Pinarello couldn’t have hoped for a bigger debut for its new Graal time trial frameset, with Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) winning the Giro d'Italia prologue in its competitive debut.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins uses different tires from the rest of the team so his wheels are labeled separately.(Image credit: James Huang)
The head tube retains Pinarello's trademark shaping.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins clearly places a very high importance on reducing friction with both the bottom bracket and derailleur pulleys rotating on ceramic bearings and the front hub running without any seals whatsoever.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins puts the power down through a pair of Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-SL pedals.(Image credit: James Huang)
The curvy seat stays are deep but narrow.(Image credit: James Huang)
Prologo's Nago Evo TTR time trial-specific saddle is wrapped in Team Sky colors.(Image credit: James Huang)
The seat binder is neatly integrated into the frame's overall shape.(Image credit: James Huang)
The seat stay wishbone is intentionally broad, apparently to help divert air around the brake caliper. Mechanics need a very long Allen wrench to access the rear brake mounting bolt.(Image credit: James Huang)
Others have already demonstrated that vertical surfaces produce less aerodynamic drag than angled ones and Pinarello looks to have taken the concept to the extreme with even the seat stays adopting a somewhat upright stance.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins' carbon fiber aero bar extensions are capped with Shimano SL-BS78 shifters.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins has not one, but two Pinarello Graal machines, both set up identically with Shimano Dura-Ace 7900, HED-based wheels, and O.symetric chainrings (with the logos blacked out).(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins' frame has a small magnet glued just above the bottom bracket shell for when he is using an SRM.(Image credit: James Huang)
The extended clamp is apparently intended to help smooth airflow coming off the rear of the stem.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins is using 22mm-wide Veloflex Carbon tubulars.(Image credit: James Huang)
The top tube is very beefy up front, then tapers to a more tapered shape as it approaches the seat tube.(Image credit: James Huang)
The top tube is rather tall and broad, allowing the down tube to be narrower without overly sacrificing front triangle stiffness.(Image credit: James Huang)
Three holes in the bottom of the Pinarello MOst integrated aero bar makes for flexible cable routing.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins is able to maintain a very narrow position on the bars.(Image credit: James Huang)
The stem and base bar are one integrated piece but it looks like the upper assembly can be swapped out for different sizes.(Image credit: James Huang)
Small pieces of tape cover up the bolt holes on Wiggins' aero bar setup.(Image credit: James Huang)
A new set of Pinarello MOst integrated aero bars is fitted to the front of Wiggins' Graal.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins' machine is fitted with a ceramic bottom bracket from UK-based Ultimate Ceramic Bearings.(Image credit: James Huang)
The front brake is tucked in behind the bulbous fork crown.(Image credit: James Huang)
The chain stays start out very narrow and tall but end up fat and flat at the dropouts.(Image credit: James Huang)
Team mechanics installed a set of standard Dura-Ace chainrings prior to our photo shoot - but Wiggins used his usual O.symetric rings for yesterday's prologue win.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins' usual Dura-Ace front derailleur is mounted to the aluminum tab - and the extra spacer sandwiched in between is further evidence that O.symetric rings are usually in place.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins' Dura-Ace rear derailleur is hopped up with full ceramic bearing pulleys from UK-based Ultimate Ceramic Bearings.(Image credit: James Huang)
The blue swatches on the down tube are meant to highlight the surface shaping - which is presumably there to reduce aerodynamic drag.(Image credit: James Huang)
The down tube is fairly narrow but not overly so to retain good front triangle stiffness.(Image credit: James Huang)
The scissor-type front brake is well hidden behind the fork crown.(Image credit: James Huang)
Wiggins' 'PROtotype' front wheel is actually a HED H3.(Image credit: James Huang)
Current British national time trial champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) wasted little time in this year's Giro d'Italia, winning the opening prologue through the streets of Amsterdam on a brand-new Pinarello Graal time trial machine. It's so new, in fact, that Pinarello has still offered up virtually no official information, but it looks to be a further evolution of the company's current FM1 time trial flagship with a touch of Dogma tossed in as well.
Like the FM1, the Graal top tube starts out distinctly large and blocky up front to promote front-end rigidity before tapering to a more flattened shape out back. The new seat tube is even more radically shaped than before, with the upper half – and the seatpost – now adopting a perfectly vertical orientation to help reduce drag. As some other companies have already suggested those more upright edges lead to better efficiency through the air and the seat stays have also been propped up a bit before taking a slight jog forward prior to the seat tube junction.
Pinarello has clearly made efforts to smooth airflow around the usually 'dirty' brakes with a side-pull caliper mounted behind the blocky fork crown. A standard Shimano Dura-Ace caliper is used for the rear wheel but even that is well hidden behind an enlarged upper seat stay assembly.
The radically shaped chain stays – which start out tall and narrow at the bottom bracket then effectively twist 90 degrees at the dropouts – are slightly dropped and more horizontal than on the FM1, presumably to reduce their frontal area. Of course, cable routing is mostly internal throughout, including through the carbon aerobars.
The Graal down tube is particularly interesting with its five angular 'cuts' along each side. Without official information, we can only assume at this point that it's an effort to improve airflow and improve surface adhesion, similar to what Ridley has done with its Noah and Dean aero bikes, but we'll report back when more details are available.
Naturally, aero wheels were installed front and rear for Wiggins' successful run in Amsterdam. Both were conspicuously labeled as 'PROtotypes', but a closer look revealed them to actually be a standard HED H3 up front and a modified HED Stinger Disc out back, built around a Shimano Dura-Ace hub instead of the usual HED Sonic model.
Wiggins isn't only concerned about aerodynamics as his build kit shows an obvious emphasis on reducing friction, too. Ceramic bearings from UK-based Ultimate Ceramic Bearings are fitted to the bottom bracket and rear derailleur pulleys, and the front hub does without hub seals altogether.
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Other non-standard bits used during Wiggins' maglia rosa-winning ride include a set of O.symetric chainrings (which the mechanics replaced with standard Dura-Ace ones prior to our photo shoot), a Team Sky-colored Prologo Nago Evo TTR time trial-specific saddle, and Pinarello's own integrated carbon fiber aerobar setup.
Total weight as pictured is 8.35kg (18.4lb) – quite respectable when you remember that time trial bikes generally aren't all that light and the Pinarello aero bar setup looks to use an awful lot of carbon. Moreover, Team Sky mechanics stressed that Wiggins' machines (he has two!) are still pre-production prototypes and the custom paint job also adds a chunk of weight.
Not that any of this mattered on Saturday, though, given the pan-flat parcours. Needless to say, Pinarello couldn't have wished for a more successful competitive debut.
