New Pinarello Bolide time trial bike spotted at the Tour de Suisse

By Simon von Bromley

Published: Monday, 20 June 2022 at 12:00 am

A new Pinarello Bolide time trial bike with a completely redesigned frameset and disc brakes received its WorldTour race debut at the Tour de Suisse yesterday.

Geraint Thomas and Dani Martínez, of Team Ineos-Grenadiers, both rode the new bike to top-five finishes on the stage, with Thomas securing victory in the general classification.

We know this new bike will retain the ‘Bolide’ name because the brash stickers covering the bike clearly give that away on close inspection.

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Close inspection of the stickers covering the bike shows the Bolide name is being retained.
Tim de Waele/Getty Images

While there have been various iterations of the Pinarello Bolide (such the Bolide HR for Bradley Wiggins’ Hour Record in 2015, a lighter Bolide TT with refined tube shapes in 2016 and the triathlon-specific Bolide TR+ in 2018) since the original launched in 2013, this new bike represents the first wholesale overhaul of the Bolide platform in nearly a decade.

The frameset tubes have undergone a noticeable transformation, for example, giving the new bike the appearance of a beefed-up Pinarello Dogma F – the Italian brand’s flagship aero road bike.

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The truncated aerofoil tubes and dropped seatstays give the new Bolide the appearance of a beefed-up Dogma F.
Tim de Waele/Getty Images

That means deep, truncated aerofoil tube shapes throughout and distinctive Pinarello design touches, such as a kinked down tube and the slightly wavy fork.

The seatstays at the rear of the bike are also heavily dropped, likely to improve the aerodynamic efficiency of the bike.

As expected, the new time trial platform has fully integrated cable routing and uses road disc brakes. Both riders opted to use Princeton CarbonWorks front wheels (possibly the Princeton CarbonWorks 7580, or something even deeper and as yet unreleased) with full carbon disc wheels at the rear, and Continental GP5000S TR tyres.

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The deep, slightly wavy fork has a small extension on the driveside tip. The front wheel’s distinctive rim profile is clearly from Princeton CarbonWorks, though it’s difficult to tell if it’s the 7580 or an even deeper model.
Tim de Waele/Getty Images

The use of disc brakes means the fairings used to hide the Bolide’s integrated rim brakes have been abandoned.

Though the driveside end of the fork uses a small extension at the tip, like the Dogma F, it’s unclear if Pinarello has gone further in trying to hide the brake caliper on the non-driveside from the wind.

The new bike continues to be compatible with Pinarello’s MOST 3D printed titanium cockpit, although as these integrated handlebar setups are custom made (likely at great expense) for each rider and their specific time trial position, we expect stock bikes to ship with a more standard time trial cockpit that offers some degree of adjustability.

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Thomas and Martinez both had 3D printed titanium cockpits on their bikes, each custom made to suit their specific time trial position.
Tim de Waele/Getty Images

For the time being, though, we don’t know when this new bike will be available to consumers. We’ve asked Pinarello for more details and will update this article if we receive a response.

With the 2022 Tour de France just around the corner, though, and its opening time trial in Copenhagen, Denmark, could the reigning time trial world champion, Filippo Ganna, take the win and the race leader’s yellow jersey aboard this Bolide? It could be the ideal launch for the new bike, if so.