Jamie Forrest
Eric Maves hopes bike lovers will drop in and geek out with fellow enthusiasts.
The temperature outside is hovering near zero, but it’s cozy inside 1 OAK Bicycles where owner Eric Maves wants to help you start dreaming of a new bike for warmer days ahead. Maves opened 1 OAK, which stands for “one of a kind,” in the historic Paoli Grist Mill building in fall 2017. You can call it “one oak,” as most do, though some call it “one of a kind.”
Maves, an employee of Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycles, long wanted to open his own bike business. Part showroom and part gallery, 1 OAK is, says Maves, a “boutique and velo lounge.” Stop by to have Maves restore or update your vintage bike, “geek out” with other bike enthusiasts, look through his collection of biking memorabilia and art, or simply hang out and enjoy a complimentary espresso or Peroni beer. Maves loves it when people walk in and get excited. “I see light bulbs go off when what I’ve been working on is making sense to other people,” Maves says.
Maves decked out this Dutch-style city bike with leather, canvas and wood accessories. The velo lounge is home to Maves’ collection of racing jerseys from the 1980s and ’90s.
Paoli was an obvious choice for 1 OAK because of its proximity to two popular bike trails, the Military Ridge and Badger State trails. “Paoli is a popular mid-point for cyclists to have some lunch, a beer and then ride back home,” Maves says.
Maves also had a connection to Paoli from when he used to visit there to buy clay at Paoli Clay Company with his dad, now a retired art teacher for the Edgerton school district. So when Maves saw the listing for the commercial space in a beautiful stone building on the main drag, it felt right.
Maves is most passionate about customization. A framed photo near the entrance of 1 OAK shows a beaming 9-year-old Maves next to a bike his dad helped him spray-paint. “Any bike I’ve ever owned in one way or another has been customized,” he says. It’s all about attention to detail, down to the color hits of electrical tape on the handle bars.
One of his current bikes for sale, a classic Dutch-style women’s bike from Trek, he calls the “ultimate farmers’ market bike.” Maves restored the five-speed and added canvas panniers, wood fenders, a Crane brass bell, a removable front basket for market purchases and other “blingy bits” like a gold chain. Decked out in this way, it’s priced at $3,000.
Maves also sells fun, one-of-a-kind bikes that he creates for his house brand, called Mutt Bikes, which cost between $500 and $2,000.
Maves offers custom modifications for any bike and can help you restore a vintage bike by sourcing materials. “For the most part, anything is possible,” he says.
1 Oak’s winter hours have been 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays or by appointment, but Maves has also been posting hours weekend to weekend via Instagram and Twitter, @1oakbicycles. He also has five vintage bikes on display at Cafe Domestique, 1408 Williamson St., through Feb. 28.
1 OAK Bicycles
6890 Paoli Road, Eric@1oakbicycles.com
