Pinarello’s reputation is largely founded on racing success and victories. Starting in 1957, Pinarello began sponsoring teams large and small, with the end goal of racing glory. This led to a remarkable Giro d’Italia victory in 1975, further boosting the notoriety of the Pinarello name. Sponsorship of multiple teams over the decades has led to victories with legendary riders like Cipollini, Indurain, Riis, Zabel, Ullrich, Valverde, and Pereiro. Today, Pinarello continue to dominate the pro racing circuit thanks to names like Sir Bradley Wiggins, Nairo Quintana, and Chris Froome. While the rider is most certainly the motor, it is their success that is a testimony to Pinarello’s dedication to building the best bikes possible.
While Giovanni Pinarello started sponsoring racing teams in 1957, it wasn’t until 1961 that the Pinarello name was emblazoned on a bicycle’s downtube. For years, Pinarello specialized in steel tubing, with Columbus Tubi being the predominant supplier. Models like the Pinarello Montello SLX were legendary thanks to their combination of Columbus SLX tubing, race-tuned geometry, and relentless pursuit of superior build quality. They then progressed to the Pinarello Paris in the mid-1990s, which hailed the use of ultralight aluminum and then carbon fiber. Today, the Pinarello Dogma is perhaps the most famous name and silhouette in road bikes today. This is thanks to both a lust-worthy combination of aerodynamic design, top-tier levels of stiffness, and race-ready handling. Make no mistake: Pinarello dominates the racing scene as much now as it did in the past, if not more so today.
Today, Pinarello is led by Giovanni’s son, Fausto. The Pinarello name isn’t just seen on unattainable road bikes; instead, Pinarello offers a greater range of frames and bikes than ever. Models like the Pinarello Nytro e-road bike bring typical Pinarello handling to the e-bike world, making it also one of the lightest e-bike framesets available today. The Pinarello Bolide TT was designed in conjunction with Jaguar to make one of the fastest time-trial bikes on the market today. Not to be forgotten, the Pinarello Treviso Disk brings Pinarello’s dedication to quality to the city bike, to those looking for quality and design in their city bike.
Pinarello has come a long way. While starting as a footnote in Giro d’Italia history, the Pinarello brand is one of the most famous and storied bicycle brands today. Pinarello made the best performing bikes on the market in the past, and continue to do so today.