2012 Volagi Liscio
2012 Volagi Liscio
Blink and you would have missed them.
Volagi made high-end road bicycles from 2010 to 2016. The new bike brand was founded by longtime bike industry guys (formerly of Specialized, Camelbak and Bell Sports) Robert Choi and Barley Forsman. Their big ideas were disc brakes on all of the road models and lots of graceful arcs in the frame shapes. Great ideas, and a little bit ahead of their time.
Unfortunately, Volagi was founded during a period when the Specialized bike company had changed their motto from “Innovate or Die” to “Litigate or Die”. Who can forget Specialized going after the “Roubaix Cafe”, a Canadian bike shop that had the temerity to name their shop after a city in France where the Paris-Roubaix bike race finishes every spring. Specialized had a road bike model named the Roubaix and had sued the new little business before realizing that their own model name was licensed from Fuji bicycles for that particular usage… But I digress.
Anyhow, a fun fact about Volagi was that in 2012 they were sued by Specialized for theft of trade secrets and some other complaints. Of Specialized’s nine claims, eight were thrown out of court, but the jury awarded Specialized one dollar in damages on the remaining count (a breach of an employment contract). That $1 jury award cost Specialized over $2,000,000 in legal fees. Really taught Volagi a lesson, huh?
Disc brakes standard
Ultegra 10 speed
Neat swoopy lines
So for a very short while Volagi made some cutting edge bikes like this Liscio model. Swoopy carbon fiber frame tubes, some internal cable routing, disc brakes (although this one also had cable runs and mounting spots for rim brakes), and absolutely no trade secrets taken from Specialized. It was fun while it lasted.
Unfortunately, in 2016, Volagi announced that they would be closing up shop. Co-founder Robert Choi was seriously injured after being hit by an automobile driver while out riding his bicycle.
By the way, if you’re interested in a nice used carbon fiber bike with disc brakes and fairly wide tires (30c), and you happen to be between 5’8” and 5’11” tall, you’re in luck! This one is for sale, only $899.