Bicycle powered treehouse elevator

Ethan created a new and funny way to reach his own treehouse, he made a video and suddenly a lot of people saw it.
I had the honor to interview him, let’s read what he said about it!

Hello Ethan, could you present yourself to the readers who doesn’t know you yet?
Hello!!! I live in Sandpoint, Idaho, and I am 22 years old. I have a degree in photography, but I currently work for a neighbor doing construction, landscaping, and heavy equipment operation.

How did you have the idea of bicycle powered treehouse elevator? What inspired you?
The idea for the bicycle elevator came about during a conversation with a friend about different types of ladders and other ways to get into the tree house. As soon as we came up with the idea, I knew I had to make it a reality because of how fantastically awesome it could be.

How did you manage it? Did you make it alone or with someone else?
It took a lot of thinking and engineering to take it from an idea to a functioning elevator. I had to devise a counterweight and stabilization system, and modify the gearing of the bicycle to make pedaling easier. A few of the ideas came from my friend, but I did all the actual fabrication and modification.

Could you describe the treehouse? Did you make it? Which is the main use of it?
The tree house is hexagonal in shape, roughly 13 feet (4 meters) across, and roughly 28 feet (8.5 meters) above the ground. It is attached to the tree only by the power of friction and pressure; there are no nails, bolts, or screws into the tree. I have built it entirely by myself in the last three and a half months. I also milled all the lumber myself, from trees I harvested on the land where the tree house is built. In the next few weeks and months I will be building walls and insulating the tree house, so that I can sleep in it during the winter. It is not large enough for a complete house, but I do intend to sleep in the tree house most of the time.

Your video on youtube has been seen more than one million times, did you expect this “record”?
I made the video for friends and family to see. I expected that a few other people would watch it, but I never thought it would get a million views in a week. I have been completely astounded by the amount of attention it has been receiving.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5FSWkjFPxs&w=600&h=350]

Have you had already another project in your mind?
Obviously my first project will be finishing the tree house, but after that I all sorts of other ideas… if I have time and money. I would eventually like to expand the tree house, or build another one so that I can have a more complete house. I would also like to add a zip-line out of the treehouse, possibly with another bicycle powered device on it to get back up to the tree house.

Thank you Ethan for your time and your kindness, I’ll wait for your updates, meanwhile enjoy your invention and your treehouse!

For further information and to take a look at his others interesting videos, just take a look at his page on YouTube!

More pics in the gallery below.

Pics by Ethan Schlussler