Opel's uncle offered him an unused cow stall in Rüsselsheim to set up a workshop in which to build his own sewing machine.

The Opel brothers decided to give up sewing machine production, which by this time was much more commodified, and thus commercially unrewarding, than when they had started in the business.

Adam and Sophie Opel had five sons (Carl, Wilhelm, Heinrich, Friedrich, and Ludwig), who took wholeheartedly to wheels.

Two things changed his mind: he found them easy to sell, with a greater profit than he could earn with the sewing machines; and his sons begged him mercilessly for bicycles of their own.

By 1886 the Opels had made a bicycle of their own, and the following year young Carl went to England to study the new industry and bring back samples of the latest designs.

The growing bands of enthusiasts for the novel means of locomotion knew they could count on Opel for the newest and best ideas in cycling in Germany.

His will set up a new organization for the company, in which his widow Sophie held the primary interest and his two eldest sons had lesser shares.

[citation needed] Their first crisis was a sudden deflation of the boom in bicycles in 1898, a collapse caused by the over-expansion among the many makers of cycles.

Die visuelle Biografie Opel - Wie alles begann...: - heinzmann collection Berühmte Erfinder (in German).