A new Specialized Epic leads the way through some rough stuff at Camp Tamarancho
This summer Specialized Bicycles invited journalists from around the world to find out what the company had up its sleeve for 2009. The preview began with a tour through the company’s Morgan Hill headquarters. I’d been to Specialized’s nerve center a couple of times, but this time around a few notable things really hit home.
Such as?
DAMN, THAT’S BIG
Well, let’s start with the sheer scope. It’s a massive place. This isn’t a company that employs an industrial designer, a production manager, or an engineer. There are armies of creative types with fancy glasses toiling away on the latest bike concepts and designs. I suppose that should be intuitive when you consider the massive lineup of commuter rigs, track bikes, hybrids, tri bikes, shoes, helmets, water bottles, sunglasses, and, oh yeah, mountain bikes, that the company produces. Nevertheless, I’ve visited plenty of companies that crank out legions of products and still don’t invest this heavily into the design side of things. When your product is produced in Taiwan or, increasingly, mainland China, it’s pretty easy to also source out a lot of the actual product design and engineering. This is clearly not the case with Specialized.
There are legions of folks with impressive engineering and design degrees hashing out new ideas. And all of them ride. The company bike rack resembles a massive bicycle refugee camp full of shiny new models, battered prototypes and quirky mutations of older company models. Specialized’s afternoon lunch rides are the stuff of legend. If you happen to be cruising through Morgan Hill around midday and you stumble upon what looks like a CAT 1 or 2 peloton, it’s probably just a bunch of Specialized employees blowing off steam.
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A COMPANY WITHOUT BORDERS?
There are no walls in the design area. A seemingly trivial observation, but the company’s founder and president, Mike Sinyard, insists that it's key to the firm’s character. Walls not only enable you to surf porn when you should be pushing the limits of your CAD software—they can also inhibit communication and hamper the flow of new ideas. So, when it came to the design and engineering group—no walls. The same, reportedly, holds true for Sinyard’s own lair. Apparently, you can turn around and nail the guy with a spit wad (or brilliant idea) if you wanted to (though one action will conceivably get you fired and the other promoted). This is pretty unusual in this day and age of lavish corner offices for execs and never-ending fields of cubicles for grunts.
Some graffiti on the walls of the Specialized design lounge
There’s also graffiti on the wall, coffee machines and a brass pole (think firefighters rather than strippers) that allows more heavily caffeinated employees to zip from one floor to the next. On the whole, you get the sense that it’s a fun place to work, and this isn’t a happy coincidence. That’s the point: Happy employees equal creative designs.
Though Specialized has a new tag line today (a more humanizing “I Am Specialized”), the company cut its teeth on the “Innovate or Die” credo, and you can see that still holds true.
Posted Fri Nov21, 2008, 11:40 AM — By Michael Armster
I just bought a $500 Crosstrail last week and have been very satisfied. I flew off the lot and was home before I knew it. Winter set in Today and I'll wipe 'er down and pick my spots!!
Posted Mon Nov24, 2008, 7:10 AM — By andy jones
check out the sweet Cannondale crank on that Concept/Aero bike in the corner...nice choice!
Posted Tue Nov25, 2008, 12:53 PM — By Mike S.
Specialized has come along way... But Trek still rules all.. Its funny how trek comes out with designs and then a few month later you see the same design on a Specialized.. Trek is the innovator Specialized always follows with trek patents. They have good products like most bike companys and they are trying to make a consistant carbon bike but Trek Leads that ave. Mitred carbon makes inconsistant bike frames. I do like the flashy color schemes and the better componetry offered on Specialzed beginer and advanced frames.. Looking Good!
Posted Thu Dec 4, 2008, 6:03 PM — By Mike R.
Re: Mike S.
I disagree. I think that Specialized is now the innovative leader in mtb design. The total product package - specifically designing things to be proprietary but functionally superior to their competition - has given Specialized a leg-up on their competition.
Posted Sat Dec 6, 2008, 10:16 PM — By PAul
Mike s. i do hope your kidding you have that completly backwards trek always copies specialized ex. e2 was first done by spesh on a stumpy now trek and evreyone does it. also treks "abp" is a clever version of the horst link which specailized first had. also before abp trek was regared as on of the worst mtb manufacturers. get your facts straight
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