Built in 1993 and remodeled in 2013, the Cycle Cable is 130 meter long route that allows cyclists to cruise up a gradient of between 10-18 degrees at a speed of 1.5 meters a second. The contraption is best described as a foot rest on a razed sidewalk platform. Once you pull up, you lean your bike over and rest your drive side foot on the platform to cruise pleasantly up hill.
Some purists might decry that getting a lift to the top is cheating, but they probably don’t live in San Francisco….
Mudrock: Yes, Germans are funny, but that’s a bit off topic, isn’t it?
Aaron: Scandinavians are not that litigious, we tend to rely more on common sense, and when that fails, socialized healthcare. I guess the blooper reel would tell us how this fares in terms of common sense, but seems pretty safe to me.
What a misserable bunch of comments so far. Yes, it’s a bit clunky but it clearly works for the folks there. If it removes the excuse ‘but there’s a big hill’ and gets more people on bikes then surely it’s something good?
As for this ellietist crap – not everybody is young and fully active. Maybe they don’t want to turn up at work dripping with sweet and clad in bike gear. If it means somebody can use a standard bike and not resort to an e-bike or some fosil burning alternative then why the hell do you care? Ride past them on your carbon mega bike flexing your big thighs if it helps your ego – I’d have a go just for novelty value… and the fact I’m not that good at hills on my 32lb commuter.
This system is meant for those cycle commuters who want to get from the bottom to the top without arriving sweaty and tired. The hill in the video is indeed not that long or steep, but the people behind it say it’ll work at up to a 20 degree angle for up to 500 metres. That may be a walk in the park for some, but there are fewer who could do it without breaking a sweat. The system on display is an upgraded version of an older system, hence why it is raised. The makers claim it can be set into the road surface. As for the blooper reel – they claim the system has carried hundreds of thousands of people up this hill since 1993 with zero accidents.
Their website is http://trampe.no/en/home in case you’re interested. And no, I’m not in any way affiliated or associated with them – just an interested reader!
Anything that helps regular folks utilize bikes for daily transportation needs is a good thing. If we pull the need for “training” out of the utility bike world and provide effort reduction systems like this, how many more people would utilize bikes as an every day transportation option?
Travellators in airports, escalators, elevators lifts for downhill bikes and skiers, verniculars, these should all be banned because you’re a bike snob ? Oh, wait, they’re all machines to propel humans just like that two wheeled thing called a bike, with gears to make it easier …
if it gets people on bikes, it’s good. Enough.
If bike lifts and e-bikes can get more people out of their car and onto a bike seat, I say go for it. It should be possible to use a bike for transport without having to exercise all the time. Complaining about this ruining cycling is like complaining about people walking to work ruining it for those who choose to run to the office.
A big aspect of this lift was also as a proof of concept and to get publicity and increase awareness on cycling, it is not like this hill is impossible to climb on a cheap bicycle. Like mentioned, not a single serious accident has been reported (I go up this hill dailly).
