Zwift’s newest update includes a new bike frame: the Dogma F from Pinarello. Pinarello has a long history with Zwift: the Dogma F is actually the fifth Dogma to make it into the game, and the Tour Italy Challenge earns you a Pinarello F8.
Each iteration of the Dogma has performed a bit better on Zwift than its predecessor, with the F12 (added in March 2020) nearly making it onto our fastest frames list while also placing 6th in terms of all-arounder performance (climbs + flats).
Here’s how the new Dogma F is described in the Zwift Drop Shop:
“Seven of the last 10 Tours de France have been conquered on a DOGMA, and the latest generation is now ready to continue that legacy of success. This is the culmination of all of Pinarello’s skill and experience, a masterpiece of engineering that offers advancements in handling, comfort, and aerodynamics all wrapped in a package that can climb, descend, and sprint with equal flair. Whatever the road throws at you, the DOGMA F is always the right bike.”
The frame is rated 3 stars for aero, 4 for weight. You’ll have to be level 32+ to purchase it in game, at a price of 1,029,500 Drops.
Pinarello talks about “the art of balance” when it comes to the Dogma line. And this is something they’ve been fine-tuning for a long time, trying to find that perfect blend of aero efficiency, light weight, stiffness, comfort, and handling. This would lead you to believe that the Dogma F would be a good all-arounder on Zwift.
But IRL performance doesn’t always map directly to Zwift performance, so we ran this frame through our standard tests to learn how it performs in Zwift. And the results were… remarkable!
Here’s everything you need to know about the new Pinarello Dogma F in Zwift.
Aero Performance
The F turns in precisely the same flat test time as the Trek Madone and Cannondale SystemSix, two frames featured on our fastest frames list. Congrats, Pinarello – looks like you made the cut with this iteration of the Dogma!
The new Dogma turned in a time of 51:20 on our test course (two laps of Tempus Fugit), which is 3 seconds faster than its predecessor, the Dogma F12.
By comparison, the fastest frame in game (Specialized Venge S-Works) turned in a time of 51:18. (Both of these test times were done with Zwift’s stock wheelset, the 32mm carbon). Two seconds over 50+ minutes won’t even be noticeable in a typical Zwift road race (read “Does Bike Choice Matter on Zwift?” for more thoughts on this topic) so if you want to race a Pinarello, now’s the time!
Climb Performance
The Dogma F is rated 4 stars for weight, while all the previous Dogmas were rated at 3 stars. So we expected this frame to climb better than the earlier versions. Still, we were surprised by just how quickly it ascended the Alpe! It turned in the same time as the Trek Emonda, which was the best climber in game for years.
The Dogma F climbed Alpe du Zwift in a time of 48:59. By comparison, the standard Zwift aero frame turns in a time of 49:31, the three former top climbers (Specialized Tarmac Pro, Cannondale EVO, and Bridgestone Anchor RS9s) made it to the top in ~48:58, and the new best climber (Specialized Aethos) completed the test is 48:49. (All of these test times were done with Zwift’s stock wheelset, the 32mm carbon).
Top All-Arounder
So the Dogma F finally made it onto our fastest frames list due to its zippy performance in our flat test. And it also climbs very well. It’s not quite the most aero frame in game, and not quite the fastest climber – but it’s the new best all-arounder, replacing the Canyon Aeroad 2021.
That’s right: the Dogma F beats the Aeroad 2021 (just barely) on the flats, and trims 5 seconds off the Aeroad 2021’s time up Alpe du Zwift! It’s the best all-arounder frame in the Drop Shop today.
Tron-Killer?
Astute racers will be asking if the Dogma F will finally unseat the Tron bike from its top all-arounder status. While the Dogma F is closer to the Tron than any other Zwift frame, the short answer is: it’s not quite fast enough on the flats.
The Tron bike is just a bit too aero for the Dogma F to keep up, unless you put a disc wheelset on the Dogma. If you do that it ties the Tron bike, or perhaps beats it by 1 second on the flat test.
But if you climb Alpe du Zwift with a disc wheelset on your Dogma F, you won’t beat the Tron.
Your wheelset choice with the Dogma F will determine if it outclimbs the Tron, or outpaces it on flat ground. But no wheelset currently in game will let you do both.
Conclusions
As a result of this frame’s top-of-the-heap all-around performance we’ll be updating the following posts soon:
- Best Climbing Frames
- Zwift Shopping Guide: What To Buy At Each Level
- Zwift Speed Tests: Frame Ranking Charts
- Speed Tests: Tron Bike vs Top Performers (Scatter Plot)
The new Pinarello Dogma F has unquestionably unseated the Aeroad 2021 as the top all-around frame available in the Drop Shop, even if it can’t quite keep pace with the Tron bike. But the Canyon Aeroad 2021 is still a smart choice for beginning Zwifters, since it’s available at level 10+ for only 568,000 Drops.
Questions or Comments?
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Important note: this post contains speed test results for Zwift frames or wheels. These results may change over time, and a bike's performance relative to others may also change. We don't always revise posts when performance rankings change, but we do keep current, master versions of our speed test results which are always available. See the frame charts, wheel charts, and Tron vs Top Performers for current performance data.
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