. The long head tube pushes the kinked top tube high up, without much noticeable slope towards the rear. That gives the front end a slightly bulky appearance, especially in the larger frame sizes.

Plenty of Choice – Pinarello X Models and Specs

Unlike the Dogma X, the X Series comes in five different models, which differ in both carbon layup and spec. While the X9 and X7 use Torayca T900 carbon fibres, the X5 and X3 make do with T700. The former frames are lighter and stiffer, while the latter add a little weight and give. The X1 is the odd one out: it’s essentially the previous-generation bike with the original X-STAYS design, no storage compartment, but the option of running a mechanical groupset.

Interestingly, despite SRAM UDH compatibility – and Campagnolo being practically just around the corner – every complete build comes with a Shimano groupset. Pinarello’s in-house component brand MOST takes care of the wheels, saddles and cockpits.

The X1 kicks things off at €3,200, pairing a mechanical Shimano 105 groupset with MOST Fast 27 DB aluminium wheels. Step up to the X5 with Shimano 105 Di2 and MOST Fast 45 DB carbon wheels, and you’re looking at €5,100. And if money is no object, €11,000 gets you the X9 with Dura-Ace Di2 and MOST Ultrafast 45 DB wheels. A bargain it is not. But then again, the X is still a Pinarello.

Compared to the featherweight Dogma X, the X9 carries around 650 g of extra baggage, tipping the scales at 7.7 kg versus 7.06 kg. The difference comes from both frame and components, with at least some of it likely down to the considerably chunkier rubber. After all, the X Series rolls out of the box on generous 38 mm tires.

Tuning tip: 35 mm tires could inject a little more agility.

Comfort Zone – X Series Geometry

Endurance used to be synonymous with back-friendly comfort and a relaxed riding position. These days, you need to look a little closer to make sure your endurance bike doesn’t turn out to be a race-focused aero machine in disguise. Whether it’s Canyon with the Endurace CFR or Pinarello with the Dogma X, some modern endurance bikes are closer to race bikes with a little comfort left in the tank than classic all-round road bikes. There simply is no such thing as the endurance bike anymore.

The X Series geometry doesn’t even try to pretend it’s a race bike. Instead, it comes remarkably close to what anyone who isn’t neck-deep in the geometry rabbit hole probably imagines an endurance bike to be: a long head tube, short top tube, plenty of stack and not so much reach. The result is a more upright, compact riding position that feels noticeably different to the Dogma X. In a size 58, the head tube alone is almost three centimetres taller – that’s more than just a subtle difference.

Pinarello’s approach to bike fitting, on the other hand, is all about the finer details. The X Series comes in nine closely spaced frame sizes, giving riders at both ends of the height spectrum a good chance of finding the right fit without having to make major compromises on geometry.

Seatpost Pinarello Grevil Seatpost D-Shaped Brakes Shimano Ultegra160

140 mm Drivetrain SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 2 x 12 Chainring 50

34 T Stem Talon Super Fast mm Handlebar Talon Super Fast 420 (Gemessen außen in den Drops) mm Wheelset MOST Ultrafast 45 DB 12 x 100

12 x 142 Tires Most Competition 700 x 38c Cranks Shimano Ultegra mm Cassette SHIMANO Ultegra Di2 ****T

Size 43 46 49 51,5 53 54,5 56 58 60 Weight 7,70 kg

38 mm tires Classic Endurance Geo

Remarkably Unremarkable – The Pinarello X First Ride

Italian roads aren’t exactly a showcase for the fine art of laying asphalt. A crack here, a pothole there, the odd step mid-corner – all generously garnished with sand and fine gravel. The route planning is equally peculiar. Why go along the valley when you can go over the hill? The Prosecco Hills aren’t nearly as gentle as they sound. And they’re hot. 35 degrees hot. Fun, right?

Our test loop starts in style at an old winery, heads into the hills via a few stretches of gravel, then takes us back on tarmac back towards the Prosecco. Just before setting off, the seatpost announces that it’s ready for action with a loud crack. The X Series inherits its seatpost clamp from the Dogma F, and in this case, that’s not necessarily good news. Every time I adjust the saddle height and tighten the bolt in the top tube, the post settles into the seat tube with an alarming crack. It sounds disturbingly like carbon fibres calling it quits – hardly confidence-inspiring. Pinarello assure me, however, that there’s nothing to worry about.

The X Series feels a little restrained when you first put the power down. The wide and relatively heavy 38 mm MOST tires likely play their part – that’s a fair amount of rubber to get up to speed. Once it’s rolling, though, it really rolls. More importantly, the tires smooth out pretty much everything the road throws at them, inspiring plenty of confidence, particularly through fast corners on rough tarmac.

But that sense of security isn’t down to the tires alone. The X itself takes quite a lot to unsettle. The upright riding position, comfortable setup and geometry geared towards stability make this a bike that asks very little of you. Get on, hold your line and let it roll. In fact, the X Series is remarkably unremarkable. The bike fades into the background and leaves the experience centre stage. There’s little need for constant corrections or compensation. Head up, enjoy the mountains. And yes, that’s actually quite a lot of fun.

On the gravel sections, the X Series leaves us with mixed feelings. Comfort and compliance are impressive, but the tires quickly find the limits of their grip. This is where it becomes clear that, despite its 38 mm rubber, the X Series isn’t an off-road racer. Its relatively short wheelbase makes the Pinarello noticeably more nervous on loose surfaces than a dedicated gravel bike.

Uphill, the X Series isn’t exactly in its element either. The difference compared to the Dogma F is obvious: there’s a sense that you’re moving quite a lot of bike beneath you. Again, the heavy tires contribute to the slightly sluggish overall impression.

Point it along the flats or downhill, though, and everything is dolce again. The X feels planted on the road, and inspires an impressive amount of confidence. Rather than dazzling you with ultimate precision and razor-sharp handling, it wins you over with comfort, composure and an easy-going character. And that makes the X Series feel surprisingly coherent as a whole – it doesn’t try to be more of a race bike or gravel bike than is good for it. It’s pretty much exactly the bike it wants to be.

The Joy of Riding – Who is the Pinarello X For?

It’s hard to call the Pinarello X an entry-level bike – it’s simply too expensive for that. Conceptually, though, that’s exactly what it is. It’s a bike that makes getting into the drop-bar world easy. Or getting into longer rides. Or heading off on your first multi-day bikepacking trip.

In this context, entry-level doesn’t mean cheaply made, technically basic or aimed exclusively at beginners. It means you don’t have to adapt yourself to the bike before you can start enjoying it. The riding position is accessible, the handling forgiving and the spec suitably high-end. The X demands neither maximum flexibility nor constant attention – and certainly not the urge to turn every ride into a race.

If every ride is a KOM hunt and you need to know you’re sitting on the fastest, most perfor