Weird Specialized discovery....

[Gionnirocket]

about half the bikes i see on any given ride are specialized of one sort or another…. i don’t think you can judge the attitude of tens of thousands of people based on one or a few online.

So then you agree that it's at least accurate to the online comments we've seen here... That's good enough for me.

they sell bikes ranging from 500 to 15000… the truly snobby brands are never even mentioned on this site lol.

Sounds to me then that the brand isn't so special and more proof that their long established reputation that I referred to is just a case of user delusion and pretension.

 

[mschwett]

So then you agree that it's at least accurate to the online comments we've seen here... That's good enough for me.

Sounds to me then that the brand isn't so special and more proof that their long established reputation that I referred to is just a case of user delusion and pretension.

they generally make nice bikes. i like some of them a lot, others not so much, that’s about it for me. why (beyond some deep seated insecurity) it’s so important to anyone to think the brand is amazing- or horrible - is beyond me.

 

[jabberwocky]

Come to think about it I no longer have a bicycle shop I hate going into.

I'm always amazed when bike shops have crappy service. In the age of good DTC bike brands, the entire value proposition of a local shop is service and being able to inspect/ride before purchasing. If you can't treat customers well what the hell are you doing?

Globe is not Specialized

Sure it is. Its a sub brand, but they are owned and sold by Specialized and Globe bikes are literally on the Specialized website. The brand was launched by Specialized in 2010 specifically to market to commuters and non-enthusiast cyclists. The fact that Spec brands and sells certain bikes Globe/Spec in different markets is purely a marketing decision. If nothing else, Specialized has an excellent marketing department so presumably they know what they are doing.

they generally make nice bikes. i like some of them a lot, others not so much, that’s about it for me. why (beyond some deep seated insecurity) it’s so important to anyone to think the brand is amazing- or horrible - is beyond me.

Spec makes fine bikes. My only criticism of their bikes is they make fine bikes and spend massively on marketing to convince people they are amazing bikes. Their value proposition is variable across their line, but generally IME at the higher end you are paying more than you would be from most other brands, and they aren't actually noticeably better. But that varies depending on exactly what you're looking for. Their high end ebikes are very good, for sure. Their super high end (S-Works) are terrible values, but thats true of pretty much every brand that has that sort of super high end model.

Its genuinely weird when people (like Stefan) do Specs marketing for them by fanboying on forums. Like, trust me, theres no reason to do that. Their massive highly paid marketing department and numerous sponsored riders got that.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

I feel that Spesh new 'ground breaking' models have been thin on the ground for last couple of years due to the industry collapse post covid. Been a while since anything ebike related had a big launch, with exception of the Levo 4, which seemed to be rushed out in a life or death struggle with the Avignon/Dji bikes.

Used be they'd fly all the YouTubers and bike biz journos to California or somewhere like Spain to come ride the new bike and get wined and dined. I still remember the great Court himself riding I think, a yellow Vado SL on it's launch back in 2020.

Last launch that seemed big & fancy was the Creo 2 Launch and that was Sept 2023, well over 2 years ago. The Vado SL 2 release was very subdued. I guess they've all been riding out the storm.

 

[Gionnirocket]

they generally make nice bikes.

I concur...
The first nice day we had in months a few weeks ago everyone was out riding. Ran into a nice young gentleman with an S_Works at one small section of the mup that still had ice/snow on it and everyone had to dismount. Super nice guy and bike. He was young and very fit and I can tell he had little interest in my bike but he still asked about it's climbing ability. We talked for about 10 minutes on a variety of topics.

i like some of them a lot, others not so much, that’s about it for me. why (beyond some deep seated insecurity) it’s so important to anyone to think the brand is amazing- or horrible - is beyond me.

As it should be... I've alway thought them to be an above average brand but not the pinnacle of perfection and a bit overpriced. Most things have their pros/cons and the Globe as well as the other brands mentioned in this thread have features others may prefer. Since I don't have to ride it, I really could care less what others prioritize.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

What about Levo 4

 

[mschwett]

I feel that Spesh new 'ground breaking' models have been thin on the ground for last couple of years due to the industry collapse post covid. Been a while since anything ebike related had a big launch...

.... My only criticism of their bikes is they make fine bikes and spend massively on marketing to convince people they are amazing bikes. Their value proposition is variable across their line, but generally IME at the higher end you are paying more than you would be from most other brands, and they aren't actually noticeably better. But that varies depending on exactly what you're looking for. Their high end ebikes are very good, for sure. Their super high end (S-Works) are terrible values, but thats true of pretty much every brand that has that sort of super high end model.

given the state of the industry, i'm actually surprised they've come out with as many new models as they have. you could see the creo 2 as a bit of capitulation to a shrinking market - while other brands have both road and gravel e-bikes, specialized only has one. i was very surprised to see an aethos 2, and it's now close enough to the roubaix in target demographic that i have to wonder why they bothered. they don't even have an aero/tt road bike any more!

on the marketing thing, i think it's just a fact of late-stage capitalism that 10 to 20% of everything a big company spends is on marketing. you can't really just stop doing it because it's a waste, because everyone else is doing it. i don't see a meaningful difference between the kind of marketing that specialized, trek, pinarello, cervelo, etc do. they run ads, they talk up their innovations, they sponsor pro teams. it seems proportionate to their size and target market. a top-tier-groupset tarmac sl8 costs $13k, a similar trek (madone) costs 13-16k, a cervelo r5 is 14k, a pinarello dogma is 15k. a giant TCR advanced SL is 13.5k. outside of the big brands and top tier road/race bikes, a comparable frameset from an "indie" brand like open is $5k+, again basically the same as an s-works frame. there's really nothing unusually expensive or inexpensive about specialized, they pretty much line up with what most bikes of comparable spec from major manufacturers cost. of course there are much cheaper brands, particularly DTC like canyon (10.5k vs 13-16k for top tier) and no-name or more budget oriented brands.

the value spot with all these brands is the step below the s-works frames and the step below the top (dura ace etc) groupsets, where an ultegra version is more like 7k than 14k. 95% of the bike for 50% of the cost. nobody spends the extra 7k (and i did happily lol) for any practical reason other than just enjoying it, and those who are spending it probably don't care that $700 of the $7000 premium went to subtly convince them to spend it in the first place