Jonathan Maus

I assumed the OBRA list knew about this issue but since I now realize many of you are just now hearing about this. I thought I'd summarize.



I broke the story on January 31:

http://bikeportland.org/2006/01/31/specialized-mountain-cycle-disagree-on-stumptown/



I then emailed Specialized's legal person Kim Arca and received this response from their PR guy:

http://bikeportland.org/2006/02/03/specialized-responds/



Both of these posts have many constructive comments (including several letters to Specialized) that I would encourage you to check out.



Notable contacts are:

Kim.-@specialized.com - the legal representative for Specialized

Kevin.-@specialized.com - the media relations / corporate communications guy for Specialized



And I've got a partial list of where this story has already popped up around the web. It includes forums of MTBR, VeloNews, RoadBikeReview, a German and a UK based industry magazine site, and several influential blogs.

http://del.icio.us/jmaus/specializedmountaincycle



My take is that Specialized simply doesn't understand what they're getting into by threatening to sue Mountain Cycle. I think it's a combination of ignorance of how word can spread online, disrespect to both Mountain Cycle and our community, and general hubris.



Someone mentioned bringing a letter to the Sea Otter race signed by Portlanders and presenting it directly to Specialized. That sounds like a good idea. I think Specialized needs to know how real riders and customers feel about the way they're conducting business.



Thanks for reading.



--Jonathan

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