It is a story that would actually be amusing, if it were not so sad. In a classic tale of the proverbial David versus Goliath, Specialized Bicycle Corporation, Goliath, went after David (again), this time in the form of little Cafe Roubaix, in Alberta Canada, and its owner, Dan Richter. Seems the issue was over the use of the name "Roubaix," which Specialized claims to have ownership of due to its line of Roubaix road bikes. Mr. Richter believed the name of a French city, and probably the hardest one-day bicycle race in the world, was an open-source name, and offensive to none. So, that's what he named his small shop (which, by the way, does not sell Specialized bicycles).
Well, Mr. Richter was wrong, or so thought Mike Sinyard (Specialized's Head-Honcho) and his merry team of lawyers. So, Cafe Roubaix was hit with a C&D letter (Cease and Desist), courtesy of the big, red "S." That was when the Fit-hit-the-Shan, as social media lit up with anger at Specialized for doing what Specialized does best: Namely, bullying small businesses.
In short, it appears that Specialized has now backed-off, but it seems to be more from public backlash then from suddenly finding a corporate conscience.
So, without getting too much farther into the big details, here are some links to stories from the bicycling industry which explain the situation in much greater details.
The Story:
VeloNews
Red Kite Prayer
Riding Against The Grain
The Apparent Resolution:
Bicycle Retailer And Industry News
VeloNews
Riding Against The Grain
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