Cycle Lifts
Cycle parking has moved underground. As stations, interchanges and city-centre developments run out of surface area, secure cycle storage is going below ground or above the concourse — and the moment it does, the ramp problem returns in miniature. A long ramp is unusable with a loaded cargo bike, hostile to a wheeled adaptive cycle, and consumes the same plot the parking was meant to free up.
A cycle lift solves it in a shaft. SERAPID’s Rigid Chain Technology brings to that shaft the same properties it brings to a 60-tonne truck lift: no machine room, a shallow pit, no hydraulic fluid, and no limit on how many times a day it runs.
Why the duty cycle is the whole problem
A cycle lift in a busy station is one of the hardest duties in vertical transport. It is not the load — a cycle and rider is a trivial payload. It is the frequency. Peak-hour demand at a station cycle hub arrives as a continuous stream, and a lift technology that needs pressurisation dwell, or that rejects heat into the shaft under sustained running, will either queue or overheat.
Rigid Chain Technology has no cap on starts and stops per hour and requires no cooling plant even at high duty. That is not an incidental benefit here — it is the reason the technology belongs in this application.
- No machine room and a shallow pit — critical when the shaft is being cut into an existing station box
- Unlimited starts per hour, with no heat rejection into an enclosed underground space
- No hydraulic fluid, and therefore no contamination risk in a shaft that may sit below the water table
- Precise, repeatable landing accuracy without re-levelling — a level threshold is what makes the lift usable with a loaded or adaptive cycle
- Millimetre positioning irrespective of eccentric load, which is what a bike wheeled onto one side of a platform produces
- A purely mechanical drive with minimal maintenance, in a location where access for maintenance is difficult and disruptive
- Station and interchange cycle hubs, above or below the concourse
- Mobility hubs combining cycle parking with car club and micromobility provision
- Underground and podium-level secure cycle stores in commercial and residential development
- Cycle access between street level and elevated or sunken public realm
Where the lift carries cycles only, it is normally delivered under the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC or to EN 81-31, with the shallower pit and reduced headroom that route allows. Where riders travel with their cycles, the lift becomes a passenger lift and the EN 81-20 route applies — with the pit, headroom and enclosure requirements that follow.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the compliance route chosen. A cycles-only lift is simpler and needs less pit and headroom; a lift carrying riders is a passenger lift and must meet the corresponding requirements. This is a decision to make at concept design.
There is no limit on starts and stops per hour, and no heat-removal plant is needed, so sustained peak-period running is a normal duty rather than an exception.
The platform can be sized to the brief, and accurate landing without re-levelling means a level threshold at every stop — which is what makes a lift usable with a long, heavy or non-standard cycle.
The compact mechanical drive and shallow pit make retrofit into constrained existing structures practical. Each case depends on the available shaft and the structure around it.
Partner with SERAPID
Successful lift projects begin with clearly defined responsibilities and the right level of engineering support. Whether you need a standalone Drive Train, a complete Lift Package, or a fully installed Turnkey Lift, SERAPID provides the expertise, technology, and flexibility required to deliver exceptional results.
Our engineering specialists work closely with architects, consultants, contractors, OEMs, and building owners to determine the optimal scope of supply before design and construction begin. By defining the right project boundary early, you can reduce risk, improve coordination, and ensure a smoother path to successful project completion.
Whatever your application, SERAPID offers a lift solution that fits your project — and a scope of supply that fits your team.
Contact SERAPID to define your scope of supply
Discuss your lift project with our engineers and choose the right level of support, from Drive Train to fully commissioned Turnkey Lift.