Designed and built by eight Dutch engineers the world’s longest rideable bicycle is 180 feet long (55.16 meters) roughly the same length as four double-decker buses 39-year-old Ivan Schalk had been thinking about building the world’s longest bicycle since reading about it in a Guinness Book of Records when he was a child but he only embarked upon this project in 2018 He knew it wasn’t the kind of thing he could build himself so he sought the help of like-minded people in his home village of Prinsenbeek which is apparently well-known in the Netherlands for its tech-savvy residents they spent about four years –  not counting the two years of interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic – working on the world’s longest bicycle a metal behemoth that needs at least two riders “I’ve been thinking about the idea for years,” Schalk told Guinness Records “The goal was to break the world record for the longest bicycle in the world we took into account all the rules of Guinness World Records (GWR) when building our bicycle.” But nailing the record was a bit harder than its creators originally thought but they only received confirmation from Guinness around November of last year and it stated that the record was for the world’s longest tandem the team had respected the Guinness record rules for a bicycle a maximum of two people are allowed to sit on the 55.16-meter-long bicycle one at the front at the handlebars and one at the back to pedal Schalk also allowed three other people to sit on the long metal structure connecting the front and the back of the bike but Guinness decided that there were too many people riding the contraption to qualify for the longest bicycle record The team was slightly disappointed by the original decision but they decided to simply take the record for the world’s longest tandem and then go for the record for the world’s largest rideable bicycle as well this time with the required two people on it They recently got the confirmation from Guinness that they are the proud owners of two world records the front and the back sections of the bicycle is where the magic happens as the long section between them is simply rented from a from a metal production company in Breda that specializes in building stages for events while the rest of the bike is going to the local history museum in Prinsenbeek A team of eight from the Netherlands has set a new Guinness World Record (GWR) with the longest bicycle ever made measuring an astonishing 55.16 meters (180 feet 11 inches) the bicycle is about the length of two blue whales or four double-decker buses The previous record was set by Bernie Ryan from Australia in 2020 whose bicycle measured 47.5 meters (155 feet 8 inches) the team was led by 39-year-old Ivan Schalk who has been dreaming of building this remarkable bicycle since he was a child “I’ve been thinking about the idea for years I once received a Guinness World Records book in which I came across this record," he said In the video shared by the official GWT YouTube channel the team is seen meticulously welding and joining parts together to build the incredibly long bike The three-minute-long footage captures a man at the front and five others at the rear all pedalling to move the massive bicycle forward the team also set another record for the longest tandem bicycle by adding more pedals and covering the distance with multiple riders Ivan with experience in building carnival floats began the ambitious project in 2018 as a way to occupy himself in his free time He needed help in building the giant bicycle so he sought help from fellow community members at a local carnival in his home village of Prinsenbeek “Prinsenbeek is known for its volunteers and high technical employability," Ivan said but we’re not like that here in Prinsenbeek We have the technical knowledge and want to apply this knowledge to the maximum," he added The construction process spanned several years and was marked by various challenges with a halt of nearly two years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic Components of the bike such as front and rear parts were produced in-house while the central structure was sourced from a specialised company that manufactures long steel structures The bicycle will now be showcased at the Prinsenbeek Local History Museum It was initially set in 1965 with a bicycle built in Cologne the record has been held by individuals and teams from around the world including New Zealand Australia and two teams from the Netherlands All articles from our websiteThe digital version of Today's PaperBreaking news alerts direct to your inboxAll articles from the other regional websites in your areaContinueIt took a team of eight Dutch engineers to overcome the efforts of 70-year old dad Bernie Ryan from Paynesville in regional Victoria who accomplished the feat alongside his wife and son in 2020 The bike that broke the record measured 55.16 meters was built by a team led by 39-year-old Ivan Schalk in the village of Prinsenbeek Mr Schalk told Guinness World Records he had been planning for the record since he was a child "I once received a Guinness World Records book in which I came across this record," he said Mr Schalk has a history of building carnival floats and embarked on this project in 2018 to fill his spare time but soon sought out others "Prinsenbeek is known for its volunteers and high technical employability," he said A team of eight engineers built the 55.16-meter bike Picture by Unlimited Productions/Facebook"You can hang out in front of the TV but we're not like that here in Prinsenbeek." The COVID-19 pandemic delayed their work by two years with the team building the front and back of the bike and purchasing the centerpiece from a company Picture by Unlimited Productions/FacebookThe team also scored a record for the longest tandem bicycle after adding more pedals and riders to the structure a bicycle is defined as a pedalled vehicle with two wheels steered with handlebars attached to the front wheel Former record holder Victorian man Bernie Ryan claimed the title in 2020 at 70 years old with a bicycle measuring 47.5 meters Bernie Ryan from Paynesville in Victoria was the previous record holder Picture by Guinness World Records/Facebook "I decided to try and break the world record for the longest bike after watching the present record holders on the Internet," Mr Ryan said at the time An engineer advised him to build a triangular beam which he then improved with a box truss frame "I started off with seven sections and had an accident when the wind blew it over I decided to remove one section - it behaved much better!" Mr Ryan's 2020 record was set with his son Trent on the pedals and wife Ruth steering the mammoth vehicle READ MORE: 'Glugly' pooch wins World's Ugliest Dog Ayden is the morning news editor for ACM's national digital team. Do you have a story that should be told? Email him at ayden.dawkins@austcommunitymedia.com.au Sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date We care about the protection of your data. Read our Privacy Policy