Specialized is playing to win...

...but may lose if they do.

Read this article. It seems that Specialized, and their dealers, who seem to have a retail form of Stockholm Syndrome, are the only ones who think that Specialized has any sort of case.

Good, legitimate points are brought up in the Bohemian article.

The cold, hard truth is that Specialized has always "borrowed" ideas and technology. Sinyard ripped off Tom Ritchey with the first Stumpjumper, and it seems to have snowballed from there, bringing us to today. The problem with the snowball effect is that, like in cartoons, the snowball grows so large that it simply runs downs whoever gets in it's way. It's sad, and it's wrong. It runs the gamut from small business, like Mountain Cycle and Volagi, all the way down to dealers and customers.

The majority of the industry is behind Volagi in this instance whether they will admit it or not. Most cycling rags won't so much as write an article concerning this case. If they DO choose to write something, it will be ambiguous, at best. It seems ad revenue rules the day at magazines these days. I can hear the editors now, "Sure, write about the case, but don't piss off Specialized!"
If you doubt this happens, go pick up the latest Road Bike Action, Mountain Bike Action, Bicycling, or Velosnooze. You think all of those pictures and glowing reviews of the Big S are written out of the kindness of their hearts? I'll give Paved and Peloton a pass, as they are a bit more content driven.



So I just knocked down Day 12 of "F*ck You 42". Only 100-ish days to go. I am doing stuff that I normally do, plus adding things I haven't done for a long time on the days I would normally sit on my ass. I'm stiff, sore and tired, but for some reason, I'm starting to feel better already. Sleep comes easy at night...or mid-afternoon...

After Plyos on Monday night (for the first time in about 2 years), I did the CXHoP last night. Nothing like laying down a 1x20, in the dark, on legs that are SORE from hopping up a bunch of damn steps like a crack-addled rabbit. 90 minutes solo on the CX bike will, in fact, clear your mind.

Speaking of easy sleep...

Namaste