type private industry bicycles founded 1974 headquarters morgan hill california usa key people mike sinyard ceo products bicycle and related components revenue us 500 000 000 est. 2011 1 number of employees 300 2002 1 website www.specialized.com specialized bicycle components inc. more commonly known simply as specialized is a major american manufacturer of high performance bicycles bicycle components and related products . it markets their products under the brand name specialized . the company was founded in 1974 by mike sinyard and is based in morgan hill california . contents 1 history 2 litigation 3 professional rider sponsorship 4 references 5 further reading 6 external links history edit specialized was founded in 1974 by mike sinyard 2 a cycling enthusiast who sold his volkswagen bus for 1 500 to fund a cycle tour of europe where he bought handlebars and stems made by cinelli to take back to the us . 3 4 5 sinyard started out importing italian bike components that were difficult to find in the united states 2 but the company began to produce its own bike parts by 1976 starting with the specialized touring tire . 4 in 1981 the company introduced its first two bikes the sequoia a sport touring design and the allez a road bike . 6 specialized also introduced the first major production mountain bike in the world the stumpjumper in 1981 . like the sequoia and allez the stumpjumper was designed by tim neenan and based on an early tom ritchey design . specialized continues to produce bikes under the stumpjumper name including both hardtail and full suspension models . 7 an original stumpjumper is displayed in the smithsonian institution in washington d.c. 4 8 in 1989 specialized introduced the epic the world s second mass production carbon fibre mountain bike . 6 in the early 1990s specialized introduced the globe line of urban bikes . the line was the subject of a major relaunch in 2009 9 which saw globe become its own distinct brand . 10 the globe brand has since been discontinued and specialized now markets lifestyle bikes under its main brand . 11 a 2008 specialized stumpjumper with full suspension a 2008 specialized s works transition carbon triathlon time trial bike . in 1995 specialized launched the full force brand . 12 full force was a lower end mountain bike brand sold through sports stores and discount retailers such as costco . 4 the move angered some specialized dealers . in 1996 specialized withdrew the full force line and mike sinyard wrote a letter of apology to dealers . 4 13 by the end of 1996 specialized had lost 30 % of its bike shop sales and according to sinyard came within a few hundred dollars of declaring bankruptcy . 4 in 2001 merida bikes of taiwan bought 49 % of specialized for a reported us 30 million . mike sinyard remained majority owner and ceo of the company . 14 15 as of 2016 update specialized is one of the biggest bicycle brands operating in the united states alongside trek bicycle corporation and giant bicycles . 16 2014 time trial bike of world champion ellen van dijk in 2012 specialized issued a recall on about 12 000 bicycles sold through retailers from 2007 until july 2012 for a faulty front fork . 17 recalled models include the globe elite globe sport globe sport disc globe centrum comp globe centrum elite globe city 6 globe vienna 3 globe vienna 3 disc globe vienna 4 globe vienna deluxe 3 globe vienna deluxe 4 globe vienna deluxe 5 and globe vienna deluxe 6 . a customized version of the specialized rockhopper mountain bike is currently used by the london ambulance service to equip their cycle response units which operate in congested areas of the city . 18 litigation edit specialized has a history of aggressively protecting its trademarks . in 1990 specialized tried to sue rockshox inc claiming the company s name too closely resembled the bicycle model name rockhopper 19 the case was ultimately dismissed with prejudice . in 2006 specialized sued mountain cycle over its use of the model name stumptown nickname for portland alleging it resembled the specialized model name stumpjumper . 20 mountain cycle closed doors shortly thereafter . in 2009 specialized had a trademark dispute with a manufacturer of bicycle bags epic designs now revelate designs . in 2010 specialized took nascar racing driver & team owner robby gordon to court over the logo used for his own speed energy drink claiming it was visually similar to their own s logo . gordon sued specialized after receiving a cease and desist letter in september 2010 and specialized then counter sued gordon . 21 gordon was ordered by the court to remove the speed s logo from his racecars and later agreed with specialized he would change the drink s logo . in 2011 portland wheel builder epic wheel works was forced to change its name due to potential trademark conflict with specialized . 22 in 2012 the company sued two former employees after they started the bicycle brand volagi . specialized lost on all accounts except one and was awarded one dollar in damages after spending 2.5 million dollars on the lawsuit . 23 24 in september of 2016 volagi announced that it would close its doors after a founding member was injured in a bicycle accident involving an automobile . in 2013 specialized mailed a small bike shop owner in canada a cease and desist letter over its use of the city name roubaix in its shop name and wheels the name of a town in france that rose to prominence as a textile center in the 15th century 25 and has hosted an iconic bicycle race since 1896 . 26 27 this follows on from specialized s trademarking of the word in canada . the situation and behavior towards the shop owner caused some reactions from cyclists worldwide in the days after a story on the matter was published by the calgary herald in early december 2013 . 28 29 on the 9th of december fuji bikes owner advanced sports international of philadelphia said that in fact they are the legal owner of worldwide rights to the roubaix trademark . fuji has had a fuji roubaix road bike model in its lineup since 1992 and has licensed the name to specialized since 2003 . 30 the dispute between specialized asi and the canadian shop owner was resolved in december 2013 and specialized vowed to be more cautious in its pursuit of trademark violators going forward . 31 in 2014 specialized forced bicycle builder neil pryde to change the name of their alize bike model . 32 professional rider sponsorship edit team gerolsteiner riders right with specialized bikes and gear specialized bikes of the quick step team tour of california february 2007 many riders in recent years have used specialized bicycles in the north american and european professional cycling circuits . in 2016 the professional road teams sponsored by specialized are etixx quick step astana pro team tinkoff boels dolmans and axeon hagens berman . 33 34 mountain bike riders sponsored by specialized include the downhill world champion lo c bruni who rides for the specialized gravity team troy brosnan of the separate specialized factory racing team loris vergier finn iles 35 jaroslav kulhavy christoph sauser lea davison troy brosnan martin soderstrom simon andreassen sam gaze hannah barnes annika langvad kate courtney mitch ropelato curtis keene nicholi rogatkin dylan dunkerton curtis robinson matt hunter and howard grotts . 33 sponsored triathletes include brent mcmahon ruben ruzafa non stanford conrad stoltz richard murray melissa hauschildt tim don lisa norden chris mccormack francisco javier g mez noya gwen jorgensen and benjamin hoffman . 33 references edit a b specialized bicycle components inc. . a b reinventing the wheel . the economist . 324 7770 61 62 . 1992 08 01 . clarke jody 2009 09 18 . mike sinyard riding the mountain bike craze to a fortune . moneyweek . retrieved 2009 09 25 . a b c d e f overfelt maggie 2008 05 20 . king of the mountain bike . cnn money . retrieved 2009 09 25 . specialized pdf . cool brands . 2008 2009 . p. 120 . retrieved 2009 09 25 . dead link a b rogers seb 23 october 2010 . interview specialized founder mike sinyard . what mountain bike . retrieved 23 october 2010 . rogers seb . specialized bicycles stumpjumper comp ht 09 . bikeradar . retrieved 2009 09 27 . eng sherri 1994 09 26 . mountain bike founders still cycling . calgary herald . p. c1 . access date requires url help boulanger gary 2009 09 16 . specialized relaunch globe urban brand . bikeradar . retrieved 2009 09 29 . booth philip 2009 06 12 . tech features specialized launches globe brand . road bike action magazine . retrieved 2009 09 29 . gulley aaron 8 may 2015 . giant just released a gorgeous low cost commuter . outside . retrieved 2 april 2016 . boulanger gary 2008 03 20 . cannondale purchase raises ire of specialized founder . bikeradar . retrieved 2009 09 27 . kaufman steve 1996 12 26 . mountain bike innovator now rolling with the punches specialized has matured with founder . the seattle times . retrieved 2009 09 27 . merida buys not 49 % but 19 % of specialized . bike europe . 2001 08 07 . retrieved 2009 09 27 . correction merida buys 49 % of specialized . bike europe . 2001 08 08 . retrieved 2010 08 19 . frothingham stephen 25 february 2016 . big three brands duke it out with march discounts . bicycle retailer . retrieved 1 april 2016 . bicycles recalled after faulty part leads to falls . cnn . 2012 09 26 . retrieved 2012 09 26 . london ambulance service cycle responder . www.londonambulance.nhs.uk . london ambulance service nhs trust . retrieved 20 july 2016 . http www.plainsite.org flashlight case.html id 2173443 specialized mountain cycle disagree on stumptown bikeportland.org . bikeportland.org . judge forces robby gordon to remove logos from energy drink . sportsbusinessdaily.com . epic wheel works will change name due to potential trademark conflict with specialized . bikeportland.org . specialized sues volagi over liscio road bike . velonews.com . an expensive dollar volagi owes specialized 1 . velonews.com . roubaix . encyclopedia britannica . retrieved 2013 12 09 . tom babin 2013 12 07 . war veteran forced to change bike shop s name after threat from u.s bike giant specialized . calgary herald . retrieved 2013 12 07 . must read specialized muscles vet over shop s name velonews.com . velonews.com . specialized s disastrous trademark case is unnecessary to defend the brand velonews.com . velonews.com . social media explosion over specialized s roubaix lawsuit . bicycle retailer and industry news . asi says calgary bike shop can use roubaix name . bicycle retailer and industry news . asi specialized and cafe roubaix in complete alignment over trademark . bicycle retailer and industry news . allez allez nazar . 2014 04 04 . retrieved 2014 04 06 . a b c i am specialized riders . specialized . retrieved 28 march 2016 . better michael 18 august 2015 . axeon team to become axeon hagens berman for 2016 . velonews . retrieved 28 march 2016 . smurthwaite james 6 january 2016 . loic bruni signs with specialized for 2016 . mountain bike rider . retrieved 28 march 2016 . further reading edit riedy mark 2006 . stumpjumper 25 years of mountain biking . halcottsville ny breakaway books . isbn 1 891369 63 6 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to specialized bicycle components . official website globe bikes official site brief company history specialized bike list wikimedia commons has media related to specialized bicycle components . v t e american bicycle manufacturers