Volagi Cycles was an American company that manufactured bicycles and related components. Founded in 2010 by two bicycle industry designers, Robert Choi and Barley Forsman, Volagi had six international distributors, as well as eighty bicycle dealers in the United States.[1]
History
Originally based in Cotati, California, Volagi was founded in 2010 by Robert Choi and Barley Forsman, both former employees of Specialized Bicycle Components and CamelBak.
In 2012 the company was sued by Specialized Bicycle Components, for theft of trade secrets and breach of employment contract, as well as other charges. Of Specialized's nine claims, eight were thrown out of court, and the jury awarded Specialized one dollar in damages on the remaining count (breach of employment contract) that went to trial.[2][3][4] It was estimated by Choi and Forsman's attorney, Tyler Paetkau, that Specialized incurred more than $2M in legal fees to practice "competition by litigation."[5]
In September 2016, Volagi announced that it would close its doors after a founding member was injured in a bicycle accident involving an automobile.[6]
Volagi sponsored athletes such as Chris Ragsdale, compete in ultra-cycling events such as Race Across America.[7]
See also
- List of bicycle brands and manufacturing companies
- List of bicycle parts
External links
References
- Store Locator Volagi, retrieved 2014-06-04^
- Caley Fretz. Specialized sues Volagi over Liscio road bike Velo News, 2012-01-03, retrieved 18 April 2014^
- Lennard Zinn. An expensive dollar: Volagi owes Specialized $1 Velonews.competitor.com, 2012-01-13, retrieved 2014-06-04^
- Howard Mintz. Legal feud between bike giant Specialized and Bay Area startup ends in mixed verdict Mercury News, Bay Area News Group, 2012-01-13, retrieved 2017-09-14^
- Paul Payne. Jury awards $1 to Specialized in Cotati bike feud case THE PRESS DEMOCRAT, 2012-01-13, retrieved 2017-09-14^
- Simon MacMichael. US bike maker Volagi Cycles suspends operation with co-founder in coma 2016-09-30, retrieved 2018-07-11^
- Microsoft Word - CHRIS RAG retrieved 2014-06-04^