Patent ID: 7100471

Claim:
A bicycle control device comprising: a support member having a mounting portion configured and arranged to be coupled to a bicycle handlebar, said support member extending in a lengthwise direction and further having a distal end longitudinally spaced from said mounting portion, said support member including a gripping portion disposed between said mounting portion and said distal end, said mounting portion including a clamp member having a clamping plane that bisects said clamp member; a cable winding mechanism coupled to said support member, and having a cable attachment point; and a control lever operatively coupled to said cable winding mechanism, said control lever including an attachment end portion and a shift operating portion extending outwardly from said distal end of said support member and extending from said attachment end portion to a free end of said control lever, said attachment end portion of said control lever being pivotally coupled to said support member to move between a rest position and a shifting position about a shift pivot axis that extends longitudinally through said mounting portion and said distal end, said clamping plane intersecting with said shift pivot axis at said gripping portion between said clamp member and said distal end, and said shift operating portion of said control lever being configured and arranged to have a majority of said shift operating portion disposed along a line that is angled relative to said shift pivot axis by approximately an angle between forty-five degrees and fifty-five degrees at said rest position and that passes through said attachment end portion at said shift pivot axis.