H.I.P. Stem Provides A Simple One Step Method Of Joining A Bicycle Handlebar To Its Fork Tube
St. Petersburg, FL – April 22 2005 -- Profile Racing, Inc., the USA’s leading manufacturer of Bicycle Motocross (BMX) and Mountain Bike (MTB) components, today announced it has been awarded a patent by the United States Patent Office. All bicycles utilize this type of bicycle component to secure the handlebar to the bicycle fork. The Patent Office recognized that the
Hidden Internal Piston Stem (H.I.P.) represents a new and useful bicycle component that allows a bicycle rider to attach the handlebar to the fork steering tube in one-step.
"Profile Racing has been an innovative bicycle industry leader since 1979. This patent continues to validate our leadership position in the industry today," said James Alley, CEO of Profile Racing, Inc.
Profile Racing’s U.S. patent (#6,874,385 B2) is titled "Bicycle Handlebar-Fork Clamp Assembly." The H.I.P. Stem utilizes a removable piston inside a clamp joining a bicycle handlebar to a fork tube. The key element of the Profile Racing H.I.P. invention is a three-piece clamp assembly. A rear housing has a vertical bore for receipt of a fork tube and a horizontal bore enclosing a movable piston, the piston being slightly longer than the horizontal bore. A front housing has a rear concave portion that together with a front concave portion of the rear housing grips a bicycle handlebar when the front housing is attached to the back housing by multiple bolts connecting the front housing and a front portion of the rear housing. As the bolts are tightened, the piston is moved backwards to tightly engage the fork tube.
For additional information on the patent, please visit the U.S. Patent [url=http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/srchnum.htm]website[/url] and enter the patent number above. The legal team of Larson & Larson, P.A. (Largo, Florida), one of the nation’s top patent litigation firms, provided patent litigation and strategic counseling to Profile Racing for this award.
Profile Racing, Inc. is an American bicycle parts manufacturer located in St. Petersburg, Florida. It remains the single, largest, most capable, and most sophisticated manufacturer of high-end competition bicycle components and BMX bicycle frames in the United States, boasting over 25 years of experience.