Georgia Leslie is a PR expert who heads up Specialized's mountain bike marketing in the UK and Europe. She has ridden mountain bikes for as long as she can remember and worked in the industry for most of her life.
Organising launches and campaigns for some of the most talked-about bikes in mountain biking, she has a unique insight into the inner workings of one of the world's biggest bike brands.
Tom Marvin and Rob Weaver sat down with Georgia to find out about life behind the scenes at Specialized and a few tidbits of insider gossip.
1. Spesh may be big, but it's not a faceless corporation
“Absolutely not. You know, Mike Sinyard [founder and chairman] goes to the office still every single day, and he’s in his 70s. He’s still involved in all of the meetings.
“He did some riding on the launch for the Stumpjumper 15, and he was shredding too!
“A lot of people have been at Specialized a really long time and they’re still so passionate about it. It’s definitely not people sitting behind a computer popping out bikes.”
2. Product launches are the best
“Being involved in the launches and that side of it is really exciting. We know what’s coming way in advance, but when it gets to the point where you see the prototypes, it’s amazing, and then it evolves to become something really beautiful.
“[With all] the innovation and R&D that goes on behind it, when you see it come to life – and journalists ride it for the first time and hopefully have a really amazing experience on it – that’s really cool to see.
“It’s amazing when the product managers and engineers are there as well, and they get to have those conversations with you guys and get to see all of their hard work [come to fruition]… in some pretty cool products.”
3. Trends change very quickly
“I’ve been at Specialized almost 10 years, so I’ve seen quite a few different iterations [of the Stumpjumper].
“It’s really funny when you look back at what those bikes looked like. At the time, you were like, ‘That’s the coolest **** ever!’. And now, you’re like, ‘Oh my God, do you see what that bike looks like?!’.
“All the colours we had, or whatever. It’s really cool to see everything’s still progressing so much, especially on the ebike side.”
4. Bike development is a global affair
“There are so many different countries that [our] bikes are tested in. It’s not just like they’re built in California. The headquarters is in Silicon Valley, which it has been forever, but that isn’t necessarily the best place for mountain biking.
“We’ve got a new innovation centre in Auburn, three hours away, on the way to [Lake] Tahoe, and the team can ride from the door, with loads of different places to go and styles of riding. The complete off-road team have moved out there…
“Our Turbo [ebike] office is in Switzerland, and they can ride some amazing stuff…
“We’ve got guys in the UK testing stuff, people in South Africa, in every country, who don’t have a direct link to a product team. There really are ‘real life’ riders behind the brand – 90% of us are.”
5. We’re not going to be able to buy Loïc Bruni’s bike
“It feels almost like the [Specialized] Gravity Team and that [prototype downhill] bike are the Formula One of mountain biking.
“So much is tested and tried and trialled on that bike – stuff people wouldn’t even notice.
“That technology always trickles down into platforms that people can buy [but not in its original form] because what they’re doing is so extreme.
“The likelihood that you’ll see that exact bike available to buy is slim… Think about all the parts you’d need to buy – that bike is complicated!”
6. Look out for a new Enduro bike… but not soon
“Our enduro team have been riding the Stumpy, because that being so progressive has allowed them to race that and it still be capable enough and still be their bike choice.
“But yeah, the Enduro has been a while [without a redesign]. Things are always being tested and tried, so I’m sure there’ll be something coming out at some point, but not in the near future.
“I think it was put on the back burner slightly because so many riders, with the surge of ebikes [sales], were having that similar [descending] experience, but with a motor, being able to just do laps and laps without having to slog or push to the top.”
7. She’s got a simple goal
“To get more people on bikes – young people, girls, everyone. There’s been quite a big surge in girls getting on bikes, which is really cool.
“I think [the barrier] is still at the level of getting into riding. The accessibility is still tricky, because it can look intimidating. A lot of what you see, from a marketing perspective, is the extreme side.
“There’s not necessarily content that’s just inspiring and makes people want to get out and enjoy riding.
“Maybe that’s something, as brands, we could look at a bit more, to get those newer riders – and it doesn’t just have to be girls – on to bikes.”
