Who Are LIOS
The Business
Our Mission…
…is to enable you to Ride in Style®.
Our Vision…
…is to innovate in the cycling industry in order to improve our overall health & wellbeing.
Our Brand
Now in its twelfth year, LIOS has developed a strong reputation for custom carbon bicycles, carbon wheels and 3D motion analysis bike fittings. The brand already has a solid portfolio of carbon road and off-road bicycles, which have raced at the highest levels, including the Ironman Triathlon World Championships and multiple national road and mountain bike races. In April 2022 LIOS launched a range of titanium frames/bicycles.
At LIOS we create the perfect bike for you. We offer a personalised, bespoke and unique bike fitting service, as well as build custom carbon and titanium bikes, including hand-built carbon wheels; like a bespoke tailor will measure for a suit, we provide that service for bikes.
The Founder
Steve McCulley founded LIOS Bikes because he wanted to provide a bespoke bike fitting service coupled with a personalised customer relationship. He built his first bike with his Dad when he was eight years old and started racing mountain bikes in Devon when he was twelve.
He raced nationally in youth and junior cross country & downhill categories in the early 1990s, with his claim to fame being that he got to conduct a warm up lap with John Tomac and Julie Furtado at Newnham Country Park when the Mountain Bike World Cup came to the UK in 1993! Like Tomac, Steve was one of a few riders in the UK that had a Tioga Disc Drive. His last junior race was the National Downhill MTB Champs at the legendary Beddgelert course in 1994, where he competed on a hardtail with no front suspension! Unfortunately he fractured his kneecap during his final run.
Having created an electric bike for his GCSE Technology Project and then an enhanced version for his A-Level Technology Project in the early 90s, he was destined for a Masters Degree in Engineering, however, a Royal Marines advert caught his eye…
On finishing his A-Levels he was selected for an officer’s commission to join the Royal Marines straight from school without a degree. Over an eighteen year career he served all over the world, including operational deployments to Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. During the second half of his career he got into triathlons and also started competitive mountain biking and cycling again, representing both the Royal Navy & Royal Marines at a national level.
Unfortunately both his military career and his cycling aspirations came to an end in the summer of 2011, as he was very severely injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) whilst on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan; he spent nearly three weeks in a coma and three years in medical rehabilitation.
Having had significant surgery on his chest, arms and legs, he knew that he would not be able to compete again, nonetheless, he remained passionate about cycling and wanted to continue in the industry. Utilising his injury compensation money and with support from organisations like Help for Heroes, Heropreneurs and the The Royal Marines Charity, in between surgery and medical rehabilitation he founded LIOS Bikes in 2012.
Podcast Interview with Steve McCulley
Steve was recently interviewed by Alex Chisnall, the host of the 'Screw It Just DO It' podcast, where he looks to answer one simple question:
How do you get to where you want to be?
He chats to inspirational entrepreneurs, sports stars and entertainers who took the leap. They became the people they wanted to be. They did what they always wanted to do.
The Names
LIOS is abbreviated from the names of Steve's children - Lily & Oscar.
All the LIOS bike model names are either from projectiles fired by Steve and his fellow Marines in Afghanistan or aircraft that supported them on many missions (Bullet, Exactor, Javelin, Hellfire, Raptor, Thunderbolt, Lightning, Spectre). In fact it was a an A-10 Thunderbolt close air support attack aircraft, a favourite amongst combat ground troops, that got Steve out of a few scrapes, hence naming his personal favourite bike the Thunderbolt.
Bike Fitting
We are one of less than 30 certified Retül 3D motion analysis bike fitters in the UK. Anyone who plans to ride for any period of time should consider having their position assessed to ensure optimal efficiency, comfort and injury prevention. This applies to cyclists who already have a bike, but more so to those looking at purchasing a new bike.
