Mike Sinyard: riding the mountain bike craze to a fortune

Mike Sinyard started selling bike bits with $1,500 from the sale of his old VW bus. Now his company turns over $500m and his bikes appear everywhere from the Tour de France to Scottish mountain bike trails.

Mike Sinyard, 59, has been riding bicycles ever since he took apart, painted and rebuilt an old girl's bike his father bought at the local charity shop. But it was only as a student, riding the seven or eight miles into San Jose State University every day, that the Californian hit on a way to make a living from his passion. Three decades later, that brainwave has materialised as Specialized, a $500m-a-year firm whose bikes appear everywhere from the Tour de France to Scottish mountain bike trails.

The son of a machinist, Sinyard paid his way through university by buying old bikes at flea markets, fixing them up and selling them through local newspapers. But "in those days it was not easy to find well-made components for my own bike, and I knew my friends wanted them too". Quality ten-speed racing bikes and their components were easily available in Europe, but not in the US.

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Jody Clarke

Jody studied at the University of Limerick and was a senior writer for MoneyWeek. Jody is experienced in interviewing, for example digging into the lives of an ex-M15 agent and quirky business owners who have made millions. Jody’s other areas of expertise include advice on funds, stocks and house prices.