A couple years ago, I “downgraded” from a beautiful and featherlight Italian-built road frame and fork to a new but old-fashioned steel frame and fork.

I’ve been asked a lot out on the road why I ride such a heavy bike, or if my bike is 30 years old, or any number of other questions by people who don’t seem to understand why my bike doesn’t look like all those other fat-tubed, carbon-adorned, pro racing bikes they see in the magazines.

The answer was simple, really: nobody made a high-tech carbon bike that was actually built for the way I ride. Until now, that is!

Enter the new Liscio, from powerhouse startup Volagi Cycles (by the way… it’s pronounced vo-lah-jee if you prefer eccliastical latin pronunciation, or vo-lah-ghee if you’re classically trained):

Room for big tires (I fit 32s on one of our demo bikes… unheard of clearance for a carbon bike!), rock-solid stability and handling for stress-free endurance riding, disc brakes for more control (and because neither ultra-endurance cyclists nor regular Joes have to worry about the UCI ninnies with their measuring tapes banning their bikes), super-stiff BB30 bottom bracket shell for instant acceleration, and “longbow flex” seatstays that bypass the seat tube to add some flex and comfort where it counts–your saddle (and shockingly, though none of us plan on trading in our Brooks saddles, none of us hated Volagi’s proprietary stock saddle either–a rare occurrence around here).

We now have two Liscios in stock for demo rides, and we mean real demo rides, not just a spin around the block. Bring your favorite road shoes and pedals, and take one out for an hour or so. We predict you’ll come back with a smile that’s hard to wipe off your face.

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We had one of the last sweet-riding cromoly steel Kona Worldbike frames (the new ones are aluminum, sadly) hanging about, and this week I decided it was time to build that puppy up into an awesome urban getaround machine.

This is what I came up with:

I didn’t want to stray to far from the original intent of this frame, so I built it up with a Shimano Nexus 3-speed hub. With three brakes (coaster brake, plus front and rear v-brakes), it is literally 50% safer than the average bike.

The tires are a copy of a vintage Goodyear balloon tire tread pattern, and the red color mimics the natural red rubber used on many of those old tires, giving the bike a really cool “retro-modern” look that I couldn’t resist.

I chose some not-too-swept, not-too-straight “Space Bar” handlebars, rather than the original mountain bike risers, and comfy ergonomic grips:

And finally, no well-appointed custom bike is complete without a handmade Brooks saddle, in this case the sprung Champion Flyer model in sumptuous black leather:

$799 is all it takes to transfer this one-of-a-kind ride from our stable to yours. Test rides, as always, are free.

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It’s always a good idea to get your new year off on the right foot — preferably a foot wearing your favorite cycling shoe.

That said, in our experience, trying to get people to shake off their NYE hangovers with an early morning bike ride is met with various degrees of success. This year, though, New Year’s Day is on a Sunday, but most people don’t have to go back to work until Tuesday. So when the Spinistry came to us and asked us to help (and by “help,” he of course meant “lend me your name while I do all the work”)  with a Jan. 2 ride called “MonsterCross Monday,” we jumped at the chance.

It’s gonna be one hell of an urban adventure… a course designed with ‘cross bikes in mind. 60-ish miles total, combining shorter off-road sections of Gateway Park in Fort Worth and River Legacy Park in Arlington, and a healthy course of urban streets (Including an awesome-looking industrial section near the Stockyards) between the two.

So all you CrossCheck and Nature Boy owners out there, get your butt out of bed Monday morning and meet us at the Gateway Park mountain bike trailhead a bit before 9 a.m. This is an un-permitted, un-sag-supported group ride hosted by Spinistry–not a race–so there will be no day-of registrations allowed. If you want to ride, you must RSVP to Spinistry via BikeReg.com and pay $15. Go do that now.

Don’t whine about the entry fee, either. Spinistry did a lot of work (seriously, we aren’t very helpful at this sort of thing, so they pretty much did it on their own), so we think $15 is a small price to pay for a fun time on your bike, planned by somebody else. And though it’s not a race, there will be some schwag to be given away, so you may even make some of your $15 back.

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Today’s Deal is really three deals… but whatever. We stopped being consistent with our numbering system a couple deals ago. Yes, we will be open tomorrow; no, we will not honor these deals tomorrow. These are for today only. Tomorrow gets its own deals. Besides, we close early tomorrow anyway. So here are the three incredible deals you can get today:

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Save 15% on in-stock Kona Road Bikes. If you’re in the market for a new bike, this deal could save you a big chunk of cash (For example, you’d save $236 on the Zing Deluxe) for a new helmet, or some sweet Arundel Carbon Fiber bottle cages… or hell, just add the money to your beer budget (we don’t judge).

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Save 25% on Spenco gel-padded cycling gloves. Gloves are a super stocking stuffer. Whether you favor the classic looks of the Classic crochet-back gloves, the light weight and thinner gel padding of the Silver Streak, full fingers, or short, we probably have a Spenco glove that will meet your needs. (Unless you’re looking for a cold-weather glove. They don’t make that one any more, which sucks because we liked it a lot. But we do have plenty of other cold-weather gloves in stock, if that’s what’s on your mind right now).

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And Finally, Save 56.8% on this Salsa Cycles “Collage” jersey. That means today it’s only $34.99, instead of the original $80.99. Don’t let the black fabric fool you… this thing will actually cool you, even on the hottest summer day, thanks to its awesome wicking action. Buy this one and give it as a gift, or tuck it away for the spring. Trust us, you’ll be glad you did. We have a full size range in stock, but only one of each… so come by early if you can.

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We will be taking some time off to spend the holiday with our families, our Christmas hours. We will be open 9am-2pm on Christmas Eve (Saturday) just in case you need some last minute bike gifts. We will be closed Sunday and Monday. We will return to normal hours on Tuesday.

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