In September I was in Italy for the launch of the Pinarello Dogma X, the brand's new performance endurance bike.
Whilst there, we were lucky enough to be offered a visit to the Pinarello headquarters and flagship store - situated opposite - just north of Treviso. Photography was allowed, so I snapped away and have finally found the time to put the images into a gallery for you. The pictures are in order of flagship store first, then onto the factory and finally some shots of a very special collection at the end.
I'll explain more in the image captions below, but the Flagship store - as well as being filled with all the latest Pinarello bikes, cycling kit and accessories - houses some very special ex-pro and heritage bikes. My mouth was open pretty much as soon as I walked in the door and there was an awful lot to ogle at.
A standout moment for me in the store was a brief talk from Fausto Pinarello on his father Giovanni Pinarello's black jersey, or Maglia Nera, from the Giro d'Italia which sits framed on the wall. It's one of the best-looking cycling jerseys I've ever seen, with its black wool, simple white logos and retro pointed collar. He explained that though his father wore the jersey of the last man in the race, he vowed to produce bikes bearing his name that would win it one day. His wish came true, and more...
The factory tour involved seeing most of the different assembly, paint and R&D stations on-site. As the Dogma X was launching, there were stacks of them lined up ready for shipping and for a retailer ride that was taking place the next day.
Toward the end of the tour, we were asked if we were interested in seeing Fausto's personal collection of bikes. "Err, yes please". Upstairs, on the mezzanine level of the Pinarello Factory, behind rows and rows of new boxed bikes and equipment in a kind of narrow corridor created by the bike boxes themselves is a hooked rack filled with some of the most iconic bikes in our sport from the last several decades.
We had about five minutes for a quick look before the factory finished en masse for lunch. I snapped what I could in the time I had, but I could have spent all day up there. I walked back downstairs in a bit of a daze, feeling very lucky to have seen them. I hope you enjoy the pictures.
The following pictures are from the private collection bikes upstairs at the back of the mezzanine.
Many were a little dusty, others (deliberately) still covered in mud from their last race, legendary names adorned top tubes as well as a collection of most of the grand tour-winning bikes from the last decade or so. They sit quietly underneath plastic sheeting up on the mezzanine, they aren't on display in a brightly lit showroom or museum. Somehow this seemed to add more gravity to things.
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