Mike Sinyard

Helped turn MTBing mainstream

As the founder and chairman of Specialized, arguably the first company to mass-produce an MTB, Mike Sinyard helped push mountain biking into the mainstream. In 1974, he started building bikes to ride off-road. Locally-sourced parts weren’t up to the task so he began importing components, seeing what broke and what lasted. With MTBing gaining in popularity, Sinyard took a gamble and went into production. The result was the Specialized Stumpjumper.

With its steel frame and fork, modified BMX quill stem and custom bar, the Stumpy weighed a respectable 30lb (14kg). Its 15-speed SunTour gears, cranks and cantilever brakes were all designed for drop-bar touring. Released in 1981, some 500 rolled off the Japanese production line that year. The key selling points were that it was widely available and affordable, at US$750. It was a hit, spawning hundreds of copycat bikes.

Sinyard saw the potential in full-suspension frames in the early ’90s and licensed Horst

Leitner’s Horst-link suspension system for the 1993 FSR (above). In 2005, Specialized pioneered the now-popular park-style bike with the SX Trail – a 7in-travel ‘all-mountain’ bike that could still be pedalled all day. Specialized also played a big role in popularising the 29er. In 2011 29in wheels had only been adopted by serious XC racers but Specialized rolled them out across their range. The Enduro 29 went on to be one of the most popular enduro race bikes. Specialized have remained at the sharp end of racing throughout the decades, too, developing bikes with some of the sport’s top names.