180-foot bike certified as world’s longest – and it’s actually rideable

Eight engineering enthusiasts from the Netherlands have built the world’s longest bicycle.Measuring an incredible 55.16 metres (180 ft 11 in), it’s around the same length as two blue whales or four double-decker buses.

The previous record was set in 2020 by Bernie Ryan (Australia), whose bike measured 47.5 m (155 ft 8 in).The team was led by 39-year-old Ivan Schalk, who’s been planning this since he was a child.

He said: “I’ve been thinking about the idea for years. I once received a Guinness World Records book in which I came across this record.” This record has been broken numerous times over the past 60 years. It was first set in 1965 by a bicycle built in Cologne, Germany, measuring 8 m (26 ft 3 in).

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

With a history of building carnival floats, Ivan embarked upon this project in 2018 to fill his spare time. Needing help to build the behemoth bicycle, he sought out team members at the local carnival in his home village of Prinsenbeek.

“Prinsenbeek is known for its volunteers and high technical employability,” Ivan 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.”

Building the bicycle was a long process, interrupted for nearly two years by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

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

Years of calculations and construction culminated in the official record attempt, where two of the team – one up front steering and another at the back pedalling – rode the bicycle over a 100-metre distance to achieve the Guinness World Records title.

They also achieved another record for the longest tandem bicycle by adding more pedals and completing the distance with multiple riders.

“We left nothing to chance in terms of safety,” Ivan said. “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.