Riese & Müller is a bicycle manufacturer in

Mühltal Mühltal () is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg, which is located in Hesse, Germany. It is situated southeast of Darmstadt from which it is separated by the ''Stadtwald'' (City Forest). Historically, there have been many waterm ...

, Germany. Founded by Markus Riese and Heiko Müller, it designs and makes suspended bicycles. Frames are produced by companies such as Triangle's, Portugal. All of their bikes are assembled by hand in Germany.

History

Founding and first model: 1993-1996

The company was officially founded in 1993. It was founded by Markus Riese and Heiko Müller, who had met studying mechanical engineering in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

in 1988. After a 1991 cycle trip to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, they decided they had a shared interest in developing bicycles. In 1992, they started working on the design for a folding bike with the pivot points acting as suspension, but which rode like a normal bike, which hadn't been done before. According to ''Wired Magazine,'' the two German mechanical engineers in 1992 "realized that if you give a bike full suspension, those points of suspension can double as points of rotation for a folding bike. Less than a year later, Müller read about the Hesse Innovation Prize and built an aluminum prototype in ten days (and nights)." In 1993, they submitted their bike for the 1993 Hesse Innovation Award, and the Birdy won the Special Award. The Birdy was showcased under the company name riese und müller at Intercycle in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

Eurobike Eurobike is an international bicycle trade fair held annually since 1991 in the first week of September, on the grounds of Messe Friedrichshafen, one of the largest and most modern exhibition centres in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. The bike show i ...

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

in 1993 and 1994. They company also showcased other products, including an invention to keep ears warm under bike helmets. They received little interest until George Lin, a businessperson from Taiwan, wanted to build the Birdy. George Lin had founded

Pacific Cycles Pacific Cycles is a Taiwan, Taiwanese bicycle designing and manufacturing company headquartered in Xinwu District, Taoyuan, Xinwu District, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan City. The company manufactures its self-designed cycles including Folding bicycle ...

, an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). In 1994 and 1995, the Birdy was built into a production-ready prototype, with the founders raising the funds to have 250 Birdys initially produced in Taiwan. The company headquarters was an old dairy farm in Darmstadt. Pacific Cycles began manufacturing the Birdy. The Birdy sold well in 1995 and 1996, and was also sold in the United States and Japan. Riese & Müller was founded in 1993 to sell ''Hot Ears'', earmuffs to keep the ears warm while wearing a helmet. The first bicycle, the

folding bicycle A folding bicycle is designed to be compacted into a smaller, more manageable size or shape, making it easier to store or carry . When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-mo ...

known as the Birdy, started in the garage of Heiko Müller's parents as a university project. In 2006 it started selling Zwei bike bags.

Other models and e-bikes: 1997-2024

In 1997, the company began creating new bikes for urban riding and touring. In 2008, the company began incorporating motors, including electric versions of the Birdy and their Delite model. Their Jetstream electric model won the Eurobike Green Award. The company subsequently focused on electric bikes, with all model ranges except the Birdy converted solely to pedelecs. The company's new Packster 40 cargo bike was presented at Eurobike 2017 and won a Eurobike Award. Riese & Müller had a revenue of €76 million a year. Economist Sandra Wolf became a third CEO in 2019. In 2022, it had sales of 350 million euros. The company's Carrie cargo bike, released in 2024, was priced at £5,469. The aluminum frame was manufactured in Portugal. The Birdy P40 bike is still produced by Pacific Cycles. The company currently has a campus in

, Germany. Wolf remains CEO.

Notable models

Various bike models produced by Riese & Müller include: * Birdy (a

folding bike A folding bicycle is designed to be compacted into a smaller, more manageable size or shape, making it easier to store or carry . When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings, on public transportation (facilitating mixed-m ...

with 18" wheels) *Charger3 *Multitinker *Tinker *Delight4 *Super delight *Load - cargo e-bike with cargo box and electric motor, reaches speeds up to 28 mph. **Load 60 **Load 75 **Load4 60 **Load4 75 *Packster 70 *Transporter 60 *Transporter 85 *Carrie *Multicharger Mixte *Roadster *Nevo4 *Cruiser Mixte *Frog bicycle (a folder with 12" wheels, discontinued for years but available with 16" wheels as of 2010) *Avenue *Homage (since November 2005) *Intercontinenta Various discontinued models include: *Equinox (discontinued) *Gemini (discontinued)

References

External links

*
Tinkering with the Multitinker
A review of R&M's Multitinker cargo bike, 2023

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riese und Muller Companies based in Hesse Cycle manufacturers of Germany Folding bicycles Cycle designers German brands Cycle types

Bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...