Patent ID: 7422224

Claim:
An adjustable height bicycle seat post assembly comprising: an outer seat tube; an inner seat post telescopically slidably received in said outer seat tube for moving a bicycle seat between raised and lowered conditions; a latch member movable between an unlatched position in which said outer seat tube and said inner seat post are freely telescopically slidable relative to one another and a latched position in which said inner seat post is fixed in one of at least two height-adjusted positions relative to said outer seat tube; a remote actuator selectively movable between actuated and unactuated positions; a flexible motion transmitting cable operatively connecting said remote actuator and said latch member for moving said latch member toward said unlatched position in response to movement of said remote actuator toward said actuated position; and a lost motion coupling for functionally decoupling said remote actuator from said latch member in response to a dominant shearing load between said inner seat post and said outer seat tube trapping said latch member in said latched position and for automatically recoupling said remote actuator to said latch member when the dominant shearing load falls below a predetermined limit, whereby said lost motion coupling enables said remote actuator to be moved to said actuated position while said latch remains trapped in said latched position without damaging said cable and also permitting an operator to deploy said remote actuator at any convenient time prior to a desired change in seat height.