GB2495297A

GB2495297A - Cycling shoe cleat protector

Info

Publication number: GB2495297A
Application number: GB201117077A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Gary Keith Jarvis
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-10-04
Filing date: 2011-10-04
Publication date: 2013-04-10
Also published as: GB201117077D0

Abstract

A protective flip-flop style cycling secondary shoe 3, which attaches to a cycling shoe and protects the shoes' cleats 4 from damage when the cycling shoes are used for walking. The secondary shoe may be held in place by friction, or by using a strap (7, fig.3). There may be an open hole (16, fig.7) passing right through the secondary shoe, to allow access to the cleat, allowing the secondary shoe to remain attached to the shoes whilst the bicycle is being ridden. The secondary shoe may be in the form of an overshoe (17, fig.8), with an open hole allowing the overshoe to be worn during riding.

Description

Cycling Shoe Cleat Protector That Aids Walking Clipless cycling pedals require a special purpose-built cycling shoe with a cleat fitted to the sole. This cleat locks into a mechanism in the pedal holding the shoe firmly to the pedal. Most designs of road cycling shoe have a rigid and inflexible sole, bent slightly at the ball of the foot. These shoes are designed to frmnction while the user is on the bike and little attention is paid to off-bike use. Consequently walking in road cycling shoes can be difficult and can cause damage to thc cleat itself To address this problem this invention presents an additional protective flip-flop style shoe which attaches to the bottom of the cycling shoe. Due to the various different designs of cycling shoe, it is the principle of the idea that is being presented here rather than a specific design. An example using a typical 3 pin mounted cleat is now described with the aid of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1: Side view of cycle flip-flop showing attachment to a typical road cycling shoe.

Figure 2: Top, Side and Bottom view of cycle flip-flop.

Figure 3: Design showing extra hook-and-loop fabric fastener band attachment for an even more secure fastening.

Figure 4: Diagram showing a holder for carrying cycle flip flops whilst bicycle is in use that makes use of the water bottle holder connectors found on most modern bicycles.

Figure 5: Diagram showing an alternate holder for carrying cycle flip flops whilst bicycle is in use that is made of fabric and may attach to the bicycles top tube.

Figure (3: Top, Side and Bottom view of alternate cycle flip-flop design which is attached to the cycling shoe via a strap as in Figure 3 but has a larger hole cut completely through the flip flop. This allows attachment to the bicycle pedal even whilst wearing the flip flop. Note that the strap for attachment to shoe has been left off this diagram.

Figure 7: Design as shown in Figure 6 illustrating shoe aftachment.

Figure 8: Cycling shoe overshoe incorporating flip-flop design shown in Figure 6 as an extra sole.

The flip flop shown in Figures 1 and 2 is similar to a normal flip flop without the thong part. instead, the upper layers of the flip flop have an insert section (5) which the cleat (4) squashes into (6). The very top layers (I) have a smaller hole than the layers immediately below (2) to allow the flip flop material to squash around the cleat and hold it firmly to the shoe. The flip-flop could be made out of Ethylene Vinyl Acetatc (EVA) or similar. This material is foam like and would provide good

I

cushioning for the wearer and would also be able to squash around the cleat and hold the shoe firmly in place via friction. As this material is also flexible, the flip flop will bend naturally to the shape of the bottom of the shoe (6). For ease of manufacture, the flip flop may be made in three layers with a tougher more hard wearing material as the bottom layer (3). Note this design could easily be adapted to the various different designs of cleat available.

For additional security against the flip flop being knocked off which may be required over more rugged terrain, a strap (7) inserted between the layers may be added to the design to firmly hold the flip-flop to the cycling shoe as illustrated in Figure 3. This strap may employ a hook and loop style faster as shown in the figure (7) or a simple buckle arrangement.

This strap attachment could also be used to conveniently attach the shoes to the bicycle whilst the bicycle is in use. Alternatively, two different types of holder are also presented which can be used to keep the flip-flops with the bicycle whilst it is being ridden. The holder shown in Figure 4 will fit in the usual place where bottle holders fit via the usual screw mounting points (8) and conveniently can also receive attachment of a standard bottle holder (9). An alternative type of holder is shown in Figure 5. This design basically consists of two pockets (10 & 11) on a larger rectangular piece of fabric into which the cycle flip flops (12) can be slotted. The large piece of fabric can then be folded in half over the top bar of the bicycle (13) and sandwiched back together and held in place by hook and loop fabric fasteners (14).

An additional loop, also employing hook and loop fasteners, can then either be wrapped around the handle bar stem (15) or the seat post stem to prevent the holder moving from side to side when the bicycle is in motion.

A third variation of the cycle flip flop design is shown in Figures 6 and 7 and utilises the strap of the second design (7) as the primary mechanism of attachment to the shoe.

In this design, the hole where the cleat goes is made larger than the cleat itself and all layers are cut through (16). The thickness of the flip flop is such that when walking, the cleat is not in contact with the ground thus protecting it. Nowever, as the cleat is now accessible, it can be used normally to attach to the bicycle pedal. Thus the user would not need to remove the cycle flip flops to ride the bicycle.

This third variation of the design could also be used in conjunction with an overshoe (17) typically worn during the winter as shown in Figure 8. In this case the flip-flop would become an integral part of the overshoe which would fasten to the cycling shoe via a zipper (18) and not require a separate strap.

Claims

<claim-text>Claims 1. A flip-flop style secondary shoe for attachment to cycling shoes to ease walking and protect the shoe's cleat.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. A flip-flop style secondary shoe as in claim 1 with an additional strap for a stronger attachment to the shoe.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. A holder for carrying the shoes described in claims 1 and 2 that utilises the bottle holder screws found on most bicycles.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. An alternate holder for carrying the shoes described in claims 1 and 2 that is made of fabric and can be folded and sandwiched together and fastened with hook and loop fabric fasteners over the bicycle's top tube with an additional hook and loop fabric fastener attaching around either the handle bar stem or the scat post stem.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. A flip-flop style secondary shoe as [n claim 2 that has a hole cut right through the flip flop so that the cleat can be accessed and attached to the bicycle pedals, consequently allowing the cycle flip flops to be worn whilst the bicycle is being ridden.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. An overshoe incorporating the base of the flip flop described in claim 5 that can be worn over the top of the cycling shoe.</claim-text>