Mike Sinyard is the founder and chairman of

Specialized Bicycle Components Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc., colloquially known as and stylized as SPECIALIZED, is an American company which designs, manufactures and markets bicycles, bicycle components and related products under the brand name "Specialized", as wel ...

, an American manufacturer of bicycles and cycling components. In 2022, he retired as the CEO of Specialized Bicycle Components, a company he had led for 48 years.

Early Career

Specialized Bicycle Components was founded by Mike Sinyard in 1974, when he was 24 years old. Sinyard had previously traveled to Europe and established an import business relationship with

Cinelli Cinelli () is an Italian bicycle manufacturing company based in Milan, producing mostly road bicycles and components; production is estimated to consist of 80 per cent components and 20 per cent bicycles. History Cinelli was founded in 194 ...

, an Italian bike component manufacturer. He started Specialized by importing and assembling bikes from Italian components and also ran an import service that provided these sought-after parts to California bike shops. Within four years, the company was making approximately $18 million and began selling complete bikes. In 1981, Sinyard created the

Specialized Stumpjumper The Specialized Stumpjumper is a mountain bike produced by Specialized Bicycle Components. When it was first produced in 1981, the Stumpjumper was the first mass-production mountain bike. The Stumpjumper is still in production, although its design ...

the first mass-produced

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...

. He was profiled in the 2007 documentary film Klunkerz: A Film About Mountain Bikes.

Awards and recognition

Sinyard is a founding member of the

International Mountain Bicycling Association The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. IMBA was formed in 1988, when five California-based ...

(IMBA) and the

National Interscholastic Cycling Association The National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) is an American non-profit organization that promotes youth mountain biking programs in the United States. NICA provides governance, leadership, and program support to regional interscholastic ...

(NICA). The

mountain bike was added to the

Smithsonian National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...

's collection in 1994. He's been recognized for his contributions to the cycling industry, including being inducted into the

Mountain Bike Hall of Fame The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame (MBHOF) was founded in 1988 to chronicle the history of mountain biking. Formerly located in Crested Butte, Colorado, it relocated to Fairfax, California in 2014 and became part of the Marin Museum of Bicycling. Sin ...

in 1988 and the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2011.

References

External links

Mike Sinyard interview with CNN money, May 2008Klunkerz: A Film About Mountain Bikes Mike Sinyard Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinyard, Mike Cycle designers American sports businesspeople San Jose State University alumni Living people Mountain bike innovators Year of birth missing (living people)