Country dad loses grip of bike world record

It 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.

"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.

The team also scored a record for the longest tandem bicycle after adding more pedals and riders to the structure.

For 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.

Former record holder Victorian man Bernie Ryan claimed the title in 2020 at 70 years old with a bicycle measuring 47.5 meters.

"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. It twisted and bent. 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.

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