Gray Goat Bicycle Co.: July 2015

A visit to Specialized HQ with the Rad Riders! (Part 3)

A more detailed look at SBCU (Specialized Bicycle Components University)

The Mountain Bike Day

On the second full day, breakfast started with a fun lesson when we noticed the bananas all had their stems cut very short and were tougher to peel. I think it was Kyle who told us "peel them like the monkeys do!" Huh? So after he told us about it, Aaron gave us a demonstration for you to see and learn -

It was Friday, so the time at SBCU started with Specialized's traditional Donuts and Bagels time in the Feed Zone. Lots of both plus scones. In honor of doughnuts and bagels day, the Friday Lunch Ride Winner's jersey now bears the image of a doughnut with rainbow bands.

Aaron Edge takes some laps around the pump track

After carbs, the agenda was to start with a tour of the test lab, where they test frames and components they build, plus other equipment they acquire (perhaps stuff from the competition?).
Unfortunately for us, there were too many new items in there to let us in. Instead, we pulled out some P-series bikes and discovered the pump track built right there at the back of the building. This was a new experience for almost all of us. So what do they mean by a pump track? The idea is that after you enter the course with some speed from pedaling to get there, you maintain your speed and motion by "pumping" (shifting) your weight back and forth on the bike - rather like the motion when using a swing on the playground. It's a great comparison, because it's such a fun experience that you feel like a kid on the bike. While most of us tried to get the hang of it, Seth Rand and Rad Rider Chris Trask showed us mad skills and rad lines.

Back to the regularly scheduled programming and on to the apparel lab we went. Specialized designs their clothing in the apparel lab. However, unlike other companies, they make their own prototypes themselves in the lab as well, including the visual design, using their own sublimation machine. By making their own prototypes, they can have them real-world tested when employees ride and test them in the Win Tunnel for aerodynamic performance. Based on the results and feedback, they will make adjustments and new prototypes until they are perfected and then sent to factories for production. We were able to see one of the now released Evade Skinsuits that was custom made for Vincenzo Nibali. Because it was not a released product yet, we have no photos to share, but it was evident to see that he's small guy!

The staff of the apparel lab seems very receptive to feedback from cyclists and not just the pro riders and Specialized staff. I was surprised but very happy to hear that the design of ladies bib-shorts had been changed slightly based on an email from Wendy Engelberg in our group, from Girlz Gone Riding. It's great to hear a company that listens to their clientele so well!

I asked about the disparity in clothing sizing between brands and even sometimes within brands that can be frustrating when buying clothing. Many know that there are race-fit and club-fit sizing which differ, but they explained that they have to consider what geographic area they are targeting. In general, southern Europeans, Italians and Spaniards, are usually smaller frame while northern Europeans, Germans & Dutch, are taller/larger. Each manufacturer uses their own sizing mannequins for standard sizing, which causes differences between brands. Most companies use a 2" fit difference between each size, but Specialized uses a 4" increment between sizes in order to fit a larger range of riders. They are expecting to expand their range of sizes for height as well, soon. Because of the expected tightness of skinsuits for aerodynamic performance, there are many more sizes available for skinsuits than other clothing.

The final learning session acquainted us more with mountain bike technology. Since many in the group are primarily roadies, they started with basics of how the suspension system of a full-suspension bike functions and the functional usage of the different mountain bike models. Seth and Tony explained the geometry of Specialized's mountain bike frames, the chain stays being a little shorter for more nimble handling; the research in the design of the rear suspension on full-suspension bikes including the location of pivot points. While explaining how the dampening and rebound functions work and how the fluid moves, I was surprised to learn that fluid suspension forks should be serviced every 50 hours of use, because of contamination that the oil will absorb.

It time for lunch and to journey into the Soquel Demonstration Forest to put some mountain bikes to test. Everyone was anxious to get there and it was a decent drive there, so everyone grabbed food to go from the Feed Zone. After driving up some quite winding roads into the mountains west of Morgan Hill, the bikes were lined up to get ready to go. We were all riding full suspension bikes. There was at least a couple of new just released 2016 Stumpjumpers and the 6Fattie Fuse.

Despite driving a good amount up into the forest, we rode uphill for about an hour on asphalt roads, then dirt fire roads. Then we started hitting some singletrack. We still went up further but alternated between some fun singletrack and more fire road. We stopped for a gorgeous view on a beautiful day and regathered the group. Now it was time to start going downhill for a good while!

A nice long and organized group riding through the forest.

One of the awesome bermed downhill turns on the Demo Flow Trail.

Singletrack with log-overs, drops and rock gardens eventually gave way to the recently completed Demo Flow Trail. 4 miles of sweet, fast, smooth flow! High bermed turns, rollers, small jumps - easy to keep speed up and flow from one feature the next. It was 14 minutes of gleeful, ecstatic feeling of motion that felt like at least twice as long.

We ran a pair of GoPro cameras, one rear-facing and another forward facing.

The rear-facing camera worked well on the Flow Trail - the full version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6my_oKokO4

I also have a video of highlights of the entire mountain bike ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FowTRxSpcG8

At the end of ride, we began re-hydrating with liquids. Some were looking for bottle openers when I told them we each had at least 2 bottle openers - mountain bike pedals make great bottle openers, then proceeded to show them. It turns out there are several ways to use a bike to open a bottle, here's a video of them featured recently on the VeloNews website:

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/07/video/ask-a-mechanic-how-to-pop-a-bottle-with-your-bike_376078

Aaron getting some trail time

The toughest part of the ride was coming off the unbelievable high of the flow trail and finding out that our new friend and fellow rad ride, Aaron had fallen and was hurt, awaiting medical transport. Aaron ended up leaving in a medevac helicopter and suffered a broken back. I'm pleased to be able to say that he is recovering well and is now taking short spins on his bike at home. I wish Aaron continued healing for a full recovery.

We ended the evening and trip with a barbecue dinner outside by the pump track at the headquarters. We enjoyed amazing homemade barbecue sauces on several types of meats, made by a couple of Specialized employees. Every level of the staff at Specialized were incredible hosts! The relationships continue too - we are still in touch with these awesome SBCU staffers and others at Specialized.

Saturday morning we headed to the airport at various times to catch our flights home. With sad goodbyes, we realized just how much this group had gelled together in such a short time. In addition to Rad Riders, we have all become Rad Friends.