Regardless of the experience a rider is seeking, Specialized's purpose is to make bikes and equipment that enable all types of cyclists to get more enjoyment from their time on a bike. More than just composite materials, FACT allows us to make the best riding bikes and equipment on the market for any experience. FACT is a proprietary term that distinguishes our advanced composites development and fabrication process, one that always starts with the demands of the experience, and results in bikes and equipment with proven performance benefits, including: increased efficiency, flawless handling, unsurpassed fatigue-reduction, and incredibly low weight.

We work hard in the lab so that you have the best possible ride out on the road - and the trail.

The Specialized Engineering and R&D Team (from left to right): Luc Callahan, Gui LeFebvre, Mark Schroeder, Kyle Chubbuck, Joe Cahoon, Sam Pickman, Andy Jacques-Maynes.

The S-Works Roubaix SL seatstay employs an engineered shape and Zertz vibration damping inserts to allow for more vertical compliance than taking 30 psi out of a 23c tire.

To give a perspective on the relative ride quality value of our vertical compliance testing, we have shown the results of a comparable test on a race-quality rear tire/wheel combination tested at a usable range of tire pressures, between 90 and 120 psi.

The important point is to note from the graph is that the total range of vertical compliance between 90 and 120-psi is smaller than the vertical compliance difference we measured between many comparable frame/post systems. Or, more simply: the difference in compliance between our S-Works Roubaix SL and our Tarmac SL is almost as significant as the difference between running your tires at 90psi and 120-psi.

Extensive lab testing combines with rider input to painstakingly fine-tune the ride of FACT bikes.

All About FACT

By Mark Schroeder, Specialized’s director of engineering

At Specialized, our vision is to be the best cycling brand in the world. Among other things, that means creating bikes and equipment that help all riders enjoy their time on a bike more. Because the entire company is filled with demanding cyclists including my entire engineering team — creating bikes that have an outstanding ride means everything.

Whether used in frames, forks or equipment, FACT is a proprietary term that distinguishes our advanced composites development, fabrication and testing process, FACT starts with the demands of the experience, and results in bikes and equipment with proven performance benefits that include increased efficiency, unsurpassed fatigue reduction, incredibly low weight and flawless handling.

Most critically, FACT enables us to consider the performance of a bike as a whole. We never focus on specific attributes like weight or stiffness without considering the effect on the overall package. By considering all attributes of a bike and how they interact, we're able to fine-tune our FACT composites for any experience a rider is looking to have.

A perfect example of the way we deploy FACT is evident in our new S-Works Roubaix SL. While maintaining the overall ride quality, the FACT process of testing and refining has allowed us to take vertical compliance a serious step further, making the new S-Works Roubaix SL the most compliant ever.

The difference in ride comfort between the S-Works Roubaix SL and the next closest competitor is greater than the difference between riding a 23C tire at 90 versus 120 PSI. This benefit is realized with zero sacrifice in performance.

We set out to achieve an industry leading level of compliance while maintaining light weight and stiffness, and we delivered on that promise. By far, it’s the most fatigue-reducing and compliant performance road bike available. Our new S-Works Roubaix SL with FACT Az1 construction is far more compliant than any other we have tested, yet still lighter and stiffer than most competing designs.

Safety is our top priority and our dedication to creating bikes with the best overall performance for any given experience means that we must also create bikes that are safe. We have one of the world's foremost testing facilities in our Morgan Hill, California headquarters.

Our staff of engineers and technicians monitor countless hours of bending, breaking and smashing to ensure that every frame and component is more than up to the task. In addition to our in-house test staff, we also involve the world's leading athletes in our field testing processes. We ask all of our athletes to provide critical feedback that we can compare to our lab testing results. All of our testing adds to the quality and safety of our bikes and equipment and helps them to match the experience that any type of cyclist is looking to have.

Every Specialized product, carbon or otherwise, meets or exceeds safety standards from around the world. We take this very seriously, and our frames and forks are tested for ultimate strength, fatigue, impact strength, plus an array of international safety tests. We test multiple quantities of every frame, fork, or component we make in every size offered. Sure, it's expensive, but it's something that helps me sleep at night.

We'll continue to improve every design we make and will always be on the lookout for innovative ways to achieve lower weight, higher torsional or bottom bracket rigidity, or greater vertical compliance — but never with a single-minded focus on one element. To do so would come at the expense of the other frame design parameters, and at the expense of the ride quality. And that's not our goal. “We're here to make the best bikes, and we can only do that by considering and balancing all the needs of the riders who demand the best.” And that, my fellow riders, is innovation.

Next page: All about Understanding the Ride

 



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