Patent ID: 8272657

Claim:
A rear wheel suspension system for a bicycle comprising a frame with a rear wheel swingarm attached to the frame at a single pivot axis, wherein the swingarm comprises a chain stay, a seat stay, and a front stay, the suspension system comprising; a. a first link, a second link, and a shock absorber that is engaged to control the vertical wheel travel (VWT) of a rear wheel of the bicycle, the shock absorber having a first end, a second end and a length (SL) between the first end and the second end, wherein the shock absorber is pivotally coupled at the first end to the second link, and pivotally coupled to the bicycle frame at the second end and further, wherein the first link is pivotally connected to the swingarm and the second link; wherein the first link, second link and the shock absorber are configured such that a change in vertical wheel travel (ΔVWT) of the rear wheel is related to a change in the length of the shock absorber (ΔSL) to provide a shock rate (SR) according to the relationship: SR=ΔSL/ΔVWT and wherein the shock rate (SR) changes throughout the vertical wheel travel of the rear wheel, such that the change in the shock rate dSR/dVWT has a change in sign as the rear wheel travels through the vertical wheel travel.