In 1974, Mike Sinyard sold his Volkswagen van to go and buy bike components in Italy. Fifty years later, Specialized is one of the most iconic brands in world cycling — and at seventy-seven, he still rides.
He welcomed me to the Morgan Hill headquarters in California, in the room they built for Peter Sagan. What was meant to be an interview about the bike industry became the most personal episode I've ever recorded.
Because Mike has ADHD. Diagnosed late, like so many people. Fourteen years ago, he read the story of a kid who told his doctor: "Riding is my Ritalin." He called the doctor, learned that no pharmaceutical company would ever fund the research, and decided to fund it himself. Today, fifty thousand kids go through his OutRide foundation every year.
We also talked about the Stumpjumper, born without a single piece of market research; about Robert Egger walking into a bike shop and saying "that's shit, I could do better"; about the Chinese brands and his answer to them — "it's nothing new"; about DJI's Avinox, gravel, artificial intelligence, women's racing, and his conviction that we'll soon look back at how we medicate our children the way we now look back at people smoking.
⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
02:22 — Can a bike really change a life?
04:09 — "Riding is my Ritalin": how OutRide began
07:43 — Seventy-seven years old, and still no retirement
10:31 — Finding a successor, and the soul of Specialized
13:45 — Robert Egger, the Stumpjumper and the roots of the brand
18:01 — Chinese brands: where does a brand's value lie?
24:09 — E-bikes, Avinox and depending on a single supplier
27:17 — The future of cycling, and kids on e-bikes
30:28 — Racing, riders, and the price of caring
37:54 — Gravel, heir to the touring bike — and riding in Asia
43:03 — Artificial intelligence and cycling
45:54 — What he still wants to accomplish
47:04 — "We are over-medicating our children"
49:48 — ADHD as a superpower
50:43 — Starting over today, and Specialized in fifty years
54:57 — The guest he'd like to hear, and the Green Room
01:01:16 — What we can wish him
01:02:55 — Closing words
🔗 Useful links:
- OutRide: https://outridebike.org/
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🎙️ This is En Roue Libre, Antoine Taillefer's cycling podcast.
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This episode was recorded in English — this is the original version.
A French dubbed version is available here: [link]
#MikeSinyard #Specialized #ADHD #OutRide #Stumpjumper #EnRoueLibre
