Innovation
Aerodynamic drag, after all, is the single biggest force affecting a cyclist, and since the only way to eliminate completely is to stop moving, reducing every bit of it is critical. That's why they've spared no expense in building a team of aerodynamic experts and giving them whatever tools they asked for to get the job done—Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), on-bike Data Acquisition (DAQ), and of course, building them their very own Win Tunnel across the street from their main office in Morgan Hill, California. Add it all up, and having all of this at the disposal of the industry's most innovative minds makes aerodynamic innovation occur at greater speed, making you faster than ever in less time. Chris Yu, Mark Cote, Chris D’Aluisio, Camron Piper, and Chuck Teixeira—between them, this aerodynamic-tour-de-force has over fifty years of aero experience and well over 20,000 hours in wind tunnels. Their expertise and presence is not only unique, but a key component in continuing to move the science forward in new ways. After all, when your tunnel time calls for a walk across the street, not a trip to the airport, you can make commuter fenders and Downhill World Champions faster. It's total freedom, and this has bred a culture of innovation unknown to the cycling industry. In other words, Specialized's team is free to push the buttons of the ideologues and poke the sleeping bears of unchallenged design principles, instead of booking a day in San Diego and only testing yaw angles to reinforce what their models predicted.