BikeBusinessAdventure Part III - A Trip to Saxony

Saxony’s Bicycle Industry on the Fast Track

For more than 120 years now, Saxony has been one of the most important locations for the German bicycle industry – built on tradition and innovation, engineering ingenuity and precision craftsmanship. With “Diamant” and “Wanderer,” Germany’s first growth cores for industrial bicycle production emerged in Chemnitz in the late 19th century. Ever since that time, mechanics, engineers, and tinkerers from Saxony have created inventions which have strongly influenced the entire bicycle branch around the globe: The candle-operated bicycle lamp, the double roller chain, and many other innovations.

In Saxony, an estimated 10,000 people are directly employed in more than 300 companies in the bicycle industry, generating approximately 1.5 billion euros in sales related to the bicycle industry. Together they form a complete value creation chain from component development all the way to bike tourism. Two beacons of Saxony's bike sector are the DIAMANT corporation as Germany’s oldest still active bicycle manufacturer and Bike24 AG, the leading e-commerce bicycle platform in continental Europe.  All kinds of smaller manufacturers have set up their business in Saxony over the past three decades. They specialize in the production of small batches and one-off models of individual and particularly high-quality gravel bikes, racing bikes, and mountain bikes. 

The local bicycle industry has developed particular strengths primarily when it comes to lightweight construction and the use of the latest scientific knowledge for material selection and design engineering. Saxons also score points with their special competences in electronics and electrical engineering. For their developments, all these entrepreneurs and inventors can use the dense high technology and research networks in the region whose cross-sectoral expertise in lightweight construction, e-mobility, environmental technology, and engineering sciences is highly appreciated around the entire globe.

The stakeholders of the Saxon bicycle industry have joined forces in the “Cycling Saxony” association. Their vision: They want to develop the bike region Saxony into one of the world’s most important locations of the bicycle industry and to bring value creation back from the Far East to Saxony.