Specialized Bicycle Components Costco. The move angered some Specialized dealers. In 1996, Specialized withdrew the Full Force line and Mike Sinyard wrote a letter of apology to dealers. 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". 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. , Specialized is one of the biggest bicycle brands operating in the United States, alongside Trek Bicycle Corporation and Giant Bicycles. In 2012
Trek Bicycle Corporation three women's triathlon series; the Trek Women Triathlon Series, the Danskin Series and the Iron Girl Series. As from the 2014 season, Trek became the main sponsor of Pro Tour cycling team Trek Factory Racing, a continuation of its bike sponsorship of Team RadioShack and co-sponsorship of Team Leopard-Trek. In 2017, Trek paid equal prize money to the male and female winners of the Cyclocross World Cup race hosted at their headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin, which was, "the first time in the history of the sport that women would be paid as much as men for racing the same course