Bicycle Trainer With Adjustable Axle And Leveling Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bicycle trainers are difficult to level, heavy, and lack adjustable features to provide a realistic riding experience.
Innovation Solution
A bicycle trainer with a vertically adjustable rear axle and cassette, coupled to a flywheel with an electromagnetic brake, allowing for customizable resistance and leveling adjustments through a frame assembly with pivotable support legs and adjustable leveling pads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If conventional trainers are made simple and compact, then they are portable, but they are heavy and awkward to load into car trunks
Solution Approach 1:
The trainer is divided into separable components including a removable rear wheel adapter, detachable support legs, and a modular frame structure. This allows users to disassemble parts for easier transport and storage while maintaining a compact overall form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The trainer incorporates collapsible support legs and an adjustable rear axle position that can be dynamically reconfigured. The support legs can be folded parallel to the frame for compact storage, and the rear axle position can be adjusted along the frame to accommodate different wheel sizes and training modes.
2Volume of moving object
If conventional trainers are made compact, then they occupy less space, but they are difficult to level from side to side
Solution Approach 1:
The trainer features adjustable leveling pads located specifically at the support leg feet, allowing independent height adjustment of each corner. This localized adjustment capability enables precise leveling on uneven surfaces without requiring the entire trainer structure to be larger or more complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The support legs incorporate telescopic sections with lockable joints that allow dynamic height adjustment. Users can extend or retract individual legs to compensate for uneven flooring, maintaining stability and proper bike alignment while keeping the overall trainer footprint compact.
3Device complexity
If conventional trainers lack vertical adjustment, then they are simpler, but riders cannot train on flat surfaces as it feels like an incline or decline
Solution Approach 1:
The rear axle position can be vertically adjusted along the frame structure, and the support legs can be independently height-adjusted to change the trainer's pitch angle. This dynamic geometry adjustment allows riders to set the bike to a true horizontal position for flat surface simulation, or create inclined/declined positions for hill training, without adding significant structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable geometry system serves multiple functions: it levels the bike on uneven floors, creates various training gradients, and accommodates different bike geometries. This multi-functionality is achieved through relatively simple adjustment mechanisms rather than complex dedicated systems for each function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The trainer provides improved acceleration feel, customizable resistance, and enhanced portability due to its adjustable features and lightweight design, allowing for a more realistic and comfortable indoor cycling experience.
Implementation Method 1
The flywheel includes an electromagnetic brake that is controllable
Implementation Method 2
The cassette is coupled to a pulley that drives a belt connected to a flywheel
Data Source
AI summary
A bicycle trainer includes a frame assembly including a pair of support legs connected to a center structure. The center structure includes a first curved track and a second curved track longitudinally spaced along the center structure from the first curved track. The frame assembly includes a glide base having a first guide roller engaged with the first curved track and a second guide roller engaged with the second curved track. The frame assembly including a main frame member coupled to the glide base. A first axle is supported by the main frame member, the first axle adapted to be connected to a pair of drop-outs from a bicycle with a rear wheel removed from the pair of drop-outs to operably connect the bicycle to the bicycle trainer. A resistance unit is drivingly coupled to the first axle.