General Cycling Discussion - Specialized, Are They Taking Over The World?

Specialized is a great brand, and they make quality bikes. But it seems like every group ride I go on, the vast majority are Specialized. To me this brand has become the McDonald's of bikes, except a higher quality product. Do you guys find this to be true? Or am I just being hypersensitive?

No that's Exxon and BP.

note about 'Brand' of bikes: there is a larger company ,
or series of companies making a lot of bikes , and bike parts
for all the brands stuff, sold these days. world wide ..

Just another product managers and designer's contract filled in one of Taiwan's
huge bike manufacturing subcontractors ..

Schwinn, selling their name, has dropped to Magna level
shipping to Big box stores like Wally World..

Brand is often just a different paint job.


.... also
Major brands have sales territories. small population here keeps SBI dealer
in a separate town, Local here is a different, Trek\redline, territory..

It depends where you go and what the LBSs there are selling. Specialized is certainly one of the big players in the north american market, but the last group ride I went on there was a pretty good mix of Specializeds, Treks, Cervelos, Giants, and a local company called Eclipse that builds bikes with Taiwanese frames, as well as others.

It is a competative marketplace and there are many sellers to chose from. The larger companies sometimes seem to have a little better value built in, sometimes the smaller companies have a little something extra for a little more money.

In the end it is all about the motor.

Specialized are definitely a popular brand and I do see a lot of them around. But I also see a lot of Treks. I think area has a lot to do with it. I don't see a lot of Giant bikes by me because I believe there's only 1 shop in the area that sells them. But there's numerous Trek and Specialized shops.

With that said, I bought a Felt. :D

Specialized is a great brand, and they make quality bikes. But it seems like every group ride I go on, the vast majority are Specialized. To me this brand has become the McDonald's of bikes, except a higher quality product. Do you guys find this to be true? Or am I just being hypersensitive?

It always strikes me just how prominent the Specialized text is on their bikes. I've seen a few bikes of other brands that are far more discreet. The ones that seem to be the most in-yer-face are Specialized (often big white letters on a black background, or big red letters on a white background, from what I've seen), and Cervelo. I've seen the odd Scott around my way. Cervelo and Scott seem to be very prominent in their text, but I don't see many of them (or at least I don't notice many of them).

I think it's coincidence. I seem to see Giants all over the place here in Denver.

TONS and TONS of Treks in SoCal. There are a lot of specialized but more Treks.

And surprisingly there are many Cervelos.

Treks and Specialized are both heavily marketed to the masses. That exposure outside the core cycling world sells a whole lotta bikes to NewBs...

See plenty of Treks- Specialised-Giants- and several other popular makes. The Ones that catch my eye though are the 10 year old heavy old Cannondales- the Raleighs- the Dawes tourers--you know the type----The ones that come past me at speed and the riders are always polite and able to speak with ease whilst I am struggling up the hill.

What's a Specialized? :)

Schleck fan boys that bought their bikes last year.

It always strikes me just how prominent the Specialized text is on their bikes.

I was interested in one of these for a while, but one of the things that put me off was the 958-point logo.

http://www.litespeed.com/images/2011/C1-DuraAce(1).jpg

Schwinn has dropped to Magna level shipping to Big box stores like Wally World.

Yes and no. Yes, X-Mart bikes include Schwinns. But there is another line of Schwinn called Schwinn Select that is available at LBSs that are good quality bikes.

Yes and no. Yes, X-Mart bikes include Schwinns. But there is another line of Schwinn called Schwinn Select that is available at LBSs that are good quality bikes.

I dig that decision (wider product line) BTW. A lot of peeps think it dilutes the brand but I applaud the attempt at reaching a wider audience. MTB did it long ago and road manufacturers seem much slower to follow suit. The more Wallyworld-Freds who jump on board the more likely road riders will achieve greater acceptance and understanding from society as a whole...

Specialized and Trek make a very large range of bicycles targeting pretty much every demographic. Makes sense really.

They seem very popular and in every local bike shop.

I dig that decision (wider product line) BTW. A lot of peeps think it dilutes the brand but I applaud the attempt at reaching a wider audience. MTB did it long ago and road manufacturers seem much slower to follow suit. The more Wallyworld-Freds who jump on board the more likely road riders will achieve greater acceptance and understanding from society as a whole...

Crappy road bikes were all the rage in the '70s and it drove a lot of people away from the sport entirely. THe same thing unbelievably crappy full suspension BSOs are doing today. Ill fitting 'one-size-fits-all, poorly assembled bikes don't help anyone.

I think you are attributing to them a benevolence and love for the sport that simply is not there. THey realized the margin for selling 10 asian made $150 bikes at XMart is better than for one asian-made $1500 bike at a bike store - that is all.

It always strikes me just how prominent the Specialized text is on their bikes.

Like this?
http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/2009/bikes/9090-41_AL_Elite_Charcoal_d.jpg
I have this bike and I think the logo looks cool.

Trek makes their carbon frames in Wisconsin,
OTOH {afaik] Specialized has a China subcontractor for that too..

Can't take over the world if you don't make your own stuff, you are another
dependent, .. :innocent:

Must be a regional thing. Specialized bikes are not very common where I ride.

Must be a regional thing. Specialized bikes are not very common where I ride.
That very well could be the case. I live in Southern Oregon. The majority of LBS are dominated by specialized but we do have a couple of other stores that carry Trek.

No.....China is.....put whatever sticker on it you want.

Wallyworld (this is as cheap as we can make it and they will still buy it) type bikes rule 10 to 1,at least in L.A. I'd ask them about it but we don't speak the same language.

I have this bike and I think the logo looks cool.

There's your problem!

Schwinn has dropped to Magna level shipping to Big box stores like Wally World..
.

Bicycle Times had a thing on new Schwinn's, and said they bore no resemblance to the Bicycle Shaped objects in big box stores. Actually, doesn't Dorel own both Cannondale and Schwinn?

It always strikes me just how prominent the Specialized text is on their bikes. I've seen a few bikes of other brands that are far more discreet. The ones that seem to be the most in-yer-face are Specialized (often big white letters on a black background, or big red letters on a white background, from what I've seen), and Cervelo.

Trek is far worse - especially with their high end bikes. Count how many times "Trek" and "Bontrager" are boldly printed on one of their bikes.

I don't think the McDonalds' comparison is fair, but then I haven't eaten any of that repulsive cr@p in this millennium... (perhaps it's gotten less repulsive?)
At least they make a quality product, unlike Bontrager/Trek. My primary road bike is a Felt, but lately I've been attracted to Specialized's stuff. I even ditched my Brooks B17Ti in favor of an Avatar. Then I was very, VERY happy with my belt-driven dog-taxi I bought back in Sept, so I got a Stumpjumper in March and have been very happy with both since:

http://www.calamarichris.com/images/101007-live3.jpg
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/110305-stumpy.jpg

I dig that decision (wider product line) BTW. A lot of peeps think it dilutes the brand but I applaud the attempt at reaching a wider audience. MTB did it long ago and road manufacturers seem much slower to follow suit. The more Wallyworld-Freds who jump on board the more likely road riders will achieve greater acceptance and understanding from society as a whole...

I think I'm one of those guys that believes it dilutes the brand. If somebody ever gets a Schwinn in a box store, it's likely going to be enough of a piece of junk to turn him or her off to the brand (and cycling) for the rest of their lives. I also would not want to spend $2000 for a really good Schwinn when I know their are $150 box store Schwinns running around out there. Your expensive Schwinn will just get lumped in with the cheap Schwinns.

Specialized is a great brand, and they make quality bikes. But it seems like every group ride I go on, the vast majority are Specialized. To me this brand has become the McDonald's of bikes, except a higher quality product. Do you guys find this to be true? Or am I just being hypersensitive?

Specialized, Trek, Cannondale and Giant are the big sellers where I live.

They are all very nice bikes, but if you want to ride something different, you have to look for the smaller, boutique manufacturers. I recently bought a Bianchi Infinito, but I was also looking at Wilier and Colnago.

Usually I don't like logos but on bikes it just seems right for some odd reason. I can't stand a big C H E V Y on the side of a car though ;)


But my S P E C I A L I Z E D is kinda understated on my down tube.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q11/bigbadwulff/2011-06-24_16-49-14_2.jpg

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q11/bigbadwulff/081211132417.jpg

We just got a specialized dealer so within a year I may agree with you. For now its trek, trek, trek and every once in a while a trek. I will not ride a trek for this reason, I am sure they're bike are just as good as the exact same bike with a different logo applied as they pretty much all are. Giant is the only big guy that makes their own bikes.
Logos too big I don't know. I kind of like the huge high contrast logos that are fairly popular now, but apparently people were willing to buy the Miami vice themed, yellow and purple Centurion Ironman bikes at one time so time will tell if its cool or not.

Craig

We have a very good mix around here. There are 4 bike shops in town, and one sell mostly "recycled bikes", so you see a decent number of quality steel frames from 5-10 year ago running around (a lot of Bianchi). There is also a recumbent shop in town, though they don't sell many bike locally. Then another place sells some names like Surly, Jamis, Kona, etc. Finally the high end big bike shop sells Specialized, C-dale, Giant, and Cervello, plus maybe a few others.

So we have plenty variety here, except we have virtually 0 treks, since nobody stocked them until the recycled place very recently started stocking new bikes.

Treks and Specialized are both heavily marketed to the masses. That exposure outside the core cycling world sells a whole lotta bikes to NewBs...

Yea, you hit near what I'm seeing/thinking. Though trek and specialized make great bikes, I get a 'sense' from the hard-core-cyclist set that sort of looks down on such owners, as if it is a telltale sign of 'newbie'...or tourist, or whatever. [specialized not so much as trek though, but it's getting that way as the thread suggests, being 'overmarketed' (if that can even be done, ha)]. I don't think it has as much to do with bike quality as a sort of 'social' thingy [ie the 'in crowd' versus the 'geeks' sort of thing...in a lite subtle version perhaps, you know, what's COOL and what is not so much].

If there could be 'out' bikes, I wonder what the 'in' bikes might be? Scott? Ridley? Cervelo? Pinarello? What do they ride in California I wonder?

A bike snob wannabe....well I guess there's worse things you could be. Maybe a hand made bike is for you, or rather 'custom'. If you've got the geetis, go to Austin.

Oh yeah, btw, nice bike wulfy, very tasteful.

I don't think of Specialized as Mickey D's, that would Huffy. Specialized is more like Beck's Prime, where I just got a good cheeseburger cooked a little rare. But you're right they do seem to be taking over. Kinda like the local Bike Barn...a tennis court sized room full of 5-10k bikes, mostly Specialized.

But it seems like every group ride I go on, the vast majority are Specialized. To me this brand has become the McDonald's of bikes, except a higher quality product. Do you guys find this to be true? Or am I just being hypersensitive?




It always strikes me just how prominent the Specialized text is on their bikes. I've seen a few bikes of other brands that are far more discreet. The ones that seem to be the most in-yer-face are Specialized (often big white letters on a black background, or big red letters on a white background, from what I've seen), and Cervelo. I've seen the odd Scott around my way. Cervelo and Scott seem to be very prominent in their text, but I don't see many of them (or at least I don't notice many of them).



envy??

I have owned GIANT, Schwinn, Raliegh, and KONA during my biking years...I will take Specialized anytime. "each to their own".

Yea, you hit near what I'm seeing/thinking. Though trek and specialized make great bikes, I get a 'sense' from the hard-core-cyclist set that sort of looks down on such owners, as if it is a telltale sign of 'newbie'...or tourist, or whatever. [specialized not so much as trek though, but it's getting that way as the thread suggests, being 'overmarketed' (if that can even be done, ha)]. I don't think it has as much to do with bike quality as a sort of 'social' thingy [ie the 'in crowd' versus the 'geeks' sort of thing...in a lite subtle version perhaps, you know, what's COOL and what is not so much].

If there could be 'out' bikes, I wonder what the 'in' bikes might be? Scott? Ridley? Cervelo? Pinarello? What do they ride in California I wonder?

Meh, I never put much stock in what "people think" (especially as it relates to brands). Both Trek and Specialized make great bikes although I do think sometimes the prices reflect a 'bump" do to marketing costs. Sure, one might see more Fred-NewBs riding them in a particular area but it shouldn't reflect on the quality of the bike or the potential of the new rider. Most "hard-core" I know could care less what someone rides as long as they are out there (barring new roadies who buy TRI setups... why for the love of all holy, WHY!??!). If anything they look at Fred-NewB on a pimped Specialized and think "sweet ride, they should LOVE growing into that!"