roubaix - Specialized

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT
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PROFILE
Mark Schroeder
Director of Engineering
STOPPING TO PEER INTO a five-foot-high bin of carbon fiber frames that his testing team had
recently been pushing to exhaustion, Specialized’s Director of Engineering Mark Schroeder offers
an explanation. “All of our testing, both in the lab here at Specialized headquarters and out on
the road, is because we’re here to make the best bikes possible,” says Schroeder. “Over the years,
we’ve learned that we can only do that by first understanding the experience that a rider wants
to have, and then we design, test and refine to meet that need.”
In order to guarantee that the bikes Specialized makes meet the needs of all different kinds of riders,
Schroeder and the rest of the design, engineering, and product development teams rely on a system
that ensures that everything they make has been specifically designed and maximized for the exactly
the kind of riding that they’ll be used for. “If you work at Specialized, you’re probably a bike nut and
we’d love to get lost just making bikes that we think are cool,” says Schroeder. “So we rely on a program
called Specialized Development Integration (SDI)—it helps us identify the ultimate use for a product
and guides us through design, engineering and testing in order to deliver the best product available
for any kind of riding.”
The new Roubaix SL is a perfect example of how Schroeder and his team use SDI to make products
that are designed to enhance a particular type of riding. “Road riders everywhere were telling us that
they wanted to ride longer and faster with greater
ease than ever,” says Schroeder. “So, we started
with that experience as the endpoint and designed, “Road riders everywhere were telling
engineered, and tested in both the lab and under
us that they wanted to ride longer
as many endurance road riders as we could, until
and faster with greater ease than
we created a bike that was light, stiff, vertically
ever. So we created a bike that was
compliant, and completely efficient.”
light, stiff, vertically compliant, and
Through the testing element of SDI, Schroeder
completely efficient.”
and his team are able to guarantee that every bike
and component that goes out the door is designed to withstand even the most extreme user. “Safety
is our top priority and our dedication to creating bikes with the best overall performance for any given
experience means that we have to create bikes that are safe,” says Schroeder. “Our staff of engineers
and technicians monitors countless hours of testing to ensure that every frame and component is more
than up to the task. We also involve a host of cyclists, including the world’s leading athletes, in our
field-testing processes.” All of which adds to the quality and safety of everything Specialized makes,
regardless of the type of rider who’ll use it.
“We’ll continue to improve every design we make and will always be on the lookout for innovative ways
to achieve a lower weight, a boost in torsional rigidity, or greater vertical compliance,” says Schroeder.
“But never with a single-minded focus on one element—to do so would come at the expense of ride
quality, and that’s not our goal.”
www.specialized.com