Dirt

The Specialized bike company celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2014. From its early days, when it acted as an importer of the bikes of legendary Italian craftsman Cino Cinelli, it has become one of the biggest bike makers in the world, offering road and mountain bikes and frames, plus tyres, wheels, saddles, a wide range of lightweight carbon and alloy upgrades, and clothing.

Specialized led the way in the mountain biking revolution, with the introduction of the groundbreaking Stumpjumper in 1981, the first mountain bike available in neighbourhood bike shops, and that name is still in use today. Whether you prefer endless, flowy singletrack, or bombing downhill, kamikaze-style, Specialized will have a bike for you – its range now covers XC, trail, all-mountain, gravity, recreational hardtails, and a full womends collection, plus the seriously fun Fatboy.

The company’s first professional mountain bike team was formed in 1983, and Specialized’s Ned Overend won the first-ever UCI Mountain Bike XC World Championship in 1990. As well as its XC team, Specialized now has a downhill team, featuring Troy Bresnan, Aaron Gwin, Mitch Ropelato, Luca Shaw and Walker Shaw, a Global Freeride Team, featuring the legendary Darren Berrecloth, and the Coastal Crew freeride team.

Newly formed for 2013 was an Enduro team, comprised of 2012 North American Enduro Tour Champion Curtis Keene, and 2012 4X World Champion Anneke Beerten. The team competed with success in the Enduro World Series and Big Mountain Enduro events, as well as the North American Enduro Tour.