Specialized Australia HQ - A Quick Tour

Von and I had the opportunity this week to drop past Specialized Australia HQ in Port Melbourne. I've seen snippets of what they do behind the scenes on Le Tour Prologue, seeing it all in person was something else!

Specialized are unique in the industry as they not only sell bikes across all ranges, they also cover gear (helmets, shoes, clothes), equipment (saddles, tyres, etc), and offer professional bike fit services (Body Geometry) - and on top of this they run Specialized Bicycles Component University (SBCU) to train the masses who'll be selling and servicing their gear. I had to explain that to put the photos in context - They do A LOT!

Best smile I could crack while freshly broken.

Training area - Retail shop and workshop fit out. Very impressive!

Lunch with bikes. My kind of lunch room.

Training session on hold... they were all out riding.

Body Geometry Sunbeds. (A good tan is a MUST when it comes to correct bike fit)

Dual fridge configuration. The one on the left is for UCI certified 3:1 food.

Mmmmmm S-Works McLaren TT lid. I drooled like Tony Martin over this.

Behind glass - Police line up. This bike looked like the culprit.

Melburn Roobaix corporate infiltration! It is the new Fight Club!

One thing that stood out for me today was that everyone I met was truly passionate about cycling. The staff bike parking area was FULL! A little birdy even tells me their Sports Marketing Specialist has just entered the Noosa Triathlon in November. (Good luck Emily!)

If you're not on a Specialized bike then maybe their shoes, helmets, or butt-measured-for-perfect-fit saddle is the item on your shopping list to make your bike time more enjoyable. (I have to confess, when Skinny Luke at Total Rush loaned me a Romin saddle a few years back he was unable to pry it from underneath me.... and I'm still riding it!)

I could have taken a billion more photos of everyone involved behind the scenes - It was a busy operation keeping one of the world's biggest bike brands ticking along in Australia. So next time you're in at Total Rush, Bike Gallery, Bike'n'Bean, or any Specialized dealer in Australia, you'll know the people you're dealing with are skilled up, well fed, and have had a blast ripping around on the latest Specialized bikes between training sessions. They know the gear inside out.

Huge thanks to Dave and the crew at Specialized for their ongoing support and offering to show us their HQ.