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Specialized Concept Museum Tour, Part 3 – Moto Bikes: Cafe racers, dirt bikes & more!

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit
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Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

It’s pretty clear there’s a passion for all types of bikes at Specialized. So far, our visit to their concept museum has shown a wild variety of Fast Bikes, some clever Fun Bikes, and now this collection of motorized bikes. Many of them bear more resemblance to motorcycles, street racers and motocross bikes, but the bicycle inspiration is obvious…

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

This race bike got the full faring treatment to resemble classic race motorcycles.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

If you’ve noticed a theme of “74” on the bikes, it’s because that’s the year Specialized was started by Mike Sinyard. Check out our HQ tour for a look at how he kicked things off.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

This stretched cruiser was sitting just outside the security-coded steel doors leading to designer Robert Egger’s private lab.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

This Road Toad uses their Turbo battery pack and motor, paired with a Bluto and fat bike tires.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

This commuter reminds me of a Honda Ruckus, except it’s electric and wouldn’t cause you to choke if you had to draft it.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

During image sorting, I mistook this yellow “electra” Globe bike for an e-bike, so I’m including it here, but it looks like that dark compartment in the middle is actually a closed in storage box with yellow fade-in paint on tinted plexiglass.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

If the dirt is more your speed, this Moto Demo is based off their downhill mountain bike, but adds a lot of extra oomph for racing up the hill, too.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

This Scrambler looks like it’s got a motor at first glance, but it’s electric.

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

The Cafe Racer gets a special motor…

Specialized concept moto and e-bikes from their headquarters tour and museum visit

…from none other than Robert Egger Motor Works Co.

Huge thanks to Specialized for showing us around. That wraps up the four-part tour!

Specialized.com

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Wiscomark
Wiscomark
6 years ago

Before the negative comments flow in, can’t we just agree that these are fun and fun is okay?

Sean Fissel
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiscomark

i think three parts is overkill. feeling like an ad right now…

Mr. P
6 years ago
Reply to  Sean Fissel

I could do 3 more, this is rad! Finally some outside-the-box creativity.

myke2241
myke2241
6 years ago
Reply to  Mr. P

Outside the box? No! I’m not sure what you are seeing. I see copied ascetics with branding

Other Aaron
Other Aaron
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiscomark

The only thing I have issue with is the BB7s on the motos.

shafty
shafty
6 years ago
Reply to  Other Aaron

It’s actually an interesting story…SRAM ran out of hydros that wouldn’t fail, so Specialized had to run mechanical brakes.

Orlow
Orlow
6 years ago
Reply to  shafty

Not seeing any Shimano hydros either. If they’re so vastly superior then why use mechanicals?

Eshiftingbetterthandiscs
Eshiftingbetterthandiscs
6 years ago
Reply to  Orlow

I have loved the BB7’s for years!

Kovas
Kovas
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiscomark

Amen brother.

tyler
6 years ago

those ten spoke hubs are pretty cool. wonder who made them.

comrad
6 years ago

“That wraps up the four-part tour!”

Did I miss something?

Milessio
Milessio
6 years ago
Reply to  comrad

The Bike Rumor HQ Tour in May?

Tom
Tom
6 years ago

interesting to me that they have so many motorized concepts. Not sure what it says about the company etc.

Jonathon
Jonathon
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom

The term “Motorized” is highly offensive, please refrain from this terminology and instead use the accepted phrase “Pedal Assist”.

Mortimer
Mortimer
6 years ago
Reply to  Jonathon

Do they or do they not have a motor? Must be painful to come to the realisation that your motorbike has pedals to assist the electric motor. If you are offended and have to hide or deny the fact a motor is integrated then what you are is “embarrassed”. As they say in NZ – “shame bro”.

AK_Ben
AK_Ben
6 years ago
Reply to  Mortimer

I think @Jonathan is being sarcastic. At least I hope he is….

Tom
Tom
6 years ago
Reply to  Jonathon

actually, you raise a valid point. I suspect that battle lines are being drawn on potential access to public lands with these things. I don’t have a problem with assisted pedaling, provided it doesn’t encourage en-mass idiocy/idiots coming out to destroy landscapes. I figure anybody who rides a bike is less likely to want to kill me when I’m out on the road.

Gillis
Gillis
6 years ago
Reply to  Tom

Well, they have sponsored a number of pro motorcycle racers. And a lot of cyclists are also motorcyclists, and vice versa. It’s just marketing, and to a lesser extent exploring ideas and having fun.
Not a specialized shill here, just looking at it objectively.

Rob
Rob
6 years ago

Were all of these from a failed exercise in making motorcycles or the marketing department testing the waters to see if they could move completely into something Cannondale failed at?

Flatbiller
Flatbiller
6 years ago

No one buys Specialized any more because their bikes are never in stock. – Yogi Berra

Hern
6 years ago

Odd place for the exhaust in the first bike. I understand its a show bike because as soon as they ride it for like 15 minutes they’ll move the pipe away from your under thigh.

gringo
gringo
6 years ago

That grey Ruckus / Fatbike mashup is actually very cool. Mark my words thats a marketable concept and if S won’t do it, a chinese start up will!

Step thru frame. cargo capacity. comfortable and upright position. and all that without looking like a German trekking bike.

myke2241
myke2241
6 years ago
Reply to  gringo

I think Specialized would have trouble bringing any of these bikes to market. They are copies of iconic real bikes. They would have to strike some kind of licensing deal beforehand

Smallwood
Smallwood
6 years ago

This Scrambler looks like it’s got a motor at first glance, but it’s electric. When did “electric power plants” cease being motors?

contrarian
contrarian
6 years ago
Reply to  Smallwood

Not everyone got the memo on the motor does not equal engine and vice versa.

peter
peter
6 years ago

awesome stuff!

contrarian
contrarian
6 years ago

Scrambler looks awesome. I’d buy one.

Michael Gratzer
Michael Gratzer
6 years ago

Who remembers Mike Sinyard rolling his beard, bike, and trailer full of shiny bike goodies in to Missoula’s New Era Bicycles? I do. Sinyard was always cool with me, though his company did, 25 years later, demand New Era double our purchase orders or risk losing our “S” distributorship (New Era was the U.S.A.’s #1 Dealer from 1988-1992). 6 years later the infamous New Era Bicycles closed our doors. Sad day indeed.

Derek
6 years ago

Exhaust pipes in stupid places, stealing awesome motorcycle names like “Road Toad” from vintage motorcycle makers…stay in your lane, Specialized.

Ted
Ted
6 years ago
Reply to  Derek

I caught the Road Toad thing, too. Came looking to see if anyone else did. I had a Super Rat, Silly fun bike. Sad when Hodaka fizzled out.

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