For anyone thinking of buying a Specialized...

joelsim

Read this first.

http://road.cc/content/news/115804-neil ... ent-245200

meanredspider

Specialized are spectacularly litigious

The only part of my Volagi that's made by Specialized is where I park my butt - that's exactly as it should be!

upperoilcan

I have to say it wouldn't stop me buying one.

littledove44

Boring
Don't care
Lots of other threads on this
Complicated issue
Multiple sides to every story

I like their bikes.

Anonymous

I would not buy one anyway so do not care what they do.

People hyperventilate over the brand so I do not blame them for wanting to protect their golden goose's.

Iamnot Wiggins

upperoilcan wrote:

I have to say it wouldn't stop me buying one.

Exactly, didn't stop me.

chris_bass

is this just the same thing as the other thread?

the way I see it, yeah it's a bit dumb of them and probably not needed and not great press but doesnt end up costing the other company any money and in fact gets them a load of free publicity (2 threads on here for a start)

the only reason I won't buy a Specialized is because I did and found it quite an uninspiring bike, was ok, not great, just ok

Super Domestique

littledove44 wrote:

Boring
Don't care
Lots of other threads on this
Complicated issue
Multiple sides to every story

I like their bikes.

Exactly.

mustgettaller

I've thought about it - I'd buy another Specialized.

They're a big company. Big companies are often heavy-handed in their trademark protection (see Harrods, Apple, etc. etc.). What's new? I don't think me deciding not to buy one of their bikes is going to make them lose sleep.

BrandonA

This was already posted by someone else.

Not sure why another company naming their products similarly to Specialized should change my buying habits though. :roll:

Doris Day

The reason why big business gets away with such shameful behaviour is because 'People Don't Care'.

Grill

You're late. The thread is here: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12964637

Anonymous

Doris Day wrote:

The reason why big business gets away with such shameful behaviour is because 'People Don't Care'.

A lot of Specialized buyers don't care because they feel so 'comfortable' with the brand that they just have to have it.

Specialized could burn puppies to make the rubber bits and they would still have to have one over the hundreds of other options :roll:

StillGoing

Chris Bass wrote:

is this just the same thing as the other thread?

the way I see it, yeah it's a bit dumb of them and probably not needed and not great press but doesnt end up costing the other company any money and in fact gets them a load of free publicity (2 threads on here for a start)

the only reason I won't buy a Specialized is because I did and found it quite an uninspiring bike, was ok, not great, just ok

Similar here; I've had to work on a couple of them for friends/family and found them particularly uninspiring. In fact I think i'll start charging to work on them in the future.

rolf_f

Maybe it's such a dreary brand image that it needs all the protecting it can get! That said, it seems to appeal strongly to people new to cycling - relatively high brand awareness with the general public and all that.

I find them as interesting as washing machines but I can understand why others do like them.

vimfuego

Is this now a thread about the original story or an exchange of personal opinions and sweeping generalisations about whether Specialized make good bikes?

One of my stable is a Specialized - have had it for several years - bloody love it too (was as happy on the pave in Flanders at the weekend as it was going up Ventoux the previous year) - works for me anyway & yes I ride other bikes/brands to compare it to. So do I care if some jobsworth corporate lawyer in the US is trying to make a name for himself? No. I assume that all those having a hissy fit over this will be returning all their Apple products too.

Anonymous

Hope you are comparing apple and Specialized in terms of their corporate ferociousness, and not their actual products lol

Are you assuming Specialized owners have apple products because apple products are good (and they will just naturally have them), or because Specialized owners are lemmings?

vorsprung

Rolf F wrote:

Maybe it's such a dreary brand image that it needs all the protecting it can get! That said, it seems to appeal strongly to people new to cycling - relatively high brand awareness with the general public and all that.

I find them as interesting as washing machines but I can understand why others do like them.

This is it for me as well!

I got a Specialized Roubaix because it was such a safe/stable/dreary/cheap ride it was ideal for the rigors of Paris-Brest-Paris. It's like a touring bike made of carbon fibre

Specialized as a brand is a baffling marketing machine. Mind you, if I ever sell the Roubaix I'll get a few more quid for it due to the brand magic

Anonymous

vorsprung wrote:

I got a Specialized Roubaix because it was such a safe/stable/dreary/cheap ride it was ideal for the rigors of Paris-Brest-Paris. It's like a touring bike made of carbon fibre

Specialized as a brand is a baffling marketing machine. Mind you, if I ever sell the Roubaix I'll get a few more quid for it due to the brand magic

That is an excellent summary of a Roubaix IMO

Would have thought you perhaps paid a bit more for it in the first place though, so maybe its main 'magic' is just the fact it will sell well rather than being financially better off that if you had bought something else.

So for people not venturing abroad, or touring then, are you saying its a dull, overly relaxed looking bike with stigma (apart from in the eyes of other Specialized lemmings or wannabes) attached, that comes into its own when you sell it?

khisanth

My MTB and road bike are Specialized and am very impressed with the frames. I like the brand and company in general