Hang around bikes long enough, and you’ll probably see a tall bike or two. These creations are exactly as they sound – taller than average bikes, usually cobbled together from multiple donor bikes. Often, tall bikes require a creative solution to starting and stopping, but nothing like the most recent Guinness World Record attempt.
According to Guinness, the record-breaking bike started as a friendly bet made at a pub between Nicolas Barrioz and David Peyrou. The two Frenchmen then set out to build “Starbike”, which is now officially the world’s tallest rideable bike at 25′ 5″ (7.77m), breaking the previous record by 1′ 2″ (36cm).
The massive bike has everything you’d expect from a normal bike, including two wheels, a saddle, a bar, working brakes with brake levers at the bars, and a crank that propels the rear wheel by a massive 53′ chain! To earn the record, the bike had to be ridden a distance of 100 meters. To make sure no one died in the process, David was required to wear a safety harness attached to a zipwire (which Guinness points out did not assist in the cyclist’s balance in any way).
The result is a new Guinness World Record. But for how long?
Read more below.