GB1376124A - Foldable bicycle frames and bicycles - Google Patents

Abstract

1376124 Foldable bicycles D BEAN 17 Nov 1971 [26 Nov 1970] 56838/70 Heading B7E A foldable bicycle has a frame comprising a handlebar support member 3 on which a sleeve 15 is slidably mounted, a saddle support member 11 provided with a downwardly projecting extension 12 carrying the rear wheel of the bicycle and also with a forwardly projecting strut 21 pivotally connected to the member 3, and a drive means carrying member, e.g. 16-17, of elongate form pivotally connected at one end to the lower end of the extension 12 and at its other end to the sleeve 15 so that by sliding the sleeve 15 in the appropriate direction along the member 3 the bicycle may be disposed in either the unfolded position shown in Fig. 1 or the folded position shown in Fig. 2. In the illustrated embodiment the strut 21 is pivoted to a rearwardly projecting extension 20 of the member 3, and the member 3 has a forked extension 4 carrying the front wheel of the bicycle. The drive means carrying member consists of a tubular tie 16 pivotally connected to a forked tie 17, drive means in the form of pedals and a driving sprocket being mounted at the junction of the ties 16, 17 and being connected by a chain to a driven sprocket on the rear wheel. The distance between the driving and driven sprockets remains constant during folding of the bicycle. The drive means may alternatively consist of a two-stroke combustion engine. A handlebar 1 is fixed to a tube 2 slidable within the member 3 so that the handlebar is height adjustable, and a saddle 8 is similarly mounted on the member 11.