With the annual Tour Down Under cycling race currently taking place in Adelaide, Australia, we’ve dipped into our extensive video library to find footage of the world’s Longest bicycle – a record that was set during the 2015 event.

Gas and oil company Santos and the University of South Australia built a 41.42 m (135 ft 10.7 in) long bicycle - that’s approximately twice the length of a bowling lane!

Guinness World Records required the constructors to prove that the bike can travel a minimum of 100 meters, without riders touching the ground.

Mastering balance and control on such a long and heavy vehicle is not easy though, with the riders toppling over on their first attempt.

"Besides damaged pride and a couple of scratches, there were no serious injuries," wrote Victoria Fielding in the official record application.

The seven riders got back on the bike and managed to travel the distance on their second try on 17 January 2015.

Riding the longest bicycle

It took the team nine months of planning and development to get to this record-breaking stage.

"Constructing a fully working bicycle longer than three buses is an ambitious engineering project," - Victoria Fielding.

She said that the design became a project for the second-year mechanical engineering students from the university.

Its features included a metal frame, two wheels and handlebars; crucially, no stabilizers were allowed!

Aside from the length, it operates in the same way as a regular bicycle – powered by riders using pedals and a chain.

Riding the longest bicycle 2

Previously the record was held by the Mijl Van Mares Werkploeg from the Netherlands. Our video of their 35.79 m (117 ft 5 in) long bicycle has been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube.

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To find out about the latest record breaking achievements, order a copy of Guinness World Records 2018.