Mike Sinyard is the founder and chairman of Specialized Bicycle Components, an American manufacturer of bicycles and cycling components. [1] [2] In 2022, he retired as the CEO of Specialized Bicycle Components, a company he had led for 48 years. [3]
Specialized Bicycle Components was founded by Mike Sinyard in 1974, when he was 24 years old. Sinyard had previously traveled to Europe and established an import business relationship with Cinelli, one of the most important and iconic Italian bike component manufacturer. He started Specialized by importing and assembling bikes from Italian components and also ran an import service that provided these sought-after parts to California bike shops. Within four years, the company was making approximately $18 million and began selling complete bikes. In 1981, Sinyard created the Specialized Stumpjumper, the first mass-produced mountain bike. He moved the firm to Morgan Hill, CA in 1984. [4]
He was profiled in the 2007 documentary film Klunkerz: A Film About Mountain Bikes .
Sinyard is a founding member of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). The Specialized Stumpjumper was added to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History's collection in 1994. [1] He has been recognized for his contributions to the cycling industry, including being inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 1988 and the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2011. [5] [6]
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which often makes them heavier, more complex and less efficient on smooth surfaces. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, and wide-ratio gearing optimised for topography, application and a frame with a suspension mechanism for the rear wheel. Rear suspension is ubiquitous in heavier-duty bikes and now common even in lighter bikes. Dropper seat posts can be installed to allow the rider to quickly adjust the seat height.
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, such as air or coil-sprung shocks used as suspension, larger and wider wheels and tires, stronger frame materials, and mechanically or hydraulically actuated disc brakes. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into distinct categories: cross country, trail, all mountain, enduro, downhill and freeride.
The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame (MBHOF) was founded in 1988 to chronicle the history of mountain biking. Formerly located in Crested Butte, Colorado, it relocated to Fairfax, California in 2014 and became part of the Marin Museum of Bicycling.
Marin Bikes is a bicycle manufacturer in Sonoma County, California, established in 1986. It specializes in mountain bikes but also makes other types. Many of its bicycle models are named after locations in and around Marin County, where it was originally headquartered.
Tom Ritchey is an American bicycle frame builder, Category 1 racer, fabricator, designer, and founder of Ritchey Design. Ritchey is a US pioneer in modern frame building and the first production mountain bike builder/manufacturer in the history of the sport. He is an innovator of bicycle components that have been used in winning some of the biggest cycling competitions in the world including the UCI World Championships, the Tour de France and the Olympics. In 1988, Ritchey was inducted into the inaugural Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in Crested Butte, Colorado : and 2012, inducted to the United States Bicycle Hall of Fame in Davis, California.
Joe Breeze is an American bicycle framebuilder, designer and advocate from Marin County, California. An early participant in the sport of mountain biking, Breeze, along with other pioneers including Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, and Tom Ritchey, is known for his central role in developing the mountain bike. Breeze is credited with designing and building the first all-new mountain bikes, which riders colloquially called Breezers. He built the prototype, known as Breezer #1, in 1977 and completed nine more Series I Breezers by early 1978. Breezer #1 is now in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Joe Murray is an American pioneer in the mountain bike movement. Starting out as a professional mountain bike racer, he later moved into bicycle design. Murray was one of the original inductees (1988) into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. He was the first mountain biker inducted into the United States Bicycling Hall of Fame in 1999.
Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc., colloquially known as and stylized as SPECIALIZED, is an American company that designs, manufactures and markets bicycles, bicycle components and related products under the brand name "Specialized", as well as the premium and professional oriented "S-works".
The bicycle industry or cycling industry can broadly be defined as the industry concerned with bicycles and cycling. It includes at least bicycle manufacturers, part or component manufacturers, and accessory manufacturers. It can also include distributors, retailers, bicycle organizations, bicycle event promoters, and bicycle related service providers.
A Goldsprint is a bicycle rollers racing and social event. Riders on stationary bikes compete against each other in front of spectators.
Wilderness Trail Bikes is a privately owned company based in Marin County, California, USA. Founded in 1982 as a company that specialized in mountain bike parts, today WTB sources and sells its product worldwide supplying bike manufacturers and bike shops with components including tires, saddles, rims and grips.
RockShox Inc. is an American company founded by Paul Turner in 1989, that develops and manufactures bicycle suspensions. The company led in the development of mountain bikes. It is now part of SRAM Corporation.
Merida Industry Co., Ltd is a Taiwan-based company with R&D headquarters in Germany that designs, manufactures, and markets bicycles globally in over 77 countries. Founded in 1972 by Ike Tseng (1932–2012), the company designs and manufactures over two million bicycles a year at its factories in Taiwan, China, and Germany. After Tseng's death in January 2012, his son Michael Tseng became the company's president.
Klunkerz: A Film About Mountain Bikes is a 2006 documentary about mountain bike history during its formative period in Northern California. It examines the relationships of the Marin County hippies, athletes, and entrepreneurs who were directly responsible for popularizing off-road cycling. The film includes many interviews with those present during the embryonic stages of the sport, including Gary Fisher, Charlie Kelly, Joe Breeze, Tom Ritchey, Mike Sinyard, and Otis Guy, and covers "the treacherous old Repack races." The film was written, produced, and directed by independent California filmmaker Billy Savage and released on October 8, 2006.
The Specialized Stumpjumper is a mountain bike produced by Specialized Bicycle Components. When it was first produced in 1981, the Stumpjumper was the first mass-production mountain bike. The Stumpjumper is still in production, although its design has changed significantly since it was first sold. Stumpjumpers have been raced professionally by riders including Christoph Sauser and Ned Overend.
Yeti Cycles is an American bicycle manufacturer located in Golden, Colorado.
The Marin Museum of Bicycling is a bicycle history museum in Fairfax, Marin County, California. It displays bicycles and related items from the 19th century to the present day. The museum's grand opening celebration was on June 6, 2015.
Nat Ross is an American professional cross-country mountain bike racer. Ross became the first American to win a professional race on a twenty-nine inch mountain bike. Ross was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2008. Ross is a two-time World Champion with multiple National Championship titles. Ross is a pioneer in mountain bike innovation with regards to racing.
Myles Rockwell is an American former professional downhill mountain biker and winner of the 2000 UCI Downhill World Championships. He was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2019 and into the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2021. In 2004 Rockwell was arrested for growing Marijuana, he was released on $10,000 bail.