In the city of Trondheim, Norway lies a hill that’s big and steep enough to deter casual cyclists. To help promote cycling in the city and give the environmentally friendly activity a ‘lift’, a bicycle escalator called the CycloCable was installed.

 

 

The 130 meter-long (427 ft) bike escalator has a maximum capacity of six cyclists per minute and speed of 2 m/s (4-5 mph). The distance between footplates is 20 meters (66 ft). The first prototype was built in 1993 under the name of Trampe (now renamed CycloCable) and during its 15 year operation it pushed more than 200,000 cyclists up the hill in Trondheim known as Brubakken.

 

 

In 2013 the bike escalator was upgraded to meet new safety regulations (it is now certified by the STRMTG (French Aerial Ropeway and Guided Transport Technical Services) in accordance with the European directive 2000/9/CE) and can now be used free of charge. The design was invented by bike enthusiast Jarle Wanvik, who hopes to see more bike escalators installed around the world to help promote casual cycling.

 

 

The Main Machine Structures of the Bike Escalator are: Drive train; Start station and exit station; Rail housing; Soft start launcher; Footplate; Carriages; Operation Panel; Emergency button; and an Electronic command system. You can read more about the technology and how it works here.

 

 

All photographs are courtesy of trampe.no the official website of the CycloCable. Please visit for more information and details on this interesting invention. H/t to JiveMonkey on reddit for the heads up.