Our story
The history of the production of roller skis in the Czech Republic is inextricably linked to the Jeseník region, where already in 1986 the state enterprise JESAN Jeseník started serial production of the model line of Jesan Sprint 09 roller skis.
From the point of view of the Drlik Roller Ski company, the year 1990 was crucial, when the SPEED 06 model of roller skis, which compared to its predecessors, had significantly narrower wheels, a shorter frames and lower weight, was created under the company JESEN Jeseník. From the point of view of these parameters, they can be described as the first modern roller skis for skating mass-produced here.
Even back then you could order skis from Mr. Drlík (the later founder of the Drlik Roller Ski company), even though at that time he was still working at the JESAN Jeseník company. Subsequently, the state-owned enterprise JESAN Jeseník was dissolved and its gradual privatization occurred, which also led to the demise of the department dealing with the production of roller skis.
Mr. Drlík did not want all the work and development of roller skis to go to waste, so even after the dissolution of the JESAN Jeseník company, he continued the production of roller skis himself. To preserve the tradition, JESAN Jeseník adopted the SPEED model name. Since 1991, SPEED roller skis have been created under the leadership of Mr. Ing. Emil Drlík, then still briefly referred to as CS Ski. Even at that time, Mr. Drlík's roller skis were highly regarded and were used by the Czech national team.
Later, the representatives of Slovakia, Poland and even Lithuania also joined. In 1994, Drlik Roller Ski already produced five models of roller skis with rubber and polyurethane wheels. In addition, the company has also included the famous Italian Ski Way roller skis in its offer. In the same year, the Drlik Roller Ski company was practically the only manufacturer of roller skis in our country, so it is not surprising that the comparative tests took place on SPEED roller skis.
In later years, in addition to the name SPEED, the letter "D", which referred to the manufacturer's surname, began to appear on roller skis. Roller skis from the Drlik Roller Ski brand, or sometimes just abbreviated D-Roller Ski, quickly found their way to a number of domestic and European clubs, as well as to Canada and the USA, thanks to the high quality of their workmanship.
SPEED roller skis were produced over the years in a variety of colors, but in the end the yellow color won out, in which the first composite skis of the Drlik Roller Ski brand were created in 2014. Skis made from a combination of wooden slats and fiberglass were already so different from the original aluminum skis that the name was changed from SPEED, which represented aluminum skis, to Drlik skis.
Aluminum skis, which were very popular up to that time, were quickly overtaken by composite skis, which offered significantly higher riding comfort. Thanks to this, Drlik Roller Ski managed to keep up with the leading manufacturers of roller skis, who had been offering composite skis for a long time, which proved to be the right solution in the following years. At the same time, it was Mr. Drlík's last major decision, as in 2019 he decided to stop manufacturing roller skis and hand over all the know-how of the Drlik Roller Ski company to Sun sport in Brno, which also had extensive experience with roller skis.
Further changes were not long in coming and already in 2020, the first ever carbon ski Drlik Classic Carbon 1.0 was produced and included in the offer. In the same year, a new model of aluminum skis Drlik Skate Alu 2.0 was also introduced, meeting the demand for very durable skis that would also be suitable for heavier skiers.
The following year brought another innovation, when the already outdated logo was redesigned.
We managed to expand the field of activity from traditional areas to the slightly exotic Azerbaijan, where we established cooperation with the national ski alpine association. At the same time, we started supporting young promising Danish cross-country skiers Asbjørn Boye and Thor Boye. We have launched a new, clearer e-shop, which will offer customers comprehensive information on choosing roller skis. Last but not least, we also presented the new Drlik Skate Alu 2.0 Short ski model.
