The whole David and Goliath thing bothers me when ANY corporation does it. Here's the part of the Specialized thing that I can't get my head around: we have a locally owned (4 store) lbs here that either licensed or franchise with Spec. I don't know the business model but one guy owns all the stores, with at least one guy having half ownership in one of them. They also sell Kona, Diamondback, Santa Cruz and a few other brands too. I am personal friends with some of the guys that have half ownership in one of the stores, and personal friends with many of the employes. These guys have families, and this is how they make their living. They do an awesome job across the board with bike sales, fitting, and service, plus oodles of community involvement on biking issues. I am having a tough time reconciling The Evil Empire with John, Josh, Craig, Jim, and the other guys.