Pinarello just launched a drop bar mountain bike, and here's why it could be a hint to Tom Pidcock's gravel calendar

At the sharp end, there isn't much room to manoeuvre when it comes to road race bike builds. Exciting as they are for bike tech fans, there is a set formula to follow, and generally, we know what to expect from the best road bikes.

The gravel world, on the other hand, offers much more free rein, and manufacturers produce much more varied machines to suit a wider range of terrain.

That is certainly the case for Pinarello, as the Italian brand has unveiled a brand new addition to its Grevil range in the form of the Grevil MX, which stands for 'monster cross'.

Pinarello has joined the suspension fork-equipped gravel bike crowd with the MX, and the bike is fitted with a Fox suspension fork, blending mountain bike geometry numbers and equipment whilst still prioritising speed.

Pinarello claims this bike combines the aero efficiency of a road bike (though we don't have any information to back that up) with the stability and control of a mountain bike.

In short, we are looking at a gravel machine designed to tackle the most technical off-road gravel terrain whilst still providing a fast and exciting ride. If you want to hammer your gravel machine off-road, but still enjoy a fast ride on the smoother stuff, this could be one for you, if it is available in your territory, which is probably isn't.

The Grevil MX will come in one high-end build, which we break down below, and carries a retail price of €8,500. It also appears this bike won't be available in the UK or North America right now.

Pinarello explains this bike shares the same 67.75-degree head angle and 101mm trail numbers as the Dogma XC hardtail mountain bike, which was developed with and for Tom Pidcock. This frame certainly looks very similar to the Dogma X mountain bike and can also be fitted with a dropper seatpost.

The frame, which has 50mm tyre clearance, is obviously natively suspension fork compatible, and is fitted with a Fox 32 Float Kashima coated (that's the gold finish on the fork stanchions) 100mm travel fork. This 100mm travel number is an increase on the more common 30-40mm of travel found on suspension fork-equipped gravel bikes.

The seat stays are asymmetrical, to 'withstand high torsional forces typical of aggressive gravel riding', and the frame also shares the eye-catching bottom bracket shell cutout that features on the Dogma XC, which features an oversized bearing and pivot point. There's no mention of this on the Grevil, but the features look identical.

Of course, there are plenty of suspension fork-equipped gravel machines on the market now, and Pinarello isn't the first by any means to effectively launch a drop bar MTB - They have been raced to victory at races like Leadville already, so the concept is far from new, but it seems to be the latest blurring of the lines between road, gravel and MTB.

Elsewhere, the theme of blending road and MTB continues, with the fitting of a MOST Talon Ultra Light carbon fibre integrated road handlebar usually seen on the Dogma F road bike. For the drivetrain, it's full MTB with a SRAM XX SL Eagle 1X AXS groupset, and aero Garbaruk chainring. The cassette is 10-52T, whilst chainrings are available in 32-28 tooth sizes. Wheels are the MTB-specific DT Swiss XRC 1200 wheels, which feature boost spacing.

Claimed weight for a size Medium is 9.04Kg, and four sizes and one colour (pictured) will be available.

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Who is this bike for?

Pinarello has not said it, but I think it's fair to speculate that this Grevil MX frame is exactly the same as the Dogma X hardtail; the reach and stack geometry numbers (as well as a few others) for both bikes are identical.

The Dogma XC platform was developed with and for Tom Pidcock, the reigning Olympic XC MTB champion, who is also now riding Pinarello bikes on the road again after his Q36.5 team switched from Scott to Pinarello.

Commercially releasing a bike shows this is far more substantial than a one-off, prototype pro bike, but it has to be said this is quite a specific bike release from Pinarello, and its design makes me wonder whether Pidcock is lining up a gravel or MTB event or series of events this year that requires this type of machine.

After asking a few questions, it sounds as though this bike has been designed with Pinarello's gravel ambassadors in mind; to give riders such as Ramon Sinkeldam an added option to compete on at races such as Unbound Gravel, and races on sand that commonly take place across the Benelux region.

The Leadville 100 is the first event that springs to mind; it's a race with a course that often sees riders compete on XC MTB bikes fitted with drop handlebars and optimised for speed, just like last year's winner Keegan Swenson, and also famously adopted early by Dylan Johnson. Riders essentially use exactly what we have in the Grevil XC.

Pidcock competed in the Gravel Worlds and the Gravel Burn gravel stage race in South Africa at the end of his 2025 season. These 'alternative races' could have stoked his desire to compete in other off-road races and mix things up. If Pidcock does end up lining up at Leadville this year, this could be the perfect bike for the course, as opposed to the stock Dogma XC or the stock Grevil gravel bike.