David Drengk, a research fellow at the chair of history of technology and economy at Technical University Dresden, is an Africanist focusing on African history and History of Technology. He completed his PhD at the History Department at the Technical University Darmstadt in Germany as member of the interdisciplinary research group “A Global History of Technology, 1850–2000” (Global-HOT), funded by the ERC with his research entitled “People, Materiality, and Nature in Everyday Life: The Technological Landscape of the Rainforest in Côte d’Ivoire, 1890-1930.” He graduated from Humboldt University in Berlin and Leiden University at the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASC) with diplomas in area studies Asia/Africa, agricultural sciences (BA) and African studies (MA).

His interest in the history of cycling in Africa stems from his personal experiences in various places in Malawi and Western Africa. In cycling history, he is particularly interested in the connection between everyday cycling and class, gender, and race.