who is behind the lovelec brand?

Stanislav Glac, a passionate cyclist, a fan of adrenaline experiences and a founder of the Czech brand of elctric bikes LOVELEC.

When was the first idea of e-bike trading born? Why electric bikes?

Since 1990, together with my younger brother Česlav, we have been in the business of paper and office goods, photo albums, photo frames, stationery and creatives. My big hobby is cycling, so I tried to figure out how our business could be expanded to include the bicycle industry. In 2006, after a long convalescence after my second knee surgery, I missed cycling. Riding a classic bicycle would be too much of a burden, so I thought of other alternatives - one of them was just an electric bike. At the time, e-bike were almost inaccessible in the Czech Republic, while the e-bike market developed very rapidly in the West. That's when I realized I wanted to be here when this trend arrived in our country.

What was the way from the birth of the idea to the creation of your own electric bikes brand?

The journey was long and thorny. First I had to convince my brother, who was very skeptical about this idea. He could not imagine, who would ride electric bikes?! Athletes will certainly reach for a regular bike and the ones who do not want to pedal would choose a scooter or motorcycle. However, he soon found out that thanks to the electric bikes it is possible to ride further, higher, faster or with less effort. After two years of discussions, we decided to start selling electric bicycles from foreign manufacturers. From that moment (on 2008), there was a long way to go to produce our own electric bikes. We successfully completed this journey and in 2010 we established a new brand of Czech electric bikes.

What does the name LOVELEC mean and what does the brand logo symbolize?

The name LOVELEC (pronounced lavelek) originated from the combination of two English words LOVE and ELECTRIC, which in free translation means "love of electric drive". We wanted the name to be understandable and universal for all markets. The -LOVELEC+ logo symbolizes the battery, which is an integral part of every e-bike.

What does the development and production of electric bikes countain?

The development and production of each new model is a long process of many tasks. We continuously follow world trends (in professional publications, articles, at trade fairs, etc.). The first ideas for the new collection (new models) outnumber the collection by about 2 years (i.e. we have been preparing the collection for 2020 since 2018). We started from scratch, i.e. we make the first proposals, which mostly change several times during the whole process. We must select all the mechanical components (derailleurs, brakes, etc.) and combine them with the electrical components (engine location, battery type and size, etc.). All this must be incorporated into the overall design and ensure the functionality of the electric bike. We will also have produced a sample of e-bike designed by us. This sample is carefully tested and adjusted if necessary. Only when complete satisfaction is reached for a given model, then we start to produce it. We order all the necessary parts, locate a factory, where we then put the electric bikes together. Each electric bike consists of several hundred pieces of parts, so that the larger units are pre-prepared (such a handlebars with all components - grips, display, control panel, brake levers, changing shifter, etc.) and these are subsequently assembled into one unit.

Who is involved in the development and production of electric bike?

Development and production is a collective activity. Complete design and subsequent production is ensured by a 3-4-member team. Other people are also invited to add their words to the design, functionality and testing. This way we get enhanced feedback from more parties.

You are a passionate cyclist yourself. What is your personal experience with cycling and electro-cycling? Share your experiences, goals and experiences with us.

I fell in love with cycling at an early age. I was so proud of my first bike that I took the bike with me everywhere, although I couldn't ride it at the time.

The longest "trip" I took by bike was a pilgrimage to Rome (more than 2,000 km). I also climbed up to 4,100 m above the sea level in America.

I have competed in countless races. Regarding the races, the most difficult was the "Bałtyk-Bieszczady" race, which one needed to qualify for. The normal route of the race is 1,008 km. However, in 2016, when I rode this race, the organizers made a special edition of 2 × 1,008 km (there and back), which makes 2,016 km (so that the number of kilometers coincided with the year). It was difficult due to bad weather - rain and cold.

I also remember one of the unpleasant experiences when I rode across the full width of the road in my micro-sleep and stopped by crashing into the barriers on the other side of the road. Fortunately, I escaped without and injury, but it was a valuable experience for me.

As far as electro-cycling is concerned, so far I have no experience similar to cycling. Electro-cycling fascinates, enriches and motivates me. It is not only reserved for older people, but also for young people. I like the fact that the first e-cycling races are already being organized. In the future, I might be thinking about participating in such an amateur race myself.

What are your goals (personal and professional) in terms of electro-cycling and electric bicycles?

My personal goal is trip from the Czech Republic to Mongolia, which I am slowly starting to plan.

At work we have the same goal from the beginning, ie. to produce electric bikes of uncompromising quality at a reasonable price. Gradually, we have expanded e-bikes to suit all ages. We could say that our goal is to produce electric bikes for the whole family. We certainly want to develop further.

One of our goals was also to make our brand visible on the Czech, Slovak and Polish markets. I can say that with a little capital, with a limited amount of input information we had, but with a great heart, we are slowly getting there.