Marek Parajka has got a passion. He´s addicted to bicycles. As a qualified metalworker he did different jobs and about two decades felt well with it. He travelled a lot: born and grown up in Slowakia he lived and worked as well in Ireland as in UK, tried different things, worked in the gas industry, was engaged for Amnesty International and came back home to built up something new. „I was hooked on bikes ever since“, he says at the beginning of that new track, which leads him to be a fully skilled framebuilder. „Because it takes long years to become one“, Marek is convinced.
Travelling and working, trying different things, get to know different people, skills and other countries were the main targets and the direction for his life. He still felt comfortable with his material over the time („metalwork was my destiny“), but made up his mind to start something completely new. Time to return home, settle down and start and develop something else.
In the early 90´s Marek did road cycling, as he does again these days. Inbetween he enjoyed mountain-biking. After all it was his addiction to bikes that led his way. Marek: „I developed into crafting steel bicycle frames. Road, Randonneurs, Track or Cyclocross is the point of interest.“ As mentioned, Marek is facing a period for himself to meet his own requirements. „Framebuilding is a tricky job. I craft frames for others – specially built for one rider – and I love it.“ Maybe it´s this kind of passion and self-esteem that leeds to the positiv feedback from his clients. Like some kind of positiv feedbackloop: „The more I build the more I like it and the response I get from clients keeps me running.“
Although Marek Parajka is also restoring classic steel-bicycles, crafting stems and stainless racks (all lugged or fillet brazed) the main thing for him is to built customized steel frames. It´s about the mutual trust and respect, that an individualized bike isn´t mainly cheap but incomparable.
Get to know Arko-Bici and Marek Parajka
www.arkobici.sk
www.steelroadies.com
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