New Specialized Website

[SadieKate]

I don't wanna know the issue - I ride a Specialized - ignorance is BLISS I prefer to believe that you just have cr@ppy reps - Yes, that's it!!

It's not the product; it is the way the company does business with the shops and the reps are just the poor messengers. Forcing shops to devote far too great a percentage of their inventory to Specialized doesn't begin to recognize the demand consumers place on the LBS to provide diverse products - and that shops need diversity for economic reasons.

Think about the fact that nearly every LBS carries a ton of PI clothing and not much else. How frustrated do you get that you never get the opportunity to touch and feel the myriad other brands? And now that Shimano has bought PI? I only see it becoming worse.

Shimano actually ended up in court because they tried to force bike companies to spec entire groups on their bikes as OEM. They lost.

I see Specialized going the same route. And when you're talking the independent shops, it becomes an onerous sledgehammer approach to doing business. As a consumer, I buy the Bar Phat because I can't find an equal product. Other than that, I don't buy Specialized products any longer.

[Running Mommy]

Yeah, SK you hit it on the head.
And recently the purchase of Zipp wheels by Sram prompted a govt. probe. Funny, bike company aquisitions have never raised the eyebrows of the ftc before?? My guess is that Shimano has someone on the inside. Just a WAG but Shimano cannot be happy with all of srams strategic acquisitions as of late...???

As for apparel choices. I hear ya SK! I would like to carry Sheebeest, but Veltec their parent company requires such a huge buy in that I just can't.

So for women I'm leaning towards the smaller companies. Skirt sports, dude girl, harlot, etc....

[SadieKate]

Well, since it was SRAM that took Shimano to court over the OEM/group issue and SRAM is making big inroads into the road market and they have a larger and getting larger huge chunk of the MTB market, is it any surprise that Shimano may be behind the FTC move?