If you are in the market for a frame from Pinarello, and you don’t want to spend too much money, then you should seriously consider buying a ’08 or ’09 Prince carbon frame. The Dogma is the latest and greatest from Pinarello. It just came out last fall and retails for $5,500 in the US. We have it at a better price, but it’s still quite a bit of money to pay for a frameset, which includes frame, fork, headset and MOst seatpost.
There are many different reasons to choose the Prince. It’s a race-proven frame, very stiff and responsive and, unsurprisingly, it’s actually lighter than the Dogma 60.1 frame. Pinarello, like most manufacturers, tends to quote the weight of their frames unpainted, just when they come out of the oven, without derailleur hangers. The Dogma frame has got a lot of layers of heavy paint on it, quite a bit more than the Prince. The geometry is very similar, but the ride of the Prince is more nervous and lively compared to the Dogma. The Dogma is more comfortable. So, if you’re looking for something lively, you should be looking at the Prince. If you’re looking for a stable ride, they look at the Dogma.
A friend of mine compared the Prince to a Ferrari while the Dogma is more of a Mercedes-Benz. I found it an apt comparison. Also, he’s owned two Pinarello Prince frames before selling them off and upgrading to a Dogma. Currently, there are quite a few Prince Carbon frames on the second-hand market. Early adopters of the Prince frame now want to upgrade to Pinarello’s latest and greatest, the Dogma.
The Dogma frame is polarizing, that much can be easily said, but what is really surprising is how much people either love or hate the paintjobs that the Dogma comes in. Luckily, with Pinarello’s My Way customization program ($500), you can decide on your own paintjob. The metallic paint is an interesting add-on, however it could quickly become dated.
One of the most surprising things about the in-house Pinarello MOst finishing kit, is how heavy it is. The seatpost is extremely heavy, as are the stem and handlebars if you choose to buy them. They look great, but they quickly make the Dogma an even heavier frame to ride.
An easy way to tell the difference between the ’08 and ’09 Prince Carbon frames is by looking at the decals. As you can see from the photo above, the ’09 model’s decals one the downtube are sort of wrapped around, which are in contrast different from the 1st photo in which they are completely level.
There are easy ways in keeping the weight down, and therefore, doing a bit of weight weenie-ism. First and foremost, if you aren’t planning on using Shimano Dura Ace Di2, then I’d suggest SRAM Red, the lightest gruppo. However, I’d just get the drivetrain, minus the rear cassette, crank, and brakes. Cranks will be either the AX Morpheus (370g) or THM Carbones Clavicula (420g), brakes can be any number of lightweight alternatives, from AX Lightness’ AX 3000 (125g), THM Carbones Fibula (110g), to Gravitas (123g w/o pads).
The cassette would be from Recon. Depending on your budget, the seatpost can be from M2Racer, AX Lightness, Schmolke or LightBikes. Bars can be from Schmolke or AX Lightness while I’d recommend a sturdy stem, from Edge Composites or Syntace.
Lastly, I’d finish off the wheels with some lightweight climbing hoops from AX Lightness AX SRT 24 (820g) or custom-built 1.25s from Edge Composites (weight will vary depending on the hubs chosen). Both are tubular. If lightweight clincher wheels are required, either Carbon Sports Lightweight Standard III clinchers or Campagnolo Hyperon Ultra Two clinchers would work well.
The above images are from my three favorite Prince decals and paintjobs since 2008. Sure, the new 464 color is nice, but I actually like the Neon color from ’08. It combines raw, matte carbon with some green, almost fluorescent, decals and highlights. Also, I’d bet that this frame is slightly less heavy.
Send us an email at asteriskcycles at gmail dot com to order your Prince or Dogma bike.
memoirs on a rainy day 
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