Press release No. 189 of 9 June 2017
WIESBADEN – On 12 June 1817, Baron Karl von Drais climbed on his latest invention, the "running machine" - the forerunner of the bicycle - in Mannheim and set out for Schwetzingen. During that maiden voyage, he achieved an average velocity of about 15 kilometres per hour on his 'dandy horse', as it is also called. Today the bicycle, which is available to many households, is one of the most popular means of transport worldwide. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the bicycle, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that roughly 81% of the households in Germany had at least one bicycle in 2016.
In the same year, 5.1% of the households were equipped with pedelecs or e-bikes.