The structures and quality of materials used in elevator technology as well as the control systems and operating systems have improved so much that nowadays it is increasingly more generally possible to implement the kinds of traction sheave elevators in which a counterweight is not used at all. In traction sheave elevators without counterweight, in which there are large travel heights, a number of hoisting ropes must be used to support the elevator car. In these kinds of elevators the hoisting ropes are essentially thick and long and it is essential in respect of elevator operation and safety that the portion of the hoisting ropes of the hoisting roping below the elevator car is kept sufficiently taut. In elevators without counterweight there must also be a rope force compensation appliance, which compensates rope elongations. In these elevator solutions is extremely important that the compensation of rope forces operates properly and reliably. In prior art, a compensating system connected to the hoisting roping is used to compensate the rope forces. One prior-art solution is a compensating system, which comprises a compensation pulley, around which the hoisting ropes are arranged to pass. The compensation pulley must contain an individual rope groove for each hoisting rope, as a result of which the compensation pulley must be made very wide in those types of elevators in which there are a number of essentially thick hoisting ropes. This causes problems in, among others, the aforementioned elevators of large hoisting heights because the wide compensation pulley takes a lot of valuable shaft space in a high shaft and additionally is difficult to situate in a suitable place in connection with the other structures of the elevator.