Milos rides high with On The Ropes
- Details
On The Ropes is based in Radevormwald and has been led by owner Hajo Muller since 1995. Their main focus is on the planning and building of rope courses at height that are in-tune with the natural surroundings. They also plan and build climbing walls, adventure stations and customized structures. One of their past standout projects includes the Big TeePee complex, which is the world’s biggest teepee, that was designed and constructed for Expo 2000 in Hannover.
The High Wire Bike project started with a rough concept provided to the A4I Germany office by On The Ropes. With this rough idea in hand, Area Four Industries technical director Norbert Tripp designed a feasible structural solution and carry out all structural calculations in order to bring this concept to life.
The resulting artificial climbing structure, which is for rent and can be temporarily installed for any event, is made with a series of Milos truss A-frames that are 11m high and stabilised with guy wires. The 80m climbing course and bike path are then achieved using two parallel wires that are stretched across the A-frames at more than 8m above the ground. The bottom wire is for climbers to either walk or make the terror-filled bike ride, and the top wire is a safety wire used for securing their climbing harness.
The course starts with climbers going up and across the Burma Bridge to reach the first platform. From this point, the full adrenaline rush starts when it’s necessary to either walk or ride the bike along the wire to get to the course’s exit point for the climb down.
The static calculation observes EN 12572 (Artificial climbing structures - Part 1: Safety requirements and test methods for ACS with protection points) and takes into account the self-weight of the climber/bike rider and a point load of 660kg for the safety wire, for cases where climbers fall and put extra dynamic loading forces on the safety wire.
The safety wire for this bike riding/climbing course features a patented system called Rope Roller, which was invented by Muller. The High Rope Bike system is available for rent from On-The-Ropes.
