How it works
A zipline, or zip line, is a pulley on a sloping cable that carries a rider downhill by gravity. This drawing names six parts of the whole line, then four fittings at the end of the cable.
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The line, then how it is fixed
The cable runs from a platform at the high end down to the low end, and it always sags a little. A trolley rolls along it on its wheels. The rider wears a harness and a helmet, and a carabiner clips the harness to the trolley. At the end, the cable is turned back round a thimble and held to itself by cable clamps. The loop hangs on a turnbuckle, and the turnbuckle on an eyebolt through the tree. Turning the turnbuckle tightens the cable.
- Trolley or pulley? Both names are used. The trolley is the whole block; its wheels are the pulleys.
- The thimble sits inside the loop. The clamps sit on the doubled cable next to it.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a zipline called?
A cable, a trolley that rolls along it, and a harness joined to the trolley by a carabiner. The cable ends are fixed with eyebolts, a turnbuckle, a thimble and cable clamps. Many lines start from a platform.
What is the thing that rolls on a zipline called?
A trolley, also called a pulley. Its wheels run on top of the cable, and the rider hangs below it, held on or clipped on.
What does a turnbuckle do on a zipline?
It sets the tension. A turnbuckle is a screw fitting between the end of the cable and its anchor. Turning it draws the two ends together, which tightens the cable.
What is another name for a zipline?
It is also written zip line and zip-line, and called a zip-wire. In Australia, New Zealand and Scotland a small one is often called a flying fox.