Thoughts On Tudor's New Pelagos FXD Chrono 'Cycling Edition'

Tudor just released their second carbon Pelagos FXD Chronograph, this time as a partnership with the Tudor Pro Cycling Team. The road bike racing team competes in the UCI Europe Tour, and today, embarks on their first-ever Grand Tour: the Giro d’Italia. Before getting to my thoughts on the watch, let’s cover the basics.

The Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono ‘Cycling Edition’

The Pelagos FXD Chrono ‘Cycling Edition’ measures 43mm in diameter, 13.2mm thick, and 53mm lug-to-lug. With a carbon composite case, titanium crown/pushers, and a fabric strap (with titanium hardware), this is a hyper-lightweight mechanical chronograph at just 77 grams.

Notably, this is the first Tudor Pelagos without a rotating bezel, and therefore the first Pelagos not geared toward diving (or sailing, I suppose). Instead, it features a fixed 60-minute bezel with 300 hash marks. The large sloped rehaut features a spiral tachymeter scale geared toward cyclists: it displays speeds appropriate for a bike rather than a car or airplane.

Powering the new Pelagos FXD Chrono ‘Cycling Edition’ is Tudor’s COSC-certified caliber MT5813. Tudor has used this Breitling-B01-based movement in their chronographs since 2017. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Tudor chronographs pose remarkable value as the most attainable B01-powered watches. Breitling’s offerings will run you closer to $9,000; this Pelagos FXD Chrono retails for $5,275. As a vertical clutch movement, the chronograph function consumes no additional energy (hence the watch’s 70-hour power reserve) and avoids mechanical wear-and-tear common with horizontal clutch movements. Better yet, this architecture is nearly 15 years old; you'll never run into trouble getting it serviced. The icing on the cake? It was designed by one of the all-time-great chronograph manufactures.

TL;DR – exceptional chronograph movement, particularly for the price.

The Tudor Pro Cycling Team sports the brand’s black-and-red color scheme. Naturally, the 'Cycling Edition’ follows suit. Against a blacked-out dial, case, and strap, the white dial elements are super legible. The tachymeter spiral and subdial surrounds offer a touch of red without making this a “red watch”. Unlike the Pelagos FXD Chrono with Alinghi Red Bull Racing, the ‘Cycling Edition’ is free of team branding on the dial/rehaut.

My Thoughts on the Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono ‘Cycling Edition’

What strikes me most about this watch is its divergence from what we’ve known the Pelagos line to be. This is the first Pelagos that’s definitively not a dive watch. Of course, it’s no slouch in the water with 100 meters of WR, but it’s not a “symbol of aquatic adventure” as Tudor has described Pelagos watches to be. With its fixed bezel and landbound application, the FXD Chrono ‘Cycling Edition’ shows us that ‘Pelagos’ doesn’t have to mean ‘dive watch’. Of course, this is only true of the FXD Chrono line for now, but it could very well expand into other models (*cough* maybe a P39 GMT with that new GMT movement *cough*).

To be clear, I’m not against this divergence. I quite like that Tudor is making cool watches that aren’t explicitly divers. With dive watches occupying a bulk of their catalog, this release is a great move on Tudor's part. I’m excited to see where they take the Pelagos collection from here. Will Tudor continue to build out the FXD line with highly-technical carbon sports watches? If so, when will we see the elegantly-named “Tudor Pelagos FXD Chrono x Visa Cashapp Red Bull F1”? Who knows? Maybe we’ll see a non-partnered carbon FXD in the future, perhaps a time-only or a GMT. Whatever the future holds for this line of watches, I’m here for it.

The FXD Chrono (both versions) have no real parallels. Nowhere else at this price point will you find a chronograph movement of this caliber (pun intended), not to mention one paired with a hyper-light carbon composite case, 5-year warranty, and class-leading design. Just a month out from the Black Bay Chrono ‘Pink’, BB58 GMT, and others from Watches and Wonders, the FXD Chrono ‘Cycling Edition’ feels like a heat check from Tudor. It turns out, they’re still hot.