What drives us
From the barn to the big city.
Our philosophy
We have made holistic thinking our principle. We recognize that our company brings a new organization of materials and people into the world. We intervene in economic, social and ecological systems and know that everything is interconnected. We are convinced that a product for sustainable mobility in our cities must also be produced sustainably and fairly in order to be really good.
Our aim is not only to be part of existing structures and create a stable organism within them, but to actively help shape these structures and discourses. In the best-case scenario, our actions contribute to creating beneficial impulses in the systems in which we are embedded. We want to develop products that solve more problems than they create - holistically speaking.
A compact cargo bike with small wheels. Produced fairly in Germany. “That won’t work.” We did it anyway. Today, we build cargo bikes in the heart of Cologne - with passion and high-tech. Fair to the environment, fair to our customers and fair within the team. That is muli cycles.
2015
Doing without a car in the city, little space and two children - the idea for a cargo bike that doesn’t become a burden itself matures. The first prototypes are built, we tinker with drafts and designs.
2016
The muli is born. The first production-ready prototype works, inspires and provides good arguments to take the step of founding a company. In December, muli cycles GmbH is founded and we are suddenly a bicycle manufacturer.
2017
Muli needs the crowd and the crowd seems to have been waiting for a new bike concept. The funding campaign hits the ground running and gives the go-ahead for the production of the first small series. Grandma’s converted barn in the Westerwald becomes an assembly hall and the villagers shake their heads in disbelief - the first 100 mules roll onto the streets of major German cities.
2018
Friends become employees and together we shake up the industry - Startup & Gold Award at Eurobike, followed by the Hessian Founder’s Prize and Red Dot Design Award. Production is carried out locally in the background and delivered throughout Europe. The first dealers come on board. Berlin and Hamburg become muli capitals.
2020
The muli Motor st is the first compact cargo bike with an integrated mid-motor to be launched on the market. Not only does it become our top seller in no time at all, it also quickly wins the Eurobike Gold Award.
2021
The barn is bursting at the seams and even grandma’s old living room barely offers any storage space. We leave our home village of 1000 souls and move to the Rhine metropolis of Cologne with our now seven employees. Here, in the middle of Cologne-Ehrenfeld, we set up the muli Factory. Finally space for our own metal processing, new assembly lines, the growing team and table tennis. We buy the first welding robot system.
2022
We reach an important milestone with the conversion of frame production to 100% recycled steel. The muli Factory Store opens opposite the bicycle assembly facility.
2024
With the muli Motor eu, we are taking the vision of locally produced bikes to a new level: 90% of all components are manufactured within the EU. At the same time, the second welding robot is delivered to the muli Factory. From now on, we will be able to manufacture the entire muli frame automatically and in-house.
2025
In Cologne-Ehrenfeld, more than 80 great people are now working every day to realize our vision.