Specialized - a History in A Simple Format
Specialized is one of the world's most famous bike brands. Offering bikes of all shapes and sizes along with the parts and accessories to go with. You will see the Specialized brand in all sorts of places from your local park to the Tour de France.
Founded in 1974 by Mike Synard an American and is manufactured in Morgan Hill, California. The story goes that Mike sold his VW bus for $1500 to fund a cycle tour of Europe. He collected various parts from famous Italian manufacturers like Campagnolo and Cinelli returned to the US and started making his own bikes and Specialized was born. After a couple of years importing the hard to get parts Specialized started manufacturing their own and their first production bike was the specialized Touring Fire. In 1979 they started producing the Allez , a road bike, which was manufactured in Japan. In 1981 Specialized introduced the first major production mountain bike worldwide - the now famous Stumpjumper a bike which is still in production to this day but through years of development in the cycle industry now comes in various options from Full-Sus to Hardtail.
In 1989 Specialized introduced the planet to the to begin with graphite mountain bike, the first 1990's saw the introduction of the Globe series a collection of Urban bikes that was re-launched in '09 becasue it is own brand.
Specialized have history of creating sub brands but nearly to its cost in 1995 the created the Full Force brand designed to be sold through discount retailers and sports stores - angering Specialized dealers and causing sales to drop by 30% and according to the founder Mike Synyard the company came to within a few hundred dollars of going bankrupt.
In 2001 Merida Bikes of Taiwan purchased 19% of Specialized for a reported $30 Million who now manufacture nearly all their bikes - Mike Synard continues to be CEO and Majority owner with the business.
Founded in 1974 by Mike Synard an American and is manufactured in Morgan Hill, California. The story goes that Mike sold his VW bus for $1500 to fund a cycle tour of Europe. He collected various parts from famous Italian manufacturers like Campagnolo and Cinelli returned to the US and started making his own bikes and Specialized was born. After a couple of years importing the hard to get parts Specialized started manufacturing their own and their first production bike was the specialized Touring Fire. In 1979 they started producing the Allez , a road bike, which was manufactured in Japan. In 1981 Specialized introduced the first major production mountain bike worldwide - the now famous Stumpjumper a bike which is still in production to this day but through years of development in the cycle industry now comes in various options from Full-Sus to Hardtail.
In 1989 Specialized introduced the planet to the to begin with graphite mountain bike, the first 1990's saw the introduction of the Globe series a collection of Urban bikes that was re-launched in '09 becasue it is own brand.
Specialized have history of creating sub brands but nearly to its cost in 1995 the created the Full Force brand designed to be sold through discount retailers and sports stores - angering Specialized dealers and causing sales to drop by 30% and according to the founder Mike Synyard the company came to within a few hundred dollars of going bankrupt.
In 2001 Merida Bikes of Taiwan purchased 19% of Specialized for a reported $30 Million who now manufacture nearly all their bikes - Mike Synard continues to be CEO and Majority owner with the business.
About the Author:
rutland cycling are top of the pile Specializeds key stores. They sell hundreds of road and mountain cycles every month so make sure you check them out for a deal. I've found hundreds of offers over the months.