Specialized

Specialized is a bike manufacturer based in California, USA. The company produces bicycles and components for a wide variety of cycling disciplines. Specialized also sells a range of premium products under its S-works brand.

History

After launching the Specialized Touring tyre in 1976, Sepcialized went on to release its first two bikes five years later. The Sequoia had a relaxed design for touring, whilst the Allez was an out-and-out road bike. In the same year, Specialized launched the Stumpjumper, the world’s first mass production mountain bike.

During the 1990s, the company came “within a few hundred dollars of bankruptcy,” however a change in ethos helped it to survive. The message of “Innovate or Die'' is still used within the business today. Specialized began to take a more holistic approach when it came to its products and how cyclists used them. Its ‘Body Geometry’ saddle in 1997 was the first of a range of products that were ergonomically designed to ensure a rider could cycle pain-free.

In 2001, Taiwanese manufacturer Merida Bikes bought a 49% share in Specialized for a reported $30 million, with Sinyard remaining as CEO and owner. The company developed into one of the largest bicycle manufacturers in the United States as the early 2000s progressed.

It hit an estimated revenue of $500 million in 2011 despite having to deal with the recall of 12,000 bicycles sold via retailers around this time. Specialized has sponsored a vast number of professional riders and teams across road, track, gravel, mountain biking and triathlon over recent years.

Since becoming bike sponsor of Belgian team Soudal Quick-Step in 2012, the team has claimed more than 600 professional victories. Specialized will remain partnered with the team until at least 2027.

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Pro cycling

Current sponsorships: Soudal Quick-Step, BORA-hansgrohe, Team SD Worx, TotalEnergies, Trinity Racing, AG Insurance-Soudal Quick-Step

Highlights

• Specialized had a stranglehold over the Road World Championships ITTs between 2009 and 2013. Fabian Cancellara won TT rainbow bands in 2009 and 2010 before the likes of Ellen van Dijk and Tony Martin compounded the dominance.
• Between 2011 and 2022, eight riders used Specialized bikes to win the World Championships Road Race, with Peter Sagan winning three consecutive editions between 2015 and 2017.
• Specialized has won 11 Grand Tours in men’s pro cycling, with the latest being Remco Evenepoel’s 2022 Vuelta a España victory. The brand first won the maillot jaune of the Tour de France in 2010, thanks to Saxo Bank’s Andy Schleck.
• Specialized has won Paris-Roubaix seven times in the past two decades, with Cancellara, Sagan, Tom Boonen and Niki Terpstra all tasting success.
• In 2023, Team SD Worx hit a purple patch never seen before in women’s cycling. Demi Vollering became only the second winner of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. This came after a dominant spring Classics season in which the team also secured 1-2 victories at Strade Bianche, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Itzulia Women, Tour de Suisse Women, as well as wins at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes.