Aaaahhh, project bikes. They can be a great way to test a bunch of products and build up a dream bike for certain situations.

For me, it all started with Cross Vegas last year and getting hooked on the sport. It was time to get a cyclocross bike. I knew I wanted disc brakes and I knew I wanted a frame that would last a lifetime. After all, we test a lot of stuff in a wild variety of conditions, so it had to be a durable frame and be something I’d want to ride year after year after year.

So, way back in February (yes, February!!!) I contacted Moots about building up a custom version of their then-forthcoming Psychlo-X RSL frame. Here it is December and my frame is finally in and starting to get built. Finally.

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Pista Palace has sent over some beautiful custom bikes in the past (here, here and here), but they’ve all been import brands with their own paint schemes and over the top builds.

This time, they took their love of Campy and mashed up a Cannondale SuperSix EVO road frame like those ridden by Team Liquigas. Justin Beope, who works at the shop and has been team director for SKLZ p/b Pista Palace, sent the pics. That team picked up Rahsaan Bahati in 2011 after the pro rider’s eponymous team fell apart…and Bahati also rode Cannondale, giving this project a little more close-to-home ties.

The build here comes in at just 12.8 pounds with no rider weight limit and -wait for it- clincher wheels and an SRM power meter! Read on to see how they did it…

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Photo submitted by Joseph Regner, “Taken at North Point Trails at Virginia Key Florida during a 4x
slash MTB racing series called ‘Rad Race‘.”

To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.

Using a 49cc engine and pedals, the Derringer Cycle’s bikes may just qualify as a moped for your locale, but they definitely qualify as beautiful.

Built custom for the buyer, each Derringer can be as unique as you want, including custom Brooks leather accessories and bags. Motorized bikes start at about $3,500. We’d tell you more, but they’re apparently all on holiday already. Click through for more pics, check out a non-motorized singlespeed here and try to win one here.

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Photo submitted by Zach Blume, “Freshly cleared bike lane and no wind here in Lincoln, Nebraska.”

To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.

Finally hitting the floor at bike shops around the country is the long awaited Campagnolo EPS group. This electronic group(attached to a very limited edition Pinarello Dogma2) just showed up at Freshbikes in Arlington, VA. Complete with a set of Campy Bora Ultra 2 wheels, this dream bike weighed in at a respectable 6.77kg(14.93lbs.) More pictures and some initial ride impressions after the break…

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If you missed out on the chance to win a Ahrens Cycles’ Wisecracker earlier, Paul has another cycling related bottle opener for you, though this one isn’t attached to the bike.  Just in time for the holidays, Paul has introduced a beautifully anodized and CNC’d Bottle opener. Not content with it simply being “just” a bottle opener, the opposite end of the lever holds a 15mm brake spring adjuster. In typical Paul fashion, the bottle opener is impeccably machined from 6061 aluminum stock, and then anodized in silver, black, and festive red and green, all for just $15 while supplies last!

Based on Paul Component’s description on their site, they definitely have a sense of humor, check it out after the break.

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It’s been a long time since I’ve read a fiction book. I’ve started plenty of them, but, in fact, the last one I remember actually finishing was William Gibson’s Neuromancer in college. Sixteen years ago.

That I would finish this one says two things: It’s good, and it’s an easy read. A Simple Machine, Like the Lever is by Evan P.Schneider, the man behind the Boneshaker Almanac. Like most art films, it ambles through the day to day in a stream of consciousness musing from inside the head of the protagonist, Nick. Unlike some art films, that’s a good thing for this story.

It’s filled with a solid mix of humor and witty insights that seem like perhaps they’re over the head of Nick while being smack dab in front of him. More than anything, it puts things -daily, random, all-too-often-unnoticed things- in plain sight and coats them with new perspectives. More than once I imagined people I know in the story, and more than once Nick’s account of what it’s like to ride a bike had me nodding slowly as if to say uh-huh.

Sweetie read it, too, and enjoyed it. I, we, highly recommend it. It actually has me seeking out more fiction, which says a lot (to me, anyway). Available on Amazon for $14.

Want a last minute holiday gift? Or just a killer deal? Cervelo’s offering a $2,000 discount on a second bike. Purchase one now and get a discount later, or just buy two at the same time (matching bikes for you and your sweetie, perhaps?) and get an instant discount. In order to receive the promotion, you must register your purchase online.

This promotion officially goes live at 6pm today, we’ll update with links when we get them. Both purchases must be made and bikes delivered on or before January 31, 2012.

From the same shop that sent over the limited edition Rabobank road bike pics earlier this week comes a custom Giant Anthem X 29er with Dura-Ace Di2 electronic shifting.

The rear derailleur has a custom pulley cage with relocated upper jockey wheel, and shifting is handled by Shimano’s remote pods.

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We’ve heard there’s going to be a steady (possibly daily!) leak of images of the new SRAM group. If that holds true through their February 1 launch, we’ll see quite a bit, but this partial shot of the rear derailleur means they could in fact come up with about 40 more.

Shown here are the new AeroGlide jockey wheels. SRAM’s brief -as in one line- description suggests they’ll offer quieter operation. We’re thinking it’s taking their claims of making a more aerodynamic group to extremes, but still super cool to see innovation taken to all corners of a group. More as we get it…but catch the other two posts here and here.

UPDATED! Possible leaked image of their new road rim or disc brake caliper and more!

UPDATED MORE! More info, corrections and speculation added!

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Genesis Bikes released their do-it-all Croix de Fer way back in 2008 as one of the first cyclocross bikes with disc brakes. We posted about the 2011 model here, and for 2012, they’re releasing the slightly down spec’d CdF to get more people on a disc-equipped ‘crosser that’s equally at home on gravel paths and backstreets.

The CdF uses a Reynolds 520 steel frame with a Shimano 9-speed Sora group and Avid BB5 mechanical disc brakes. Retail is £899.99. That’s compared to the Reynolds 725, Tiagra-equipped Croix de Fer at £1,099.99.

To make the CdF more versatile, it gets wider, separate rack eyelets, which Genesis says makes it perfect for light duty touring.