Specialized Bicycle Components Specialized Bicycle Components Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc., commonly called "Specialized", is a United States-based company that designs, manufactures and markets bicycles, bicycle components and related products under the brand name "Specialized". The Morgan Hill, California-based company was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard — and since 2001 has been 49% owned by Taiwan-based Merida Bikes. The company was founded in 1974 by Mike Sinyard, 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. Sinyard started out importing
Bicycle suspension RockShox, and (to a lesser extent) X-Fusion, RST, Suntour and Magura. Some bicycle manufacturers (notably Cannondale and Specialized) also make their own suspension systems to fully complement and integrate the bike set-up. Although much less common, some road bicycles do incorporate suspensions, particularly the Soft Tail variety mentioned above. One example is Trek Bicycle Corporation's s.p.a (Suspension Performance Advantage) rear suspension, offered on some of their Pilot models, but the system was removed for the 2008 model year. Virtually all bicycles produced by Alex Moulton bicycles also have very effective full suspension, due to the low unsuspended mass of the