Patent Publication Number: US-2020290700-A1

Title: Modified road bicycle assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
     Not Applicable 
     INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM 
     Not Applicable 
     STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The field of the invention generally includes road bicycles and the like used for competitive racing. 
     (2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 
     The disclosure and prior art relates to bicycle and suspension combination devices and more particularly pertains to a new bicycle and suspension combination device for allowing a bicyclist to travel over uneven roads in a faster, more comfortable fashion and than is achievable with a conventional road bicycle. Road bicycles tend to be very rigid and have very narrow, high pressure tires such that when traveling over an uneven road, such as for example cobblestones, the rider will have difficulty riding quickly due the vibrations felt through the frame of the bicycle. During multiple day competitions riders will typically be riding on long stretches of substantially smooth pavement. However, such races often include sections through areas of rough pavement or through towns having cobblestone roads. During these sections, it would be beneficial for the rider to be able to have a bicycle that is faster than an off-road bicycle while having greater comfort than typical road bikes. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a bicycle frame with a top tube, a down tube, a head tube, and a seat tube. A saddle is removably engaged to an upper end of the seat tube. A handle bar is removably engaged to an upper end of the head tube. The bicycle frame is a road bike frame and the handle bar is a drop handle bar. A suspension fork is attached to the bicycle frame and extends downwardly from the head tube. A rear shock is attached to the top tube and extends rearwardly and downwardly from the top tube. A front tire is rotatably mounted to the suspension fork. A rear tire is rotatably mounted to the rear shock. 
     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
     The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a modified road bicycle assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG. 2  is a left side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG. 3  is a right side view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG. 4  is a rear view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
       FIG. 5  is a top view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to  FIGS. 1 through 5  thereof, a new bicycle and suspension combination device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral  10  will be described. 
     As best illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 , the modified road bicycle assembly  10  generally comprises a generally conventional bicycle frame  12  known as road bike frame which includes, as shown best in  FIG. 2 , a top tube  14 , a down tube  16 , a head tube  18 , a seat tube  20 , seat stays  22  and chain stays  24 . A saddle  26 , or seat, is removably engaged to an upper end of the seat tube  20  and a handle bar  28  is removably engaged to an upper end of the head tube  18 . The handlebar  28  will typically be a drop handle bar which allows the rider to position themselves into and remain in an aerodynamic configuration with having their head near the handlebar  28 . The assembly  10  will further include typical gearing, peddling and braking systems which are commonly found on many types of bicycles. 
     As stated, the bicycle frame  12  is a road bike frame, sometimes known for bicycle racing, and has characteristics particular to bike frames as is known by those skilled in the art of building bicycles. Typically, a road bike frame is lightweight and has a narrow cross-section to lower the wind drag and improve the aerodynamics on the overall bicycle. This contrasts with a mountain bike frame which includes much larger components built to withstand shock and vibration while traveling over rough terrain and absorbing the forces caused by bumps in a roadway. Road bike frames are also typically taller, as measured along the seat tube, than a mountain bike for a rider of a same height. This height difference is a factor of the leg extension desired by a road bike user as well as placing the buttocks of the rider higher and promoting a body forward position on the bicycle frame. To the same point, road bike frames also have a more vertical head tube, that is a larger head tube angle, and longer length top tube compared to a mountain bike frame. The head tube of a mountain bike frame forms a lesser head tube angle with respect to a horizontal plane to push the front wheel forward and thereby give the rider more control over quick turns that are necessary while on a mountain bike. Finally, the road bike frame, compared to a mountain bike frame, has relatively smaller tube diameters and is more rigid. 
     Attached to the bicycle frame  12  is a conventional suspension fork  30  which extends downwardly from the head tube  18 . The suspension fork  30  is attached to the handlebar  28  such that the handlebar  28  and suspension fork  30  rotate in unison with each other. The suspension fork  30  may comprise any conventional suspension fork apparatus, however, the suspension forks  30  of a mountain bike will typically have a compression travel of approximately  160 mm while the one of the instant assembly  10  will preferably have less than  120 mm travel and may further have less than  100 mm of travel to allow for a reduction in weight of the suspension fork  30 . 
     A rear shock  32  is attached to the top tube  14  and extends rearwardly and downwardly from the top tube  14 . The rear shock  32  is also conventional and includes what would be considered the seat stays  22  which are attached to the chain stay  24 . 
     A front tire  34  is rotatably mounted to the suspension fork  30  and a rear tire  36  is rotatably mounted to a rear axle  38  with the seat stays  22  acting as linking and extending to the rear shock  32 . More specifically, the rear tire  36  is mounted at the juncture of the seat stay  22  and the chain stay  24  in a conventional manner. The front  34  and rear  36  tires are generally identical with each other and will differ from mountain bike tires in that they will be free of any lugs. Lugs, as they are commonly referred to, are the nubs which extend outwardly from the tire surface to provide for extra traction such as to dig into dirt and mud while on a mountain bike. They also resist slipping when traveling over grass or other like surfaces. However, lugs decrease the efficiency of the tire in regard to aerodynamics, rolling resistance and mechanics as a large portion of a mountain bike tire does not engage the ground surface. Thus, the front  34  and rear  36  tires are without lugs and may have a slick top tread  40 . A slick top tread  40  is one bereft of any treading and is the middle surface of the tire which abuts the ground surface while the assembly  10  is being used in a straight, upright position. Alternatively, the top tread  40  may include fine, or slightly grooves, treading such as elongated troughs extending completely along the outer surfaces of the tires  34 ,  36 . The front  34  and rear  36  tires each have a pair of lateral sides  42  which may include side wall tread which improves cornering capabilities to help prevent the tires  34 ,  36  from sliding laterally when the user of the assembly  10  makes tight turns at speeds in situations when the assembly  10  and rider are at least than completely vertical with respect to a riding surface. 
     In order to retain the speed attributes of the assembly  10 , the tires  34 ,  36  will have size restrictions. Most road bike tires have a diameter of approximately 700 mm and the front and rear tires may have this diameter as well. The exact diameter of tires is loosely based on the width of the tire and therefore the wider the tire, the greater the diameter and circumference. Therefore, while 700 mm is considered standard, there will be slight variations expected. Unlike mountain bikes, road bikes use tires which have a narrow width. Mountain bikes have widths greater than at least 40 mm and more typically have a width greater than 50 mm or more to increase the lug surface which engages the ground to enhance traction. This increase in width requires more energy input into the tires to rotate them. Mountain bike tire diameter varies typically between 660 mm and 736 mm. Thus, the mountain bike tire has a ratio of diameter to width that is always lower than 18.40, wherein the ratio generally is much lower such as around  14 . The front  34  and rear  36  tires of the current assembly  10  have a typical maximum width equal to at least 38 mm and a ratio between diameter and width being greater than 18.42. More typically, the ratio will be greater than 20.0 wherein the width of the front  34  and rear  36  tires is less than 35 mm. The width of the front  34  and rear  36  tires will typically be greater than 26 mm. 
     Mountain bike tires typically also have low pressurization so that they are more malleable when engaging the ground surface to again increase the surface contact area between those tires and the ground surface. Thus, mountain bike tires will typically have a pressurization of less than 35 psi. Conversely, the front  34  and rear  36  tires will have a pressurization of at least 65 psi and may preferably have a pressurization of at least 75 psi, though this pressure could be as high as 95 psi. This higher pressure and smoother tread provides a lower rolling resistance and makes for a more rigid tire that requires less energy to rotate, compared to a lugged mountain bike tire, and thereby increases the speed of the assembly  10 . 
     In use, the assembly  10  is ridden as a conventional bicycle. However, its usage of a road bike frame  12  having added suspension features as well as tires  34 ,  36  that are wider and lower pressurized than typical road bike tires allows it to ride over surfaces which conventional road bikes have difficulty. In particular, these areas would include cobblestone roads as well as roads which are paved but are in disrepair. While the assembly  10  is not suited for off road biking, it will allow a racing bicyclist the ability to travel much faster over an uneven roadway where a traditional road bike is ill equipped to move quickly and comfortably compared to the assembly  10 . 
     With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.