Specialized
Specialized Bicycle Components
Mural & Environmental Graphics
The centerpiece mural spans over 30 feet wide, comparing Boulder’s iconic climbs to those in France, Spain, and Belgium. 📷 @mthurk
Overview
Our collaboration with Specialized Bicycle Components began with a custom map display at their Boulder Experience Center—designed to showcase popular local routes with clarity and beauty. When the brand relocated to its new Innovation Center in Louisville, Colorado, a massive blank wall offered the perfect canvas for something bigger, bolder, and more immersive.
Having collaborated previously, Specialized’s lead marketing strategist, reached out directly to Zach with a vision: create a standout installation that would reflect the company’s connection to place, performance, and community. That call kicked off a collaboration focused on elevating the cycling brand’s new home with art that speaks to its identity and roots in Boulder’s riding culture.
Client: Specialized Bicycle Components
Creative Direction & Design: Zach Lee, Simple Cycling Maps
Printing & Installation: Digital Frontier – Broomfield, CO
Photography: Mike Thurk (@mthurk)
The Vision
The new Innovation Center was designed to reflect Specialized’s forward-thinking ethos—but one massive, 30-foot-wide wall begged for a story. As riders, execs, and athletes from around the globe visited the space, one question came up again and again:
“How do Boulder’s climbs compare to Europe’s?”
Specialized saw this wall as an opportunity to bring that curiosity to life. The goal was to create a visually compelling installation that would highlight the region’s most iconic climbs while grounding the brand in its Boulder roots. The design needed to be inspirational, educational, and unmistakably cycling-focused.
Our Approach
The wall space turned out to be the perfect canvas: shorter on the left, rising taller to the right—just like a great ride.This natural slope mirrored the elevation profiles, giving the final composition both function and flow.
On the production side, it was samples, samples, samples—refining print scale, contrast, and legibility with the vendor to make sure the mural would pop from across the room and reward closer inspection. The final piece was printed on rigid panels, mounted with a custom furring system to float off the wall and accommodate outlets and surface inconsistencies.
Installation was completed in just a few hours by a two-person crew with Zach on-site, but the attention to detail in the planning made it feel effortless.
Zach began by working closely with Specialized’s team to identify the climbs that defined Boulder’s riding culture. He sent over an initial concept list, and through a collaborative back-and-forth, the team refined it to feature the most legendary ascents in the region.
From there, the real design work began. Starting with GPS data, Zach recreated each route’s exact path. Then, using consistent scales, he drew precise elevation profiles for each climb—ensuring riders could visually compare them side by side, whether they were from Colorado, France, Spain, or Belgium.
Each profile was layered with critical ride data: distance, elevation gain, average and max gradient, surface type, and both metric and imperial measurements. Once every climb was drawn and stylized using the same graphic system, Zach carefully composed the layout to reflect the visual rhythm of the climbs themselves.
Interior view of the Innovation Center kitchen with mural fully installed. The space invites casual conversation and admiration alike. 📷 @mthurk
The Result
The finished installation is a striking visual centerpiece in the Specialized Innovation Center — a 30-foot mural comparing Boulder’s most iconic climbs to legendary ascents across Europe. Printed on custom panels and floating off the wall with a furring system, the artwork balances scale and precision, delivering both inspiration and legibility.
The mural’s impact reaches beyond the walls: its size and placement make it clearly visible from the interior courtyard, making it not just a feature, but a landmark within the space.
Visitors—ranging from pro athletes to global execs—are naturally drawn in, sparking conversations and comparisons around global climbs and local favorites. It’s more than a wall—it’s a celebration of cycling culture, local pride, and the spirit of pushing higher.
Reflections of cyclists and climb data blend in this layered scene—demonstrating how the artwork interacts with its environment. 📷 @mthurk
In the adjacent dining area, Zach designed three additional climb comparison vignettes:
- Spain vs. Colorado
- Italy vs. Colorado
- Belgium vs. Colorado
Each are printed on dual-layered acrylic for a rich, dimensional effect. These pieces flank a central TV, blending performance with visual storytelling.
A closer look at the framed climb comparisons flanking a central screen—used for race coverage and presentations in the dining area. 📷 @mthurk
Detail of the Spain vs. Colorado acrylic artwork, printed on two layers to create depth and dimension..
