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Further to my post yesterday on Cycling in Norway, I want to share an interesting piece of bicycle equipment with you. \u00a0The sykkel heis\/trampe<\/strong> (bicycle elevator\/lift) was invented in Trondheim, Norway in 1993 and is currently the only one of it’s kind in the world. \u00a0Why Trondheim, you might wonder?<\/p>\n 1) \u00a0Trondheim is a university city with over 30,000 students.<\/p>\n 2) \u00a0Trondheim, like many other Norwegian cities is very hilly.<\/p>\n 3) \u00a0Jarle Wanvik, the inventor of the sykkel heis<\/strong> and owner of the company that built it, Design Management AS, is from Trondheim!<\/p>\n Wanvik wanted to use ski lift technology to design a machine that would increase the number of cyclists and frequency of cycling, while addressing the commuters\u00b4challenge of enduring sweat and overexertion on the way to work or school. Nobody wants to show up to work or to school all sweaty and exhausted. \u00a0The University of Trondheim is at the top of a large hill, so most of the students have to climb that hill on a daily basis to get to class.<\/p>\n In order to use the lift, one must obtain a key card from the nearby bicycle repair shop. \u00a0The cost is 100 NOK per year. \u00a0Tourists and one-time users can rent a card for free. \u00a0The lift is about 130 meters (400 feet long) long. \u00a0The maximum length of a bicycle lift is 400 meters (about 1200 feet). \u00a0The speed of the lift is 1.5-2 meters per second. \u00a05 cyclists can use the lift at the same time. \u00a0Please see the technical explanation from the official website<\/a> here:<\/p>\n It consists of a wire rope with 11 foot plates attached to the rope. On its way downhill, the foot plates are cleaning the lift channel. At the starting point, there is an accelerator (kind of piston) to make the start easier. The foot plate takes over the cyclist after the accelerator. At the top of the hill, you find the 5,5 kW electric motor.<\/em><\/p>\n After the sykkel heis<\/strong> was installed, bicycling in Trondheim became more and more popular. \u00a0Over 220,000 people have used it! And over 20 million NOK have been spent over the past 20 years in the city of Trondheim to encourage bicycling as a mode of transport. \u00a0The official site <\/a>of the Trampe is a very informative site that I enjoyed perusing. You will find many photos, videos, the history of Trampe, User instructions, and more.<\/p>\n Watch this great You Tube Clip on the Sykkel heis<\/strong>