Local can be beyond cool!

Welcome to 1 OAK bicycles. Downtown Paoli, above the brewery. You can follow them on Instagram @1oakbicycles.

I prefer the local coffee shop to Starbucks.  I prefer a local taco shop to Qdoba.  I prefer a local beer to Sam Adams.  The list goes on and on.  If you are like me or like most people I know, you like supporting a local business.  I enjoy speaking with the owner who is employing local people and supporting the local community.  I make it a policy that I get to know the shop, their personality and learn if they can be a match for my hopes.

But, I wouldn’t support a local business that doesn’t offer a better product that I will like better.  In the end, if I am going to spend my hard earned $, I am going to make sure I am getting exactly what I want to get.  I would rather have something offering a great experience, customized for me vs. just getting a new something or another.  I do not need stuff that badly.

This all brings me to my friend Eric Maves and his new little boutique in Paoli Wi.  Eric opened a new little bike shop above the brewery in Paoli.  Paoli is a small little town filled with not much of anything but there are a couple of restaurants, art studios and a brewery.

Every bike sold at 1 OAK, is One Of A Kind.  Get it?

Every bike that Eric sells is bespoke.  There is nothing standard or straight out of a catalog.  It is the epitome of expression around individual experience.  Eric will sell you one of the bikes that he has already built or he will build the bike that you have always wanted.  You will not find a catalog of what he offers, beyond the unique vehicles that he has in stock today.

One OAK bicycles environs are exquisite.  Eric has curated an experience that just drips with the love of cycling and how a bicycle can be something more than just a vehicle that can get you down the road.  When you are there, you will feel the passion that Eric has for everything that makes cycling such a great experience.

I did not take any of photos of the bikes that Eric is selling today.  This post isn’t really about his current inventory.  When you visit Eric, he will offer you an espresso in an Italian cup.  He will invite you to sit down and talk about bikes, bike racing, the history of cycling, all of the great things that we all love about cycling, and of course what your dreams are around a unique bicycle.  Chances are that he can get something together for you that embodies those dreams.

Give him a call at One OAK bicycles in Paoli.  Pick up a t-shirt while you are there from one of the coolest boutiques I know of.

Joe

How many jerseys can you identify? How many can you name the marquee riders from the teams of that era?

Just a really awesome picture of Eddy to inspire you as you leave.

If you look closely, you can see a cool vintage jersey, vintage Trek poster, a chair upholstered with Paul Smith fabric, Campagnolo sign…

I had all the shoes and all the glasses in this case.

Claudio Chiapucci!

How I always want to think of Laurent Fignon.

The buttons on this chair headset top caps.

I love Star Wars and cycling. Enough said.

Eric will make you a set of candle holders from old Campagnolo hubs and rainbow jersey colored candles.

The music in the shop couldn’t come from anything other than a turntable. Spin the Black Circle.