All About Zwift’s New Pinarello Dogma X Frame

Zwift hasn’t added a new frame to the Drop Shop since the CADEX Tri arrived in September 2022, so when we stumbled across a new Pinarello Dogma X in Zwift’s 1.63 release, we were surprised! The bike’s setup was a bit buggy in the 1.63 release, though (no descriptive text, and a color slider that didn’t change anything) so we held off testing it until this week’s 1.64 release, when Zwift announced the bike’s arrival.

Described as “Pure cycling multiplied by X” in the Drop Shop, the Dogma X is Pinarello’s top-tier road endurance frame, which Pinarello says “strikes the perfect balance between high-calibre performance and real-world comfort.” While the frame definitely has Dogma in its DNA, the unique X stays give it a unique look, while increased tire clearance opens up the possibility of this being an “all-road” proposition.

It’s rated 2 stars for aero performance and 3 stars for weight on Zwift, with a price of 850,000 Drops and an unlock level of 27. Given its aero and weight rating we didn’t expect top-tier performance from this frame in game – and that’s as it should be. The Dogma X’s strengths are in its endurance geometry, all-road capabilities, and overall ride comfort… all sort of “X-factor” things you’ll appreciate outdoors but don’t need in a virtual bike.

Since Zwift’s 5-star rating system isn’t granular enough to communicate in-game performance in a precise way, we ran the Dogma X through our battery of speed tests. Here’s everything you need to know about the performance of the new Pinarello Dogma X frame in Zwift.

Aero (Flat/Rolling) Performance

The Dogma X performs poorly on flat/rolling roads, ranking in the lower 13% of all road frames as it turns in the same test time as the Moots Vamoots, Mosaic RT-1d, Specialized Allez, and Van Rysel EDR CF.

Its test time of 51:34.5 places it in the grupetto behind most other name-branded frames in game, with the only frames slower being Zwift-branded frames. In terms of precise numbers, it is 9.5 seconds slower than our “baseline” Zwift Aero frame and 17.5 seconds slower than the fastest frames in game on our test course, which is two laps of Tempus Fugit totaling 34.6km.

Climb Performance

While it doesn’t receive the ultra-light 4-star weight rating, a rating of 3 stars means the Dogma X should climb decently well. Our tests showed it climbed better than 56% of the frames in game, turning in the same time as the Cervelo S5 2020, Pinarello Dogma F12, and Uranium Nuclear.

The Dogma X turns in an Alpe climb time of 49:09, which is 19 seconds faster than our Zwift Aero baseline but 19 seconds slower than the best climbing road frame in game – the Specialized Aethos. The very definition of “mid-pack” performance.

Note: all test results above are from a 75kg, 183cm rider holding 300W steady using Zwift’s stock 32mm carbon wheelset.

Conclusions

The Pinarello Dogma X is a frame Zwifters will add to their garage for one of three reasons:

1. You unlock it in an event
2. You own one in real life, and want to ride a matching frame in game
3. You’re a crazy Zwift addict who wants to own every single item in the Drop Shop

While it climbs decently well, there are far better performers when the road turns uphill. And its performance on flat or rolling roads is quite poor, meaning you wouldn’t want to race this frame.

Still, not everything on Zwift is a race, so the Dogma X will certainly find a home in many virtual garages.

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