US 12,403,980 B2
Low travel rear wheel suspension system for a bike
Benedikt Skulason, Reykjavik (IS); and Bergur Benediktsson, Reykjavik (IS)
Assigned to LAUF CYCLES HF., Reykjavik (IS)
Appl. No. 17/640,975
Filed by LAUF CYCLES HF., Reykjavik (IS)
PCT Filed Sep. 4, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/074806
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 7, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/044007, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 11, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 19195944 (EP), filed on Sep. 6, 2019; and application No. 19209809 (EP), filed on Nov. 18, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0340230 A1, Oct. 27, 2022
Int. Cl. B62K 25/30 (2006.01); B62K 3/02 (2006.01); B62K 25/04 (2006.01)
CPC B62K 25/30 (2013.01) [B62K 3/02 (2013.01); B62K 2025/041 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A bike comprising:
a rear wheel, and
a low travel rear wheel suspension system,
wherein the low travel rear wheel suspension system includes:
a seat tube,
a left side flexible chainstay and a right side flexible chainstay, each flexible chainstay having a front end attached to the seat tube of said bike less than 250 mm from a rotational axis of a bottom bracket shell of said bike, said bottom bracket shell defined to be a part of said seat tube,
a left side seatstay and a right side seatstay, each having lower end areas connected to posterior end areas of each of said flexible chainstays, and each of said seatstays extending upwards and forward with another end connecting to the seat tube of said bike,
in the area where said flexible chainstays and said seatstays connect, a set of dropouts to rotably connect to the rear wheel of said bike, said dropouts can be integral parts of said flexible chainstays and/or said seatstays, or they can be mounted to said flexible chainstays and/or said seatstays through any release fastening elements, and
in the area of said seat tube connected to said seatstays, said seat tube is split up into a seat tube posterior part and a seat tube anterior part, said seatstays connecting to said seat tube posterior part, said seatstays not connecting directly to said seat tube anterior part, the area between said seat tube posterior part and said seat tube anterior part defining a seat tube cavity, said seat tube posterior part and said seat tube anterior part connecting to one another both above and below said seat tube cavity,
wherein said seat tube posterior part and said seat tube anterior part are configured to allow flex of said seat tube posterior part towards said seat tube anterior part, and thus allow vertical flex of said flexible chainstays.