GB2585636A - Handlebar assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A handlebar assembly including an arm rest 22, a pole clamp 26 for receiving an elongate pole 23. At least one spacer element (25, 28) configured to, in use impart an angle of tilt on the arm rest and a height adjustment on the arm rest relative to a base bar of a bicycle. The spacer element may comprise at least one slotted opening (21, figure 3) configured for receiving a fastener element extendable from a base bar of a bicycle and accommodating a range of bolt centre distances. There may be at least two openings through the at least one spacer, at least one of the two openings being the slotted opening. The handlebar assembly including a third opening (32, figure 3) for receiving a cable. There may be a bolt extending through the arm rest, pole clamp and received in a threaded portion of an upper spacer element. Fastening the bolt may provide a clamping force upon a pole extending through the pole clamp.

Description

Intellectual Property Office Application No. GII1908509.1 RTM Date:22 October 2020 The following terms are registered trade marks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document:

ENVE

Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.gov.uk/ipo Handlebar Assembly The invention relates to a handlebar assembly, such as used in connection with racing bicycles.

Background to the invention

Figure 1 shows a prior art arrangement for a handlebar setup 10 on a time trial or triathlon bike. This is commonly comprised of a base bar 11 that is semi integrated into the bicycle frame (not shown) with arm rests 12 (e.g. shown in a flat orientation) and so-called "ski poles" 13 mounted on top of the base bar, to be gripped at a distal end 14 during use.

Adjustment/customisation is very important for an athlete so spacers 15 are usually fitted above the base bar 11 and below the arm rest 12 to provide a measure of vertical height adjustment by choosing the number of spacers in use. Furthermore, when bolts are loosened on a clamp arrangement 16 proximate the arm rest 12 for receiving a ski pole 13, this provides a useful function to slide ski poles fore and aft, hence a measure of horizontal adjustment to the length of a rider's arm.

One of the limits of the conventional system is that the arm rest 12 tends to be flat as shown. In recent years the inventor has identified an improvement in rider position and aerodynamic performance by rotating/tilting the arm rest and ski pole. In 2012 a handlebar system was introduced in conjunction with an US company called ENVE featuring a capability to rotate the assembly and provided a mechanism so that the rider could roll the ski pole and arm rest up to 15 degrees from horizontal. This proved to be a useful product, but the increased vertical height needed for the mechanism made the arm rest too high for some riders, and the inevitable flex in the mechanism caused issues with stiffness. Furthermore, this bespoke solution did not fit all bicycles.

Summary of the invention

The present invention seeks to provide a handlebar assembly that mitigates identified shortcomings in the prior art or at least provides riders with an alternative construction.

In a broad aspect the invention provides a handlebar assembly according to claim 1 of the appended claims. The handlebar assembly includes an arm rest, a pole clamp for receiving an elongate pole therethrough; and at least one spacer element having at least one slotted opening therethrough configured for receiving a fastener element extendable from a base bar of a bicycle and accommodating a range of bolt centre distances.

A second aspect of the invention independently features at least one spacer element configured to, in use, impart an angle of tilt on the armrest and height adjustment relative to a base bar of a bicycle. In one form the spacer has a wedge configuration. An effective angle of the wedge shape is 5 to 25 degrees.

In further forms there are at least two openings through the at least one spacer, at least one of the two openings being a slotted opening. There may also be a third opening for receiving a cable therethrough. The capability to thread a cable through the assembly is advantageous because such a "hidden" configuration has no impact on airflow over and around the assembly.

In one form the assembly is sandwiched together by a bolt extending through the arm rest, pole clamp and received in a threaded portion of an upper spacer element of the at least one spacer elements, wherein a fastening torque on the bolt provides a clamping force, in use, upon a pole extending through the pole clamp.

In one form the spacer element includes a recessed portion dimensioned for locating and housing a nut associated with the fastener element.

The assembly may feature one or more additional spacer elements configured with a uniform cross section so as to adjust relative height of the arm rest relative to the base bar, but not adjust the relative angle.

The assembly may be supplied as a kit of parts comprising an arm rest, pole clamp and a plurality of spacer elements, e.g. wherein at least some of the plurality of spacer elements are wedge-shaped with varying wedge angles.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 represents an example of prior art handlebar assembly; Figure 2 illustrates a side elevation exploded view of components for a handlebar assembly according to the present invention; and Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the configuration from Figure 2.

Detailed description of the invention

The following description presents an exemplary embodiment and, together with the drawings, serves to explain principles of the invention. However, the scope of the invention is not intended to be limited to the precise details of the embodiments, since variations will be apparent to a skilled person and are deemed also to be covered by the description. Terms for components used herein should be given a broad interpretation that also encompasses equivalent functions and features. In some cases several alternative terms (similes) for structural features have been provided but such terms are not intended to be exhaustive.

Descriptive terms should also be given the broadest possible interpretation; e.g. the term "comprising" as used in this specification means "consisting at least in part of' such that interpreting each statement in this specification that includes the term "comprising", features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present. Related terms such as "comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in the same manner. Directional terms such as "vertical", "horizontal", "up", "down", "upper" and "lower" are used for convenience of explanation usually with reference to the illustrations and are not intended to be ultimately limiting if an equivalent function can be achieved with an alternative dimension and/or direction.

The description herein refers to an embodiment with particular combinations of features, however, it is envisaged that further combinations and cross-combinations of compatible features with further embodiments will be possible. Indeed, isolated features may function independently as an invention from other features and not necessarily require implementation as a complete combination.

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, a handlebar assembly 20 according to the invention aims to offer a universal solution for any base bar (not shown).

Since there is no industry standard for the bolt center distance C indicated in Figure 2 in connection with bolts B, the assembly features an intermediate slotted shim 25 that offers versatility for fitting the shim (via floating fasteners, e.g. square nuts 29) to any base bar with a bolt center distance between, for example, 25mm and 45mm. Slots 27 are visible in Figure 3 to accommodate the range of distances and, indeed, bolt widths. In the illustrated embodiment there are two slots 27 but it is noteworthy than only one is required to perform the invention. One opening may be a circular bore while a second slotted opening or channel provides for accommodating a range of bolt centre distances C. Although, in this form the single slot would need to be relatively longer in order to accommodate the same range as two slots.

According to one preferred form of the invention the rider can choose different angles of the uppermost shim 28 to ultimately tailor the angle of the arm rest 22 and ski pole 23 to their needs.

Shims 28 may be offered in a range of angles, e.g. 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 degrees. It is noteworthy that while the uppermost shim 28 has a wedge appearance to replace the conventional flat spacer and enable tilting of the arm rest and ski pole to a required angle, each of the shims may be configured to incrementally adjust the angle. For example, three 5 degree shim/wedges would provide a total 15 degrees adjustment. Alternative combinations/configurations may be possible to achieve the desired tilt.

Other aspects of the assembly may be analogous to the prior art of Figure 1 or involve updated solutions. For example, a guide wire or deformable element 31 is shown, to be threaded through a rear slot/opening of a shim spacer 25, 28. Such a cable or wire 31 may connect a gear shifter to be located at a distal end of the pole. Furthermore, when an angle of pole 23 is set, bolts 30 extend through a rigid portion of arm rest 22 and thread through the pole clamp 26, to be tightened into threaded openings 32 (in dotted detail in Figure 2) of the upper shim. Accordingly, bolts 30 hold the main structures of the armrest/clamp and shim tower together. A soft upper portion of the arm rest 22 is then inserted over the bolt heads to avoid direct contact of a rider therewith. An end cap 33 may be inserted into a trimmed proximate end of the ski pole 13 when assembled.

Internal research has shown that it is very important for the geometry of the arm rest pad and wrist point to be tailored to the rider. In other words, the bike and handlebar is adjusted to fit the rider rather than the rider adjusting his/her position to match the bike/handlebar system available to 30 them.

The obvious solution to the problem of customisation is to provide a range of ski poles with different angles (formed into or cumulative somewhere along its length) in order to achieve an optimal rider position. Indeed, there are a range of products on the market that offer various ski pole angles (typically 15 to 50 degrees) and also rotational devices that allow angle adjustment of the bar and pad (e.g. 0 to 15 degrees). However, where the present invention differs is that it is the system that implements a range of angles, via the shims, to rotate the ski pole 23 and arm rest 12 to an appropriate angle.

The handlebar assembly according to the invention is therefore a distinct improvement over known prior art, e.g. which uses a rotational mechanism and tends to add too much height /weight, can lack stiffness and has poor aerodynamics. A fixed solution according to the invention is simple but unique compared to the prior art.

A particular consideration of the new system is that the ski pole sits directly under a rider's forearm rather than the prior art example where the ski pole only makes contact at the hand. The invention enables riders to have an assembly achieving forearm contact which is otherwise only possible with a one piece mold customised to the rider.

For the ergonomics described herein to work correctly it is important that the angle of the pad and a flat section of the ski pole (close to the elbow) are aligned. This aspect is achieved by the solution described herein because this shape of ski pole can work with an array of shim angles in order for it to function correctly. In general the illustrated ski pole design may not work with a conventional horizontal pole clamp.

Each handlebar (e.g. a pair of mirror image assemblies as illustrated upon one bike) is primarily implemented in two steps, firstly assembly of the "tower" on the basebar, fitted by: 1. Removing existing ski poles and shims leaving a blank basebar with a 012 cable (31) coming through the basebar; 2. Selecting capheads/bolts supplied with the bike that are the correct length for the spacers/angled shim(s); 3. Threading the 012 cable through the rear slot of the shims (25, 28); 4. Positioning square nuts (29) into corresponding housing on angled shim; 5. Tightening the capheads to a required torque, e.g. an M5 caphead to 5Nm or M6 caphead to 6Nm.

Secondly, fitting of armrests and ski poles by: 1. Drilling arm rest (22) at appropriate position according to conventional fitting instructions; 2. Fitting the pole clamp (26) and arm rests, hand tightening bolts; 3. Checking arm rest width is correct; 4. Sliding untrimmed poles (13) through the pole clamp (26) 5. Sliding the poles and rotating/twisting same to achieve desired wrist position; 6. Double checking pole position and marking/measuring overhang at rear of pole extending through the clamp, for subsequent trimming; 7. Loosely fitting bar end shifter in bar end adapter to determine end shift position, as known in the art; 8. Removing pole and trim front and back of pole as required; 9. Pushing bar end adapter (24) into pole (23); 10. Sliding pole into clamp (26) and thread DI2 cable for gear shifter through pole; 11. Rolling ski pole angle to desired extent; 12. Fully torqueing capheads.

The present invention is implemented with available manufacturing materials and techniques.

It is noteworthy that the illustrated embodiment shows a single podium or tower structure extendable from a base bar and, it is implied, two of such structures would be needed end supporting an arm of a ride upon an arm rest/ski pole. However, the invention is equally applicable to implementation of a solitary tower formed from shims/spacers as described and claimed whereupon a double arm rest/ski pole structure is supported for accommodating both arms of a rider.

Claims (18)

1. Claims 1. A handlebar assembly including: an arm rest; a pole clamp for receiving an elongate pole therethrough; and at least one spacer element configured to, in use, impart an angle of tilt on the armrest and height adjustment relative to a base bar of a bicycle.
2. 2. The handlebar assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one spacer element comprises at least one slotted opening therethrough configured for receiving a fastener element extendable from a base bar of a bicycle and accommodating a range of bolt centre distances.
3. 3. The handlebar assembly of claim 2, wherein there are at least two openings through the at least one spacer, at least one of the two openings being the slotted opening.
4. 4. The handlebar assembly of claim 3, including a third opening for receiving a cable therethrough.
5. 5. The handlebar assembly of any preceding claim 1 to 4, wherein the assembly is sandwiched together by a bolt extending through the arm rest, pole clamp and received in a threaded portion of an upper spacer element of the at least one spacer elements.
6. 6. The handlebar assembly of claim 5, wherein a fastening torque on the bolt provides a clamping force, in use, upon a pole extending through the pole clamp.
7. 7. A handlebar assembly including: an arm rest; a pole clamp for receiving an elongate pole therethrough; and at least one spacer element having at least one slotted opening therethrough configured for receiving a fastener element extendable from a base bar of a bicycle and accommodating a range of bolt centre distances.
8. 8. The handlebar assembly of claim 7, wherein there are at least two openings through the at least one spacer, at least one of the two openings being the slotted opening.
9. 9. The handlebar assembly of claim 8, including a third opening for receiving a cable therethrough.
10. 10. The handlebar assembly of any preceding claim 7 to 9, wherein the assembly is sandwiched together by a bolt extending through the arm rest, pole clamp and received in a threaded portion of an upper spacer element of the at least one spacer elements.
11. 11. The handlebar assembly of claim 10, wherein a fastening torque on the bolt provides a clamping force, in use, upon a pole extending through the pole clamp.
12. 12. The handlebar assembly of any preceding claim 7 to 10, wherein the at least one spacer element is configured to, in use, impart an angle of tilt on the armrest relative to the base bar.
13. 13. The handlebar assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one spacer element is a wedge shape.
14. 14. The handlebar assembly of claim 13, wherein an effective angle of the wedge shape is 5 to 25 degrees.
15. 15. The handlebar assembly of any preceding claim, wherein one or more additional spacer elements are configured with a uniform cross section so as to adjust relative height of the arm rest relative to the base bar, but not adjust the relative angle.
16. 16. The handlebar assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one spacer element includes a recessed portion dimensioned for locating and housing a nut associated with the fastener element.
17. 17. A kit of parts for assembling a handlebar assembly according to any preceding claim, comprising the arm rest, pole clamp and a plurality of spacer elements.
18. 18. The kit of parts of claim 17 wherein at least some of the plurality of spacer elements are wedge-shaped with varying wedge angles.