Specialized gets brainier in the dirt

Our coverage of Specialized's 2007 product line launch continues with the company's extensive mountain bike offerings. Integration is the word of the day here, and James Huang heads off from Holzkirchen, Germany up into the Bavarian highlands to sample the new wares:

For nearly a decade, Specialized has unwaveringly championed its Horst Link-equipped four-bar linkage rear suspension designs. Multiple refinements and tweaks have abounded since those early days to yield today's versatile and capable setups but Specialized now takes a big leap forward in the system's development for 2007 with a line of house-branded suspension components and the first major change in the FSR system since acquiring it from Horst Leitner all the way back in 1998.

When Specialized added legendary suspension designer and engineer Mike McAndrews to its roster last year, speculations ran wild as to what Mike Sinyard had in mind for his old friend and former employee. After all, 'Mick' has a long and storied career in both motorcycle and bicycle suspension: he headed up Rock Shox's research and development program for six years in its early days, started the fork program at Fox Racing Shox, worked with Paul Turner (again) at Maverick American, and developed the Brain that graced Specialized's then-revolutionary Epic full-suspension bike. With that kind of history, something big was in store.