Adjustable Handlebar Mounting

The present invention relates to adjustable handlebars for bicycles and in particular to an adjustment which permits the angle of the handlebar relative to the end of the steerer tube to be adjustable which is commonly referred to in the bicycle art as the "rise" of the handlebar. The invention provides not only for adjustment of the rise of the handlebar, but also for mounting the adjustable handlebar on steerer tubes with or without threaded ends and on steerer tubes of varying exterior diameter.

The present invention relates to an adjustable handlebar assembly for adjusting the relative angle of the handlebar to the frame of the bicycle.

A primary purpose of the invention is a simply constructed and reliable adjustable handlebar assembly which permits ready and quick adjustment of the rise of the handlebar.

Another purpose is an adjustable handlebar assembly suitable for use with steerer tubes of varying external diameter.

Another purpose is an adjustable handlebar assembly of the type described usable both with threaded and unthreaded steerer tubes.

Other purposes will appear in the ensuing specification, drawings and claims.

The invention is illustrate diagrammatically in the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the invention illustrating the adjustable handlebar mounted to the frame of a bicycle;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, similar to FIG. 1, illustrating a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged exploded view illustrating the adjustable connection between the stem extension and the bicycle frame of the FIG. 1 embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded top view of the adjustable connection illustrated in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged exploded side view illustrating the adjustable connection of the embodiment of FIG. 2.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the head tube of the bicycle is indicated at 10 and, as is conventional, forms a portion of the frame 11, there being a top bar 12 and a lower bar 14 for the frame. The head tube has head sets indicated at 16 and 18. Inside of the head tube 10 is a steerer tube, the upper end of which is indicated at 20 in FIG. 3. The steerer tube is attached to the fork for turning the bicycle front wheel, with a portion of the fork being shown at 22 in FIG. 1. The steerer tube, as its name implies, when rotated within the head tube will turn the fork, thus turning the front wheel of the bicycle.

The embodiment of FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 illustrates the invention with a threadless steerer tube. A pair of inserts are indicated at 24 and 26, each of which has generally cylindrical inner surfaces 28 and 30, respectively, which are of a size and shape to tightly encircle and be in circumferential contact with the exterior of the steerer tube 20. It should be understood that the interior diameter of the cylindrical portion of the inserts 24 and 26 may vary, depending upon the diameter of the steerer tube. Each of inserts 24 and 26 has arcuate exterior surfaces 32 and 34, respectively, which may be serrated, roughened, formed with parallel grooves 25, 27, respectively, or otherwise constructed to have a non-slipping characteristic. The axis of the arcuate exterior surfaces is generally perpendicular to the axis of the interior cylindrical surfaces.

Extending about the exterior of the inserts 24 and 26 is a rear cap 36 and a front cap 38. Each of the front and rear caps has arcuate interior surfaces indicated at 40 and 42, respectively, which have formed thereon serrations, grooves, or an otherwise roughened surface such that when the caps are attached to the exterior of the inserts, by threaded fasteners 44, no relative movement between the caps and the inserts is permitted. There is a threaded fastener 44 on each side of the joined caps, with the fasteners extending through a bore 46 in the rear cap and a threaded bore 48 in the front cap. Thus, the fasteners join the two caps together and secure the caps to the exterior of the inserts, thus mounting the entire assembly upon the steerer tube of the bicycle.

Front cap 38 may have welded thereto, as at 39 a stem extension tube 50 which terminates in a generally cylindrical handlebar mounting collar 52. The handlebar will extend through the bore 54 of collar 52, there being a fastener 56 to close the gap between portions of the handlebar mounting collar 52 so as to firmly fix the handlebar relative to the extension tube.

In order to adjust the rise of the handlebar which is the angle the extension tube 50 makes with the head tube and the steerer tube, fasteners 44 may be loosened so that the relative position of the front and back caps on the inserts 24 and 26 is adjustable. The caps are moved in unison, once the fasteners are loose, to a desired adjustment position and once the fasteners are again tightened, the interlocking or mating serrations or grooved surfaces of the inserts and the caps securely hold the stem extension tube in the adjusted position. The adjusted position is indicated in FIG. 1 by broken line 51.

FIGS. 2 and 5 illustrate the adjustable handlebar assembly as applied to a threaded steerer tube. Like parts have been given the same numbers. In this embodiment the steerer tube is exteriorly threaded, as indicated at 60 in FIG. 5, and a nut 62 is mounted thereon to secure the steerer tube above the head set and to the top of the head tube. A quill 64 has an exterior cylindrical area 66 and an interior cylindrical area 68 of reduced diameter which extends inside of the threaded steerer tube. The quill 64 has an expansion wedge 70 movable by a threaded fastener 72 extending through the length of the quill and accessible from the top of the quill. The quill is inserted within the steerer tube as illustrated in FIG. 5 and the fastener 72 is turned until the expansion wedge securely mounts the quill to the steerer tube. Once the quill has been so mounted, the inserts 24 and 26 and the back and front caps 36 and 38 may be mounted to the exterior of the quill in the same manner as in the FIG. 1 embodiment. The adjusted position is indicated in FIG. 2 by broken line 53.

Of particular importance in the invention is the ability to adjust the rise of the bicycle handlebar with a number of simply constructed, reliable parts. Not only does the invention provide for adjustment of the rise, but it provides for utility of the adjustable handlebar assembly on both threaded and threadless steerer tubes. Further, the invention provides for inserts of varying internal diameter to accommodate steerer tubes of varying exterior diameter.

Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it should be realized that there may be many modifications, substitutions and alterations thereto.