The grandson of a blacksmith, Feick was inspired by the memory of an event from his childhood in Reichenbach, when he had tied sticks between two hoops that his grandfather had made and rolled down a hill.

He had invented the wheel in Ludwigshafen am Rhein c. 1920–1922, on the grounds of the VSK Germania, a sports club, of which he was the founding chairman.

The patent was issued on 8 November 1925; the name "Rhönrad" has been registered and protected since 1926 ("Rhön" is the name of the mountain region where the wheel was invented).

At the world championship 2022 in Sønderborg the IRV presented a big update for the code of points.

The federation is also responsible for developing scoring regulations, competition concepts and training programs.

Larger projects of the various members are sometimes partly supported financially and announced on the website.

2024 - 2026:   - Simon Rufener,   - Achim Pitz,  - Malena Kernacs,   - Cyrus Luciano 2022 - 2024:    - Simon Rufener,   - Katja Homeyer,  - Isabel Pietro,   - Kanai Shigeki 2020 - 2022:    - Simon Rufener,   - Katja Homeyer,   - Svea Hünnig,  -  Yasuhiko Takahashi,   - Tammi Livni The IRV (Internationaler Rhönradturnverband) organizes every two years a world championship.