The Insider's Guide to the 2022 Pinarello Grevil F

Today, Pinarello has revealed their latest gravel bike, an update to the popular Grevil. Called the Grevil F, this latest gravel grinder continues forward as being the ‘Pinarello’ of gravel bikes, with responsive handling and ride feel, just updated to fit a massive 700c x 50mm tire and internal cable routing.

We are fortunate to have some of the first Grevil gravel bikes in the U.S., namely a limited selection of 2022 Pinarello Grevil F Ekar complete bikes in stock now, with framesets and more builds available later in 2022.

Pinarello didn’t drop their first gravel bike until 2018, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t find fans. Riders loved competitive feel that came with the bike, it's aero design cues, and that it rode as one might expect an off-road Pinarello might. The 2022 Pinarello Grevil F doubles down on the formula to make what the Italian brand calls 'the Dogma F of gravel bikes.’ It even continues the "Full Gas Everywhere" mantra, now found on the downtube and NDS fok flap.

Here is the Grevil F bike by the numbers:

• Six sizes, from 47cm up to 60cm
• Shorter reach and higher stack numbers across every size for improved riding comfort and rider positioning.
• Max tire clearance is 700c x 50mm or 650b x 2.1”
• 1x and 2x drivetrain compatibility
• 8% greater stiffness at the bottom bracket
• 5 Watts saved at 40 km/h
• Pinarello Grevil F frame weighs 1,090g in a size 53cm
• Pinarello Grevil F fork weighs 500g (uncut)

On to frame details, as the eye-catching bit here is the move to internal cable routing. It takes the same TiCR design as the Dogma F and Pinarello Prince road bike, routing cables and hoses through the handlebar, into the stem, and into the frame. Pinarello claims that moving the cables inside of the bike can aid aerodynamics when racing, but importantly they make adding bags to the front of the bike easier when bikepacking.

Pinarello hasn’t offered any specific aerodynamics testing results, but we expect that these tube shapes at least won’t hurt anything, right?

Besides that, the frame details found here are more a refinement of the already-positive qualities found on the previous Grevil. Asymmetric tube shaping is all over this frame; staring at the frameset front on reveals the downtube to be bigger on the drive side, as well as chainstays and seatstays sized differently on each side of the bike. It is all part of imbuing the bike with their characteristic ‘Pinarello ride feel.’ Many gravel bikes are asymmetric in the sense that one chainstay is dropped lower than the other for tire and drivetrain clearance; Pinarello’s tubes are quite literally asymmetric, with the downtube and bottom bracket areas skewed more to the drivetrain side of the bike

There are quite a few concessions to aerodynamics, as one might expect from a Pinarello. The Grevil F fork has been revised to accept larger tires and change rake and trail figures, but it still receives the brand’s Fork Flaps that are said to improve airflow around the brake calipers.

The attempt to improve aerodynamics points the Grevil F toward riders who are looking to ride a gravel bike for competition, as Pinarello calls it. Most gravel bike riders might not think about whether or not this is useful, but considering most gravel bike events are often 50 miles or longer, every bit of marginal gains matters. But even if you don’t care about aero efficiency, the Grevil F’s improved tire clearance and revised geometry might still be useful additions.

Pinarello has elected to use a Toray T700 carbon for the Grevil F, which is roughly the same modulus as the Prince. Pinarello’s unique flatback profile tubes make another appearance on the Grevil F, here shaped to be at their most aerodynamic with a water bottle in place. Grevil F features three bottle cage mounts: two in main frame, and one underneath the downtube of the bike.

Last bit here: the Pinarello Grevil F is not compatible with 140mm brake rotors, meaning it is designed for 160mm rotors in mind. No adaptor needed for the rear flat mount brake caliper.

We see more and more bikes looking to build in size-specific geometry. It is one of the big reasons why we sometimes recommend the Pinarello Prince over the Dogma; those in smaller sizes who want sharper, faster handling might actually prefer the more consistent trail figures of smaller-sized Prince bikes.

Pinarello sticks with the size-specific geometry idea for the Grevil. Regardless of size, Grevil gets a mid-60mm trail figure with a 700c x 40mm tire. Expect quick handling out of the Grevil with that mid-60mm trail figure. It is worth noting that Pinarello hasn’t gone down the path of offering flip chips for adjustable geometry, but that’s something we are a-ok with, as most riders choose one position and stick with it.

The new Grevil should fit a wider array of riders than the previous version, which was road-bike aggressive in it's rider positioning. Stack numbers - essentially how high the bars are placed on the bike - are between 15mm and 30mm taller size by size, with reach measurements shrinking slightly at every size.

Better still, the three smallest sizes receive even shorter 422mm chainstays to maintain proper rider weight balance. That Pinarello did it without a flip chip or proprietary offset should be celebrated.

Last bit here: the three smallest sizes of the 2022 Grevil gets a lower bottom bracket with a 72mm bb drop. A lower bottom bracket generally means more straight-line stability than the previous Grevil, though the 67mm bb drop in the other sizes is still on the higher end of gravel bikes. Both are good for epic photo-op jumps, though a dirt jumper might still be the better choice.

Let’s talk tire choice. The original Pinarello Grevil fit up to a 700c x 42mm tire or a 650b x 53mm tire. That is plenty for most situations. A 40mm tire has more or less become the default tire option for most gravel bikes. But here’s the thing: gravel is different all around the world, even if you’re racing. Some might want a bigger tire, others might want the extra mud clearance. And if one can have more tire clearance without sacrificing rideability, comfort, or aerodynamics, then why not do it? That’s what Pinarello has done here.

We talked about how remarkable tire clearance for a 700c x 50mm tires is on a gravel bike designed for going fast like the Grevil. But what’s impressive is that Pinarello has managed to matched that big tire clearance AND the ability to run a 2x drivetrain with short 425mm chainstays.

For now, Pinarello is only offering a single spec option for the Grevil: the Pinarello Grevil Ekar bike. This complete option features a Campagnolo Ekar 1x13 groupset, Fulcrum alloy wheels, and a smattering of component options from Pinarello’s MOST brand. This model will be available in three colors: “B301 Iceland Black,” “B302 Radiant Aura,” or “B303 Champagne Gold.” A Grevil Ekar complete bike weighs in at 8.8 kg (19.4 lbs) in a size 53cm.

We have a limited selection of Pinarello Grevil Ekar and are one of the few in the U.S. with it in stock. Expect framesets and further build options to become available toward the end of summer or fall 2022. Contact us for customization or further availability.