World's longest bike tops 117 feet, doesn't turn corners well
It took a whole lot of aluminum to build the world's longest bike, but the record is already under threat.
There's a real working bicycle out there that makes even the world's longest stretch limousine feel a little inadequate.
The Guinness World Record holder for longest car is a 100-foot-long (30.5-meter) limo. The new Guinness World Record for longest bicycle belongs to a 117.5-foot-long (35.79-meter) two-wheeled behemoth.
Guinness uploaded a video about the bike on Tuesday. Dutch cycling group Mijl Van Mares Werkploeg built the beast using aluminum trusses like you'd see in the lighting rigs at a theater or arena. The trusses are sturdy enough to support the pedal-powered vehicle without sagging onto the ground.
The stretch bike has just two wheels. There are no training wheels or other gadgets used to keep it upright, just the sense of balance of the two riders. One rider sits at the front to steer while the other straddles the back and handles the pedaling duty.
An extra-fat back wheel helps the bike stay steady. The contraption can move pretty well on a flat, straight road, but it really isn't built for turning around corners. The trusses can be disassembled for storage, so it doesn't require the world's biggest bike rack to put it up for the night.
Guinness fame can be fleeting, however. While the Dutch bike has secured a spot in the Guinness World Records book for 2016, it already has a challenger for a place in the 2017 book. A group from Australia built a nearly 136-foot-long (41.42-meter) bike that can carry a 20-person pedaling crew. If the Dutch group wants to retain the record, it will need to figure out how to add another truss or two to its super-stretch bike.