Massive 180ft bike officially named the longest in the world – and it’s rideable

Would you want to ride this huge bike?

This is officially the longest bicycle in the world.

Measuring an absolutely ridiculous 180ft 11in, it was built by eight men who have gone to extreme lengths (literally) to etch their names in the history books. 

The engineering enthusiasts from the Netherlands have smashed the previous record set in 2020 by Australian Bernie Ryan, whose bike measured a measly 155ft 8in.

What’s even more impressive is that the bike is actually rideable. It’d probably be pretty infuriating if you were using it to get around town, though.

As you can imagine, it doesn’t really look like your typical bicycle, with enormous wheels and it’s as long as four double-decker buses – or two blue whales.

Ivan Schalk led the team to achieve his childhood dream of becoming a Guinness World Records holder.

‘I’ve been thinking about the idea for years,’ the 39-year-old said. ‘I once received a Guinness World Records book in which I came across this record.’

Two of the team rode up front to steer the bicycle over a 100-metre distance to achieve the official Guinness World Records title, while one of them brought up the rear to pedal.

For the purpose of this specific record, a bicycle is defined as a pedalled vehicle with two wheels, one behind the other, steered with handlebars attached to the front wheel.

The record has been broken several times in the last 60 years since it was first set by a bicycle built in Cologne, Germany, in 1965 which measured 26ft 3in.

Past record holders included people from New Zealand, Italy, Belgium, Australia, and two teams from the Netherlands.

Building the record-breaking bicycle

It took years of calculations and construction efforts for Ivan and his team to get to this point. 

Ivan first started out on the project in 2018 as a hobby in his spare time. But he wasn’t going to be able to do it alone.

So he ventured out to the local carnival in his home village of Prinsenbeek to seek recruits.

‘Prinsenbeek is known for its volunteers and high technical employability,’ he said. ‘You can hang out in front of the TV, but we’re not like that here in Prinsenbeek.

‘We have the technical knowledge and want to apply this knowledge to the maximum.’

And that’s what they did. The bike build took years to complete – and was interrupted by the Covid pandemic.

The front and rear parts were produced in-house, while the centrepiece was bought from a company that manufactures long steel structures.

Ivan and his team also secured the record for the longest tandem bicycle in the world by adding more pedals and completing the course with several riders. 

He added: ‘We left nothing to chance in terms of safety. You can see this, for example, in the fact that the cyclists are not outside the structure, but inside it.’

The bicycle will now be exhibited in the Prinsenbeek local history museum. 

Earlier this year, a man’s eight-year journey to land the matchstick Eiffel Tower world record was finally recognised.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.