A First Look at the New 2021 Pinarello Prince

For as much praise as Pinarello receives for their top-spec Pinarello Dogma F12, most don’t realize that the same capability is largely present in the Pinarello Prince. Updated and revised for 2021, the new Pinarello Prince road bike receives an overhaul that Pinarello claims make for a faster yet more comfortable road bike. Just about every Pinarello we’ve come across seems fast, even standing still. And while Pinarello has made considerable strides in making their fastest bikes more comfortable on long rides, the Italian brand saw fit to make the Prince a race bike that can be ridden by a wider range of riders. Part of that comes down to a less aggressive reach and stack numbers that place the rider in a more comfortable position. Additionally, stack and reach heights are more linear size by size than before, adding at least 10mm or more or per size. Reach measurements are shorter by a few mm size per size as well. Room for more voluminous tires is a trend we are happy to see amongst road bikes. Pinarello claims the Prince will fit a 28c tire on a 30mm rim (external), but our eyes show that there is decent room to upsize to a 30c tire if you so desire. Smooth is fast and fast is smooth, and being able to run a 28c road tire allows riders to maintain the outright speed of a road bike without being as beat up on longer rides. While a combination of wider tires and a more relaxed fit is not the same as elastomers or springs, they make this race bike much more comfortable on long rides. Usually, bicycle comfort is associated with slower handling and dulled acceleration response. Maintaining other numbers like trail, head and seat tube angles, and wheelbase means the bike handles as a race bike should. Improved comfort without a sacrifice in performance - who doesn't want that? The Prince, in typical Pinarello fashion, sees myriad changes that were first introduced on the Dogma F12. The most striking difference is the inclusion of fully internal cable routing, which routes cables from the bars through the stem and into the headtube. Pinarello claims that completely hiding the cables like this reduces cable-based aerodynamic drag by 85%. Pinarello's approach to internal cable routing is compatible with both mechanical and electronic drivetrains, unlike many other brands. Tube shapes have changed across the board on this new Prince. The downtube is now wider side-to-side but 3mm shallower in an effort to increase vibration damping. The bottom bracket area sees a size increase leading to a claimed 10% greater pedaling stiffness. The bottom bracket area itself also sees chunkier chainstays that increase pedaling stiffness as well as tire clearance. The fork, while maintaining Pianrello's Onda shaping, has been revised to intentionally be less stiff than the Dogma F12 Disk fork in the name of improved comfort. The Prince utilizes a concave downtube underneath the bottle cage mounts designed to shield the downtube and water bottles as before, though the seattube bottle mount is dropped 5mm in the name of aerodynamics. The downtube still has a spot to neatly integrate a Shimano Di2 junction box, though mechanical drivetrains now use the space as an integrated cable tension adjuster. Disc brake fork profiles have changed in the name of improved braking performance, as has the rear brake mount for the same reason. All in, the Prince is immediately recognizable as a Pinarello. Onda tube profiles abound, gifting the Prince the swoopy tube profiles that make for improved airflow across tubes. The frame itself is asymmetric to ensure that the frame is stronger in key places to maintain their desired blend of handling, ride, and stiffness. The Prince continues to utilize Toray T700 carbon, which might not be as exotic as the Dogma's T1100 but still offers the real-world stiffness and low weight one expects from the best road bikes. How does it ride? Stay tuned. We’ll have an in-depth ride review soon enough. The Pinarello Prince road bike is available in nine sizes, four colors, and two build options. The bike is available now in limited quantities through the shop. Contact us by phone during business hours or send us an email at any time to info@contenderbicycles.com with any questions.