Original retro bicycles are a stylish fashion accessory today. You don't necessarily have to take them out only on weekends, but you can also ride them to work in a suit. Pavol Adamkovič, known as Ewžen , loves elegant fashion and cycling, and he combined these passions in the brand Eg riders, which refurbishes old bicycles and gives them a new life.
Ewžen and the bicycles from his workshop are also part of our spring collection campaign, and we think it's a perfect combination.
From time to time, my uncle helps me and gives me professional advice. And most importantly, he gave me space where I can work and create in his workshop. Grač's father weaves my wheels, they are a family that has always been interested in cycling. I must not forget my court photographer Pali Cibula, who has the right eye for my bicycles and has been taking regular photos of them for many years and also rides one of them with his friend Tina.
How did you learn all this?
I am self-taught, I often watched my grandfather, or as I call him – deduna, who had his own shed where he tinkered and created. I used to sit next to him, and it probably stuck with me. I would say that I come from a family of craftsmen – my father is a butcher and my brother took over the scepter from him. In short, we don't like work and we don't have left hands. My mother is a florist for a change. But my uncle also taught me a lot, as he has been involved in cars and vintage cars his whole life, and I helped him from time to time.
And I still remember one customer, we are good friends now, who brought me a bicycle that he wanted to restore. He told me his requirements, and I started working. When he came to pick it up, he almost cried with emotion and said: "My father used to ride me on that bicycle as a little boy, when he was still alive." It was very touching for me.
Where are the bicycles you worked on being used? Have they ever reached beyond the borders of Slovakia? How many bicycles did you have in your workshop?
Bicycles are being driven around the world, in Dubai, London, France, the Czech Republic, Germany... I admit I didn't count them, which is a shame, but I think there were more than 500 of them.
What is the identification mark of Eg riders bicycles?
I always leave something old and original on them.
Do you have a dream, a plan, where to take the Eg riders brand?
I have to admit that I don't anymore. I once got this question in the form of whether I had a dream to make a bicycle for someone. I said, for Petya Sagan and within half a year I "completely became senile"... :) I had the opportunity to make him a special bicycle for a wedding photo shoot. And he also got a tandem bicycle.
You yourself like cycling and devote a significant part of your free time to the sport. Have you always enjoyed it? What else do you do in your free time?
I have to admit, I fell for cycling last summer, when I started training actively and got a road bike. Today I can't let it go. I used to play hockey, which I did until I was 21. Hockey has always been in my heart and today I'm more of a fan. I don't miss a single game, and we even have a ritual of going for coffee with the guys before the game. I have to admit, I even have two players' nicknames tattooed on me (laughs). Esi and Benzo are my favorite duo, Benzo even waves to me every time he steps on the ice before the game.
How did the Eg riders brand come about, under which you have been giving new life to old bicycles for over 10 years? Who is behind it?
The Eg riders brand was created in 2013 at my former job, a café, where I worked for 7 years and 138 days. My cousin and I were drinking coffee and the idea of what we would call our bikes came to mind. We simply combined the initial letters of our nicknames E and G – Ewžen and Gračo. Gračo was my partner for many years and we still get along, but our paths diverged when he had a job that required a lot of time and effort. Today we meet at hockey games with our children and cheer.
What does this job entail? How do you proceed? Where do you look for components and perhaps inspiration for what the resulting bike will look like?
So first of all, I meet with the customer, we go over the details, the color, the components... Then, if they have their own bike, I take it apart, sand it, and then I start assembling it. If the customer doesn't have a bike, that's okay, I have enough bikes to help them, unless it's something really special. I look for inspiration on social media, I follow new trends.
Every bike you've owned has an interesting story behind it. Which one do you remember the most?
It's mostly like that. I personally say that my bikes have a soul, a story. You can't buy a bike like that in a store.
I must admit that I own a very rare bicycle, which I got completely by chance. It was personally ridden by the Czechoslovak Champion Ján Stejskal, who still holds the record for the number of starts in races around Slovakia. He competed seventeen times and stood on the podium an incredible twelve times. To some extent, it influenced my beginnings in cycling.
What opportunities has the world of bicycles opened up for you? Where have you been thanks to them, what have you seen and experienced, who have you met?
I got to the exhibition in Dublin and two weeks later I was invited to the world bicycle exhibition called Spin LONDON. Today, many people already know me through bicycles, I met various famous people, whether it was Peter Sagan, President Kiska, Dominika Cibulková... But among the people I have to thank for getting to know them is Riško Autner. We are great friends and I greatly appreciate knowing such an artist personally.
But today I prefer to wear sneakers than skates. I was accepted by the guys from the DTC cycling club from Topoľčany, with whom we have regular group rides. But in the first place in my free time is my amazing daughter Emka.
