More bullying behaviour from Specialized.

[Wahine]

You know what, Speicialized has done a lot for the cycling world. They produce good off-the-shelf bikes at a reasonable price point. They sponsor a lot of athletes, including a good friend of mine, allowing them to focus full time on their sport. The promote riding in a way that has gotten more of the general population excited about the sport and have done their part to increase the numbers of recreation cyclists on the road and on the trails.

But I abhor their corporate policies, specifically the bullying behaviour we've seen in the last 10 years.

Here's yet another example.

And recently...Volagi

And before that...this and this.

Not to mention stories told to me by bike shop owners who have been threatened by Specialized to pull their bikes from the shps and to open their own Specialized shop close by to compete if the shop owners don't agree to dedicate a very large portion of the shop to Specialized only and demand that the owners carry a certain volume of bikes. This is often nearly impossible for the smaller dealers as they simply don't have the floor space or revenue to carry the required inventory.

I'm not sure I will ever buy a Specialized product again.

[TrekDianna]

Not sure why the War vet part was emphasized unless it was to gain more sympathy (I'm a disabled war vet). I guess all media choose the angle that brings the most readers..... but, I see this from a lot of companies. There are so many that I don't like their tactics. I refuse to support Nike at all (an only partially because of that darn Nike University down the highway from me). For me, specialized bikes fit me the best. I suppose someday I will get a custom bike, but for now, I can only support my LBS and this is what they sell.

[shootingstar]

I don't follow the cycling world closely so Wahine, I was not aware of Specialized's bullying tactics in other areas... That is shameful.

Cochrane bike shop is in a small town just outside of our city..about less than 70km. southwest from where I live. Wonder how long he has been in business before Specialized decided to act.
I don't agree with knowingly copying another trademark and thumbing one's nose at the others. After all, one gets pissed off at China in its piracy acts on intellectual property for manufactured goods, etc. However this feels, vaguely like selective cherry-picking by Specialized.

However this is a situation of David vs. Goliath. As for the quoted legal fee for LBS should he want to formally respond in court to Specialized...it doesn't have to be that price tag for a little guy if..the law firm would change its business model how it bills, to make it easier for a small biz client. (Lawyers do not jump at me: there has been enough discussion in the last 10 yrs. in professional legal literature how much the law firms, has to reinvent its business model and how it bills clients.)

[Owlie]

You know what, Speicialized has done a lot for the cycling world. They produce good off-the-shelf bikes at a reasonable price point. They sponsor a lot of athletes, including a good friend of mine, allowing them to focus full time on their sport. The promote riding in a way that has gotten more of the general population excited about the sport and have done their part to increase the numbers of recreation cyclists on the road and on the trails.

But I abhor their corporate policies, specifically the bullying behaviour we've seen in the last 10 years.

Here's yet another example.

And recently...Volagi

And before that...this and this.

Not to mention stories told to me by bike shop owners who have been threatened by Specialized to pull their bikes from the shps and to open their own Specialized shop close by to compete if the shop owners don't agree to dedicate a very large portion of the shop to Specialized only and demand that the owners carry a certain volume of bikes. This is often nearly impossible for the smaller dealers as they simply don't have the floor space or revenue to carry the required inventory.

I'm not sure I will ever buy a Specialized product again.

I've also heard stories of bullying shop owners, and it would explain why 2/3 of my old LBS' inventory was Specialized (though they were also the only dealer in the area). I haven't read all the links, but I have heard stories of Specialized stringing a shop along on inventory, eventually forcing the shop to close, then they reopened it as a Specialized store.

The "Roubaix" thing is cr@p. Fuji also has a bike called the Roubaix (except the company that owns Fuji apparently got there first in the US--I don't know how that ended when Specialized came out with theirs). It's like the IOC freaking out over everything with "Olympic" in its name.

I'm torn--the Amira is/was on the list of potential next bikes. :/

[shootingstar]

Hope they reach an out of court settlement. Specialized better realign its budget from legal fees to something else.

(I also know the reporter distantly..he has a regular column on cycling matters in our region/part of the province. The veteran reference looks like something to make the story a bit more interesting.)

I'm intrigued the bike shop is on a 2nd floor. Um...kind of impractical.

[Helene2013]

Read this in French and even that other board some have started NOT saying they own a Specialized and thinking seriously of banning any purchases coming from Specialized. Unless Specialized retracts. Interesting to see the outcome.

[Bike Writer]

I've seen this story about the vet with the shop circulating on social media, perhaps if it gets enough attention it might catch the eye of an attorney to help out the war vet? Companies who bully are no different than people who bully, they stink! However, what goes around comes around, eventually.

[ny biker]

RT ‏@bikesnobnyc This just in: @iamspecialized lawyers say Canadians may not obseve a country bumpkin and remark "Rube, eh?"


(I'm really not clear on how you can trademark a name that is already used for a town, a famous bike race, a train station, etc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roubaix)

[Owlie]

RT ‏@bikesnobnyc This just in: @iamspecialized lawyers say Canadians may not obseve a country bumpkin and remark "Rube, eh?"

*snort*

I wonder if they've decided to sue the town in France, the town in South Dakota...

[Wahine]

RT ‏@bikesnobnyc This just in: @iamspecialized lawyers say Canadians may not obseve a country bumpkin and remark "Rube, eh?"

Hee hee.

A friend of my made a comment about how the owners of Hard Rock cafe and DOT should be going after Specialized for the use of Hard Rock and Tarmac.

[OakLeaf]

Bet they're not suing Ford for the name Expedition. Ford can pay even more lawyers than Spec' can.



(And okay, I've gotta take shootingstar's bait, even though I know very little about IP law ... why should lawyers work for free, any more than any other profession? Would you ask Wahine to treat uninsured patients for free? Or insured patients who've reached the end of the very few PT sessions most insurance allows? It would be nice if all of us did some pro bono work, of course, but it can't be too big a proportion of their work, and trademark litigation against a big company can be a LOT of work. Lawyers have to keep their lights on and pay their staffs, too ...)

[thekarens]

I think there's a difference between free and affordable. When a little guy gets bullied by a big company a lot of time they lose, not because they don't have the better case, but because they don't have the money to fight these mega corporations.

[Owlie]

I've seen this story about the vet with the shop circulating on social media, perhaps if it gets enough attention it might catch the eye of an attorney to help out the war vet? Companies who bully are no different than people who bully, they stink! However, what goes around comes around, eventually.

Spec's Facebook page was full of not-so-nice comments yesterday. I haven't looked, but they've probably been deleting things right and left.

[smilingcat]

I've heard Specialized' FB is trashed with hate message.

City of Roubaix in France should sue Specialized for a license fee for use of their name. French government can back up Roubaix. You know bigger fish eating smaller fish.

Thankfully there are plenty of other competitors to specialized so its not a terrible hardship to buy something else. Another thing is at your local LBS, tell them that you are avoiding Specialized product because of their tactics. If enough LBS hears about it, specialized will get the message.

And shame on Specialized for saying how they support the war veterans in one breath and in the next shut one down. War veterans group should go after Specialized for their double talk.

Stumptown bike versus Stump jumper??? really epic wheel builder in Portland versus Specialized epic whatever it was really?

[shootingstar]

I never said free at all, Oak. And I know that this is not a legal aid case --IP law is not legal aid work.

If one follows the discussion among some lawyers in the past few years... on changing their business models.

(I know personally know a person who has a malpractice suit....it was lost after 10 years. She's going to lose her small condo home because of the legal fees. She's a single, divorced mom with 2 children.)