Patent ID: 7841612
Filing Date: 2010-11-30
Classification: B62J,B62K

Abstract:
1. A bicycle fork assembly comprising: (a) a hollow steerer tube having a lower end at which a head tube seat is formed, and with diametrically opposed notches defined in said lower end and directed concave upwardly toward said head tube seat, thereby defining a pair of downwardly directed end closure tabs therebetween that narrow from proximate said head tube seat to distal extremities, and said distal extremities of said end closure tabs are bent in toward each other to meet in mutual abutment where they are rigidly secured together, so that said notches define peripherally enclosed fork openings at said lower end of said steerer tube; and (b) a pair of hollow tubular fork legs having upper and lower ends, and each of said fork leg upper ends terminates in a steerer tube interface opening having edges that follow the surface contour of said lower end of said steerer tube and which surround said fork leg openings and reside in direct contact with and are welded about their circumferences to said end closure tabs of said steerer tube, and said lower ends of said fork legs terminate in bicycle axle dropouts, wherein said lower ends of each of said fork legs are permanently deformed to define a pair of flat, mutually parallel dropout tabs with dropout notches defined therein, and corresponding downwardly converging interior wall surfaces above said dropout tabs, and further comprising a dropout support insert that has a lower reinforcement portion sandwiched in between said dropout tabs, and an upper brace portion that follows the contours of said converging interior wall surfaces of said lower ends of said fork legs, wherein said lower dropout reinforcement portion of said dropout support insert is configured as a flat, yoke-shaped structure having a central, inverted U-shaped region that conforms to the shape of said dropout notches and upturned feet that extend upwardly and in opposite directions from said inverted U-shaped region, and which reside in abutment against said lower ends of said fork legs between said dropout tabs.