Gray Goat Bicycle Co.: A visit to Specialized HQ with the Rad Riders! (Part 1)

Welcome to the new blog for Gray Goat Bicycle Co! We will be using the blog for more in-depth information about cycling topics and products and particularly to feature the stories of our cycling community and customers. We're starting it off with entries from Jim Jensen, who just returned from a trip to Specialized's headquarters in California. A first-time program that Specialized set up for "Rad Riders" that are ardent supporters of the cycling lifestyle in their communities.

In early Spring, Brian Gootee surprised me with the announcement that I was headed to a new program at Specialized Bicycle's headquarters in Morgan Hill, CA. I would be spending 2 days in their Specialized Bicycle Components University (SBCU) and going on a couple of rides in the area. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect and it turned out to be far beyond what I imagined. Thanks to the recognizable Specialized "S", I met up with 7 others in Chicago on their way to SBCU too. The excitement was building! We were a large enough group that Specialized sent 2 Town Car SUVs to whisk us to our accommodations in Morgan Hill.

Upon our arrival at the hotel, before we could even get to our rooms, the hotel staff came out smiling and handing us each a bag of stuff left for us by Specialized. We knew we'd get our detailed schedule upon arrival, but this was way more than expected! I think every single person did exactly the same thing - go to our room, lay out the contents of our SWAG bag on the nice white bed and send a photo back to our respective bike shops. I think about 17 very similar photos appeared on social media all about the same time (one of our group arrived later in the evening)!

One of the items included was simple, but really caught my attention as part of Specialized's SWAT (Storage, Water, Air, Tools) collection - the Tube Spool. It holds CO2, a tire lever and a tube a convenient package the fits in a pocket or a seat bag.

We met the west coast contingent at the hotel, who arrived ahead of us. The electricity was really buzzing now, but we had no bikes and nothing scheduled for the rest of the day. A few of us were too antsy to sit around the pool and wanted to do something. We split into random small groups and found ways to explore, some near, some farther. Some decided the pool was an oasis.

Thursday morning we gathered for breakfast in the hotel and started getting to know more in the group. We met 2 from guys from Germany and another from Japan that were also there for Specialized. As it turned out, they were there for a separate event, which intrigued us all the more.

We spent much of Thursday learning more about the history of Specialized by touring the museum area of the building, including a personal discussion of their bikes and development by the founder and president, Mike Sinyard himself, followed by explanations of the incredible and fun concept bikes by lead creative designer Robert Egger.

Our SBCU instructors, Seth Rand and Tony Baumann helped us understand more about the construction of road bike frames plus the suspension systems of mountain bikes over the two days. In addition, we we visited the helmet test lab and the apparel lab, which was much more interesting than it sounds. In both of these areas, we were requested to limit photographs and we were able to see items that are still considered corporate intellectual property, although some of the details were withheld, of course.

Each day also provided us the opportunity of riding top-end bikes; road bikes on Thursday and mountain bikes on Friday. It's unusual that a group of cyclists that had never met gelled together not only as colleagues and new friends but also trusted each other very highly on the road, helping each other, encouraging each other and riding very close together - especially when the video truck was right in front of us and we rode right on the bumper and lined up wheel to wheel. The "cage" that contains the demo fleet of bikes is quite an impressive sight.

All employees of Specialized ride bikes, which seems obvious, but it's not really an assumption that can be made about any company using their own products on a regular basis. As a result, they can directly evaluate the products they are developing. Riding the new saddles, riding in the prototype clothing - all to the end of knowing their products and designing them from the perspective of the user, not a 2-D or 3-D image. It shows quite well, as does their enthusiasm. We were joined on each ride by product managers and others from the road and mountain bike departments, including Don Langley of the "Langster" single speed bike - quite a treat! There's so much to share, that it will spread over more than one entry. In upcoming entries, I'll include more detail about the topics we discussed and learned about. Sorry, but no company secrets we may or may not have seen will be able to be discussed here. In the mean time - some additional photos.