They thought the Asian man who said “I’ll build you that. I also want to sell it,” was joking

Riese and Muller is a bicycle firm situated in Darmstadt, Germany founded by Markus Riese and Heiko Muller. They are best known for their highly popular folding bicycle Birdy.

Founded in 1993 to sell Hot Ears — earmuffs to keep the ears warm while wearing a helmet—R&M came out with their first Birdy model in the garage of Heiko Muller’s parents as part of a university project. A productive year went by in which development of the Birdy continued and new prototypes were built.

When Heiko and Markus attended the IFMA and Eurobike shows in the fall — this time with a fully functioning Birdy — they thought the middle aged Asian man who stood in front of their bike and said, “I’ll build you that. I also want to sell it,” was joking. George Lin was not kidding. Before they met Lin, all attempts to find a manufacturer had not been successful, due to the six figure D-Mark cost for the necessary machine tools for a production run. This hurdle had been the major stepping stone in the way of the two company founders. Lin’s offer presented an ideal way to start producing bikes. Muller sums up business with Pacific, "High production costs and a lack of understanding prevailed in Germany, whereas Pacific was cooperative and goal oriented."

R&M currently offers five different Birdy models and recently won the prestigious Taiwan Superior Brand Award.