Man Invents Bicycle elevator, lets You Cycle Up To 30-Foot High Treehouse in 30 Seconds

Grown tired of climbing a 30-foot ladder to his treehouse, Ethan Schlussler decided he needed to invent something that could take him up in a fraction of the time.

The inventive 22-year-old from Sandpoint, Idaho, quickly hit upon about the idea of developing a bicycle-powered ‘elevator’ which now allows him to pedal himself up in 30 seconds flat.

Once Ethan had hit upon the ingenious idea, it took him a couple of attempts to get his unusual elevator just right.

After developing the basic idea in his head, Schlussler set about modifying his bicycle by welding pieces of scrap metal to the frame so he could attach points and pulleys.

‘After the first trial run, it became clear that the gear ratio was not nearly low enough, as I could not even pedal it up the tree at all.’
‘First, I changed the gear ratio on the bicycle by swapping a large front sprocket to the rear, which was still not quite easy enough to pedal, so I added a pulley into the system to gain a bit more [mechanical] advantage,' he said.

'Once I had the counterweight adjusted, it worked better than I could have hoped.'

To counterweight the bicycle, Schlussler has used an old water heater tank which can be adjusted by simply adding or removing water.

The process of constructing the bicycle elevator took less than a week.

Schlussler is still finishing construction on his tree house that he can now more easily access via his bicycle. He plans to install walls and insulation in the next few weeks, with the ultimate goal of sleeping and, perhaps eventually, living full-time in his 30-foot high outdoor home.