Bicycle brand Specialized has opened the first of three stores planned for the Philippines.

The first Specialized Manila store is trading now at SM by the Bay at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.  More are planned for Quezon City and Pasig by the end of this year. More will follow in other cities from next year.

Billed as “a bicycle brand made for riders by riders”, the 44-year-old company describes the stores as “a cyclist’s haven”.

“We want to serve the riders where they are, and at the same time make it convenient for them to get that one-stop bike shop experience,” said Ritchie Santayana, customer development director of Gruppo Innovare Corp, the local distributor of the brand.

Specialized makes bicycles for triathletes and sports people as well as enthusiasts of cycling as a means of maintaining fitness

The Specialized Manila stores will stock technically advanced models including the trail bike Stumpjumper, e-mountain bikes Turbo Levo and Kenevo, the fast road bike the Venge; and the lightweight Tarmac racing bike.