Getting a bike up a hill can take a lot of effort, and whether you’re cycling or pushing, it’s a tiring process. One commuter, fed up with riding up a particularly vicious hill, has developed an innovative solution – the world’s first bike escalator.
The escalator, located in the Norwegian city of Trondheim, is 130m long and runs up a gradient of 10-18 degrees. Tired cyclists just need to put on leg on the platform near the kerb to get pushed up the hill at 5 mph, or 1.5m per second.
The escalator - or Trampe Lift as it was originally called - was built in 1993 by Jarle Wanvik, a commuter fed up of arriving at work hot and tired after riding up the hill every day.
Five people can use it simultaneously and they don’t have to be riding bikes – it can also be used for pushchairs and scooters.
So popular was the escalator, carrying 200,000 cyclists over its first 20 years in operation, that it was refurbished and renamed the CycloCable in 2013.
Norwegian bike escalator scales new heights of popularity - BT
