Brand Feature: Riese & Muller

Markus Riese and Heiko Muller first met on their first day of University at Darmstadt, both studying Mechanical Engineering. They quickly became friends, bonding over tinkering, cycling, and travel, leading to their first cycle tour in Tunisia in 1991. Through the trials and tribulations they encountered on that trip, the pair came to the realisation they both wanted to change things up in the bike industry.

They spent the next two years in their parent’s garages with borrowed metalworking equipment, tinkering and experimenting with different ideas, before one of them came up with an innovative design for the humble folding bike; use the folding pivot points as suspension pivots too, so you could have the practicality of a folding bike without the harsh ride. In 1993 they entered their full-suspension folding bike into the Hesse Innovation Award, winning the ‘Special Award’, this bike went on to become the R&M Birdy.

After two years of meetings and showcases, they were struggling to find anyone to help bring their designs to life, until Taiwan-based entrepreneur Geroge Lin found them. With capital from their family and friends, the pair finally had the Birdy in production, it was an almost instant hit. Across the world, bike shops and riders alike were clamouring to get their hands on one of their incredible folding bikes. The bike reached such popularity that fan clubs were forming dedicated to its unique capabilities, cycle tourers were taking it to the far corners of the earth, it was THE bike to have on commutes, the Birdy was a cult icon.

Since then, R&M have gone from strength to strength, following the Birdy’s meteoric rise, they brought out the Culture and Avenue models, both full-suspension bikes, suited for touring and urban riding, and then the Delite shortly after.

In 2008 the pair made the ground-breaking decision to switch their new product range to feature mainly electric bicycles and haven’t looked back since, one of the first companies to pursue electric bikes in this way. Many will be glad to hear though, their range still features the Birdy in its rightful place as the bike that started it all.

They’re now one of the biggest names in the e-bike market, and although they’ve changed a lot since 1988, they haven’t strayed from their original goals.

R&M have a bike to suit almost all situations and have been proven from Antarctica to Nepal, achieved cult status in America, Japan, and everywhere in between, the addition of the Bosch and Fazua motor systems only sweeten the deal.

Whether it’s their top of the line all-terrain e-bikes, heavy-duty e-haulers, or their iconic full-suspension folders, the quality synonymous with the Riese and Muller brand remains unchanged.