Zhang Yali is 49 years old. Three months ago, he suddenly had an idea: to make a super-large bicycle and give it to his son as a gift. "The raw materials for making the bicycle were all purchased from the dismantling market and the antique market," said Zhang Yali. After having the idea, he first began to sketch out the design of the bicycle on paper. Once the drawing was completed, due to insufficient space at home, he started the construction in a fertilizer factory belonging to a friend.
"Cartoons themselves are an exaggerated form of art, so I thought about making a very special large physical object and giving it to my son who works locally," said Zhang Yali. Although the bicycle has already been completed, there are still some details that need to be adjusted. Once it's fully tuned, he plans to ride the bike to Shenzhen and personally hand it over to his son as a way to express his care.
"In order to build this vehicle, my husband quit his job," said Zhang Yali's wife, Mei Jianhua. After having the idea of making the bicycle, her husband resigned from his temporary job and focused entirely on building the bicycle. During the three months of making the bicycle, her husband was busier than when he was working, diligently starting work at 8 a.m. every day at the fertilizer plant and continuing until nightfall before returning home.
"To highlight the size of the bicycle, I specifically bought two front-loader wheels to use as the bicycle's front and rear wheels. The frame is made by welding steel plates piece by piece, the power system is modified using a regular bicycle's pedals, chain, and gears, and the seat is made from an old sofa," said Zhang Yali. The principle of power for this bicycle is similar to that of a regular bicycle; it can be ridden by one person or by three people together, and four or five people can sit on the backseat. The bike is 3.2 meters high, 5.5 meters long, with wheels having a diameter of 1.5 meters, and the total weight of the entire vehicle is around one ton. It took more than three months to complete, costing over 20,000 yuan.
"I plan to ride this bike to Shenzhen next summer and personally deliver it to my son," said Zhang Yali. Due to the large size of the bicycle, if it encounters a steep slope, it will require pushing by hand, and one person alone cannot ride it all the way to Shenzhen. He wants to invite some cartoon enthusiasts and bicycle touring lovers to go to Shenzhen together. Initially, he plans to invite six or seven people to take turns riding the bike.
"I have always liked making things since I was young, and after working, I became a mechanic, which made my desire to make things even stronger," said Zhang Yali. Fifteen years ago, he made a multi-functional exercise bicycle, which had several ways of riding but wasn't as large as this one.
According to reports from Xinwenhua Daily (reporter Yang Jin Hao), at around 10 a.m. on December 25th, inside the courtyard of a fertilizer factory on Xian Road in Chuan Ying District, Jilin City, Zhang Yali was preparing to take a lap around the yard on his self-made "giant" bicycle. Because the bicycle was too large, it was very tiring to ride, and Zhang Yali was already panting heavily after half a lap. "This bike needs further adjustment before it can be ridden on the road," said Zhang Yali.
"My family has never been particularly wealthy, and my husband stopped working to earn money and instead spent money making a bicycle. At first, I did not agree with him and we even argued about it. However, since my husband was doing it for our son, and later seeing his seriousness and enthusiasm for making the bike, I gradually came to support him," said Mei Jianhua.
"The reason I made this bicycle is for my son," said Zhang Yali. His son has always been particularly interested in drawing cartoons, creating a comic book during graduation, and now his work is also related to cartoons. Since his son works far away, he and his family miss him a lot. To enhance his son’s creative inspiration and encourage him to create better works, he made this bicycle.