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Bicycles

Pinarello and Jaguar create soft-riding road bike

By Scott Collie
April 06, 2015
Pinarello and Jaguar create soft-riding road bike
The suspension system adds just 95 grams (3.4 oz) to the weight of the bike
The suspension system adds just 95 grams (3.4 oz) to the weight of the bike
View 8 Images
Team Sky's latest bike was designed by Jaguar and Pinarello
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Team Sky's latest bike was designed by Jaguar and Pinarello
The Dogma's suspension system has been designed to provide a comfy ride over rough terrain, such as cobblestones
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The Dogma's suspension system has been designed to provide a comfy ride over rough terrain, such as cobblestones
Pinarello is claiming a 50 percent increase in rider comfort
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Pinarello is claiming a 50 percent increase in rider comfort
Team Sky testing out its new rides
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Team Sky testing out its new rides
Jaguar and Pinarello have teamed up to create bikes before
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Jaguar and Pinarello have teamed up to create bikes before
The Dogma K8-S takes advantage of flexible flat carbon chainstays
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The Dogma K8-S takes advantage of flexible flat carbon chainstays
A full breakdown of the design details on the new Dogma K8-S
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A full breakdown of the design details on the new Dogma K8-S
The suspension system adds just 95 grams (3.4 oz) to the weight of the bike
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The suspension system adds just 95 grams (3.4 oz) to the weight of the bike
View gallery - 8 images

Jaguar and Pinarello have struck up a properly productive partnership in the last few years – the two brands combined to create Pinarello's Tour de France bike in 2014, while Jaguar modified its F-Type Coupe to act as a support car for the Pinarello-backed Team Sky. The most recent collaboration between the two brands has led to the Pinarello Dogma K8-S, which has been engineered to provide Team Sky’s cyclists with a smooth ride across rough terrain.

Pinarello has taken advantage of Jaguar's expertise in dealing with vibrations to engineer the bike's new rear suspension system. It utilizes flexible flat carbon fiber chainstays and an elastomer shock to provide a total of 10 mm of rear wheel travel.

This setup is designed to provide a more comfortable ride for cyclists pedaling across challenging terrain, such as cobblestones. According to Jaguar, the result is a 50-percent reduction in road vibration transmission as compared to the bicycle's predecessor, the Dogma K.

Despite the new suspension system, however, the Dogma K8-S' frame is still incredibly light, weighing in at just 900 grams (2 lb). It also retains the Dogma K's carefully-considered aerodynamics.

The Dogma K8-S takes advantage of flexible flat carbon chainstays
The Dogma K8-S takes advantage of flexible flat carbon chainstays

"From the moment you get on it, you realize the difference, especially on the cobbles" said Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins. "I've never ridden anything like it on cobbles before, which is the most extreme terrain you can ride a bike on."

Team Sky’s riders debuted Pinarello and Jaguar’s latest creation at the Tour of Flanders, which took place on April 5th.

More information on the technology is available in the following video.

Source: Jaguar

Jaguar, Pinarello and Team Sky unveil the new DOGMA K8-S

View gallery - 8 images

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BicyclesRacingJaguarCyclingComfortSuspensionpinarello
8 comments
Scott Collie
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Scott grew up with a passion for cars and a love of writing. He now combines the two by covering all things automotive for New Atlas. When he’s got a spare moment, you can usually find him freezing himself silly in search of fresh powder to ski.

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8 comments
Keith Reeder
"I've never ridden anything like it on cobbles before, which is the most extreme terrain you can ride a bike on."
Awww, bless 'im. I'm watching the Red Bull Rampage Freeride competition at the moment, and would respectfully disagree that cobbles are the worst thing cyclists get to ride on..!
Silversalty
Sorry but I see too many levels of BS in this story. Mainly it's the rules that govern what's allowed in a competitive bicycle. There's a minimum weight. Make that minimum 20 plus pounds and you've got a world of more practical and cheap ways to make a smooth riding and fast bike. Steel for one. The Softride bike was banned years ago so design is another rule based restriction. What about the front of the bike where the vibrations are most significant creating numbness in the hands within a few miles on a bike that is too stiff? How about fatter tires? If aerodynamics is the concern than make taller tires. Too flexy in turns? Make the rule fatter tires. You've got a game controlled by capricious rules so talking about design within those stupid rules is something of a joke. It's not design for the best but for the most accommodating. "Vertically Compliant Laterally Stiff:" You know that's a joke phrase. Is it about someone's dick? How long do you think that chain stay will last before it shatters, possibly taking the rider with it? Not something to be used on a regular use bicycle.
Milton
I'd like to see a human powered vehicle race where there are no vehicle restrictions. Recumbents, trikes, bikes, no weight limits.
Mark Jones
This is not a new idea; "Soft tails" in various forms, both road and trail have been around as long as I have been cycling; some 40 years! The Paris-Roubaix cobbles has even seen full suspension race bikes in the past with a "soft tail" rear end and Rox Shox forks up front; Rox Shox even made them available for mortals (All be it rich ones!) @Silversalty It will only fail if the chain stays are not properly designed. Stays can be designed flex by several cm vertically while remaining relatively stiff horizontally without problems.
steveraxx
Another Gizmag article, another series of negative comments. It is amazingly rare for anything positive to be posted. Amazing.
Lewis M. Dickens III
In the late 70's and early 80's there was a lot of interest in HPV races and Sir Alec Moulton's 19" wheeled space frame versions with the "soft tail" were breaking the world Human Powered Vehicle records with "Fast Freddy Markham'" I believe.
I saw him at the Michigan International Speedway and Dr. Moulton was there and in fact allowed me to ride his bike. It was very comfortable.
I also had befriended Bill Allison who invented many suspensions including the Packard Torsion Ride, some 80 patents in all. Jay Leno's review of the Packard Caribbean is an all time great one.
Bill was in the process of perfecting the wind engine and had hit the Betz limit which everyone thought was impossible.
So I asked Bill about Alex's design commenting about how smooth it was and he replied, "of course it would be smoother and faster" because a hard tail would dissipate the jounces in heat energy hence being slower. It simply made sense to Bill.
So I wrote to Sir Alex and he commented back that as a youngster a neighbor bought a "Torsion Ride" Packard and he and his buddies loved to climb in and go for the vertical ride as it leveled out. They were jumping in and out with great glee. He not only was aware of Bill's work, it inf act inspired him and he designed the Suspension of the Mini Cooper. So I conveyed greetings back and forth and was thrilled to be a conduit between these two great engineers.
So yes, a "soft tail" is smoother, more comfortable, more quiet, and faster.
And I like his space frame designs better... more Bucky Like.
Greyfox01
Does anyone else remember the hype behind the grip-shift?
unklmurray
I have no idea what it might be like riding on cobble stones......is that kinda like the wash boarded dirt roads of rural America? I don't know if I have ever seen a cobble stone anything.....LOL