Who invented the bicycle tire?

The story of the bicycle tire starts in the 19th century with two names: Charles Goodyear, whose vulcanization process made rubber practical and durable enough to use on a wheel in the first place, and John Boyd Dunlop, credited with developing the practical pneumatic (air-filled) tire that made bicycles genuinely comfortable and fast to ride.

Schwalbe's own history starts much later, in 1973, when company founder Ralf Bohle first imported bicycle tires from Korea into Germany. That single shipment turned into the company's entire focus from that point forward.

Updated on: 08/13/2026