The BDR was first created in 1884 in Leipzig, only to be subsequently dissolved in 1933 after the Enabling Act of 1933, which legally gave Hitler dictatorial control of Germany.

In East Germany the cycling section of the Deutscher Sportausschuss, the DDR's sports body, was established in 1946.

In 1957 it was renamed Deutscher Radsport-Verband der DDR (DRSV), "East German Cycling Federation", which was responsible for the sport until the merger of both countries on 7 December 1990.

Since 2005, the president of the BDR has been former Federal Minister of Defence Rudolf Scharping.

The Bundesradfahrerdenkmal (federal monument to cyclists) is located in the Kurpark of Bad Schmiedeberg.