What happens when you cross a zip line with a roller coaster? You get the “Rollglider,” a new style of zip-line ride that is gaining popularity across the globe.
According to the manufacturer, the Rollglider fuses the “thrill of free fall and hand gliding with a 3D curved line” — a tube made of stainless or hot dip galvanized steel (it’s strong stuff).
Different models can seat riders in seated, “Superman” or tandem positions. While theoretically the trolleys can reach a top speed of 60 mph, the suggested max speed is a more family-friendly 31 mph. The zip-line length can range from 360-600 feet, with rides typically lasting about a minute.
To call this outdoor Rollglider in Bulgaria “immersive” would be an understatement. The twisted tube allows an interaction with the environment that is nearly impossible when dealing with a straight zip line.
I would also liken Rollgliders to a suspended-style alpine coaster. One of these would make a great addition to the Smoky Mountain-area alpine coasters.
The indoor Rollgliders are just as impressive as their outdoor counterparts.
Rollgliders seem like the perfect addition to an indoor “action park,” like the one seen above that weaves around rock-climbing walls and a ropes course.
That use would also work perfectly in an outdoor setting.
Rollgliders are currently in countries across the globe including Bulgaria, Malaysia, Russia, Finland and Japan. And more are in the pipeline for countries like China and Kuwait. Hopefully we’ll see one in North America in the near future.
See a video of an outdoor Rollglider installation below:
And an indoor version here:
To learn more, visit the Rollglider website.
Have you ridden a Rollglider — what did you think? And where would you like to see another Rollglider built? Let us know in the comments section below.
I could see theme/amusement parks getting this type of attraction… more than likely, roll-glider would be an upcharge attraction, like the sky-coaster, go-kart, zip-line, and sling-shot attractions. It’d be interesting to see which North American park will be first to get this type of attraction.
would you like to send me specification, from pipe that use to the line until troley that you use too ?
I rode something like this at Ventura Park in Mexico but nobody knows anything about it – it was obviously a roller coaster (had a lift hill, track, etc…) but not even the park (I emailed them) knows who built it, only the length and model (called a zip coaster). Anyone know anything about it?