Interview with Mike Sinyard (Specialized)

[rwsaunders]

Stumpjumper stories, etc.

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/interview-specialized-founder-mike-sinyard-28233

[Buzz]

Tim Neenan's (the actual designer of the Stumpjumper) website here: http://www.lighthousecycles.com/

I have been fortunate to have spent a few days with Tim over the last few years and even better got to enjoy some of his wonderful cooking.

A buddy of mine is waiting for the return of a new Lighthouse bike back from paint. Should be a beauty.

[uno-speedo]

Some photos of Tim and his shop:

http://www.velocult.com/blog/post/trip_to_santa_ynez_ca_lighthouse_cycles

[BengeBoy]

Great interview with a real pioneer - I am old enough to remember getting the Specialized catalog back when it was still mostly tires and parts, then some early touring bikes.

The thing that is odd to me is that a story with this much detail on Specialized -- down to a complete timeline of the company, and a fair number of business details -- would fail to mention that a large part of Specialized was sold to Merida of Taiwan in 2001 (I have seen the percentage described as 49%, 40%, or 19%...who knows).

It's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's like the elephant in the room that either the journalist or the "owner" of Specialized don't want to bring up (I guess the story of an industry pioneer now a global powerhouse is better if he's just described as the "founder and owner" of Specialized). To me, it would be a much better story if they got into how that happened, and why building such a close partnership with a powerhouse Asian manufacturer allowed Specialized to become what it is today.

I actually think *more* highly of Specialized knowing where they come from, how they grew, and how the founder/CEO managed to recapitalize the company after the mountain-bike-boom ended while (cleverly) allowing Merida to compete with its arch-rival Giant in the USA without starting their own brand here. We all compete in a global world, would be great to see a story with this much detail acknowledge that.

I hate being treated like a child, even when I act like one.

[LegendRider]

Great interview with a real pioneer - I am old enough to remember getting the Specialized catalog back when it was still mostly tires and parts, then some early touring bikes.

I remember seeing an early Rockhopper in a Brookstone or Hammacher Schlemmer catalog.