Norway adds bicycle trams to help cyclists up hills
Click on the drawing to go see a video of the bicycle tram in action
On RocketBoom the other day, Joanne mentioned a Norwegian city that has bicycle trams to help people climb hills. Norway is a very mountainous country and riding a bicycle can be very difficult in many cities. The city of Trondheim has spent a lot of money on a network of bike trails to encourage people to ride instead of drive. The first bike tram opened in 1993 on a particularly steep hill, and has assisted more than 220,000 people up the hill. The rider puts a foot on down on the lift and it pushes the rider and bike up the hill. Devices like this could be very useful in places like San Francisco or cities in the Pacific Northwest.
[Source: RocketBoom]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 3:50PM (1/28/2007)
This is a fantastic idea. Looks like fun too.
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small-wee-wee 6:06PM (1/28/2007)
Video on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1PgmMbug8
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Benson Leung 10:46PM (1/28/2007)
Not a bad idea, but people should just tough it out and climb the hill. Work those muscles!
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Sebastian 12:51AM (1/29/2007)
It's difficult to tough it out after a hard day of work or if you don't want to arrive at work drenched with sweat.
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MikeW 3:03PM (1/30/2007)
How much$?
I'd pay one penny per hill.
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CM 10:39PM (2/02/2007)
I noticed in the video how the tramline went in front of several driveways, and wondered what security measures were in place for people backing cars out of their driveways and across the tramline. Does it alert drivers to someone coming up the hill? Does it stop the tramline if something (like a car) is across the line?
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Design Management 2:29PM (3/12/2007)
Car drivers comming out of their driveways have to look out for any upcomming cyclists. We could have installed a warning system (flashing lights by the driveways) to warn the car drivers when the lift is in operation.
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