Patent ID: 7192098

Claim:
A bicycle rim comprising: an annular tire attachment portion adapted to have a tire mounted thereon; an annular spoke attachment portion fixedly coupled with the tire attachment portion, the spoke attachment portion including an interior surface, a pair of annular side sections and an inner annular section to form a substantially U-shaped cross-sectional shape with an annular hollow area, the spoke attachment portion further including a plurality of circumferentially spaced attachment openings with each opening having a central axis extending therethrough; a plurality of reinforcement members fixedly coupled to the spoke attachment portion at the attachment openings to effectively increase the thickness of the spoke attachment portion of the rim at the attachment openings, each of the reinforcement members being welded to the spoke attachment portion, each reinforcement member including: a rim facing surface contacting an outer surface of the spoke attachment portion of the rim, an exterior facing surface that faces in an opposite direction from the rim facing surface, a through opening extending between the rim facing surface and the exterior facing surface that is aligned with one of the attachment openings, and a tubular section extending through a respective one of the attachment openings of the spoke attachment portion and having internal threads; and a plurality of adapters having external threads that each mate with the internal threads of the tubular sections of the reinforcement members, the interior surface being free from contact with the reinforcement member.