272km/h on a Bicycle! Elias Schwärzler's Guinness World Record Captured by Insta360

In June 2022, German MTB rider Elias Schwärzler smashed the Guinness World Record for fastest ever standard bicycle towed by a motorbike, hitting an insane top speed of 272km/h (169mph). Thanks to support from Insta360’s Think Bold Fund, he captured and shared all the full-throttle action as it happened. This is how it went down:

A ride on the world's fastest towed bicycle.

Having already set the world record a year previously, Schwärzler knew just how tough it would be to go even faster than his previous speed of 221km/h (137mph). He would need to push his bike, tires and mind to new limits. The MTB rider gave himself the best possible chance by having a SCOTT Gambler 900 mountain bike custom built especially for the occasion. 

Months of planning and testing came down to one day. Schwärzler headed down to the Lausitzring in Germany knowing that he would have to hit top speed and decelerate safely in just 2.1km of track. Tied to the back of Geri Gesslbauer's motorbike with an 8 meter long rope, he smashed the old record, reaching a phenomenal 272km/h.

Small cameras for big moments.

While Schwärzler and Gasslbauer made the action happen on the track, Insta360 was there to capture all the excitement of the big day. Both riders had the new Insta360 ONE RS with the 4K Boost Lens mounted to their helmets to capture the action in sharp 4K, and an Insta360 ONE X2 was mounted to the motorbike’s tail to record in epic 5.7K 360. 

Insta360’s 360 capture and reframing technology meant Schwärzler could fully focus on his record-breaking ride. After the event, he could use the Insta360 app to choose the best angles to share with his more than 300k Instagram followers.

Making history with the Think Bold Fund.

The record breaking ride came about after Schwärzler applied to Insta360’s Think Bold Fund. “Insta360 helped me with the cool Fund to make the project reality”, he said about the collaboration. 

The Think Bold Fund was set up to support creators in realizing their creative visions, by turning bold ideas into reality with the help of sponsorship, equipment and up to US$100,000. With the next round of submissions opening August 30th, Schwärzler’s dream definitely won’t be the only one to become reality.

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