Bicycle training system with improved motion

#Bicycle trainers are often used by cyclists and others for training purposes. Such trainers allow cyclists to exercise and train while remaining generally stationary, typically indoors. Trainers may include an integrated bicycle (e.g., handlebars, seat, and pedals) or else be configured to attach to a cyclist's existing bicycle. For example, some trainers include rollers or sliders upon which a cyclist may place the rear wheel of their bicycle. Other trainers apply resistive or magnetic force to the bicycle's captured rear wheel. And still other trainers, known as “direct-drive” trainers, enable a cyclist to remove the rear wheel of the bicycle frame and directly attach the frame and drivetrain of the bicycle to the trainer.

#Often such trainers will provide varying levels of resistance on the bicycle's pedals during a training session to simulate a cyclist going up or down a hill, to simulate ambient conditions such as head or tail winds, or to otherwise alter the training difficulty level in response to the cyclist's input. However, because in these known trainers the bicycle frame is held generally stationary on the trainer, the cyclist's experience in responding to the varying levels of resistance is much different than would otherwise be experienced on the road. For example, when riding on the road, the bike frame will move, jump, or jerk in response to the cyclist suddenly applying increased force to the pedals when climbing a hill and thereafter seemingly recoil when the cyclist decreases force on the pedals while coasting or the like. But because the bicycle's wheels are fixed in place when using a trainer, the fixed frame provides an unnatural feel to the user as they increase or decrease their effort on the pedals. There thus remains a need for a bicycle trainer that provides an experience that more closely resembles the natural feel of riding on the road.

#Various embodiments of the invention relate to a trainer that is configured to generate forward and backward motion based on forces applied to the bicycle's pedals or as the cyclist shifts weight or otherwise interacts with the bicycle frame during a training session. This generates more natural movement for the cyclist while training the cyclist's muscles in a similar manner as if the cyclist were riding outside on the road. For example, when simulating a climb, the resistive forces in the trainer are relatively high and thus the forward and backward movement of the trainer will be similar as to a bicycle frame during a similar climb in on-road riding.

#Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, in which like numerals represent the same components, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cyclist using a prior-art, direct-drive type bicycle training system;

#FIG. 2 is a right-side elevation view of a bicycle training system according to a first embodiment of the invention;

#FIG. 1 shows a prior-art, direct-drive bicycle training system 10 in which a bicycle is fixed in place. Unlike the instant invention, the prior art training system does not provide a cyclist dynamic feedback or real-world feel as the cyclist shifts gears, increases or decreases force on the pedals, or shifts their weight, thus failing to truly simulate the natural movement of a bicycle on the road. The bicycle training system 10 generally includes a bicycle frame 12 operatively coupled to a bicycle trainer 14. The bicycle trainer 14 includes a rear wheel dock 16, a front wheel dock 18, and a screen 20 that may simulate images of a road, trail, or other course being virtually ridden by a cyclist. The docks 16, 18 couple to one or more components of the bicycle frame 12 and permit interaction therewith. For example, the front wheel dock 18 engages and holds the front wheel of the bicycle frame 12 rigidly in place while the rear wheel dock 16 engages a frame portion proximate a rear axle 28 of the bicycle frame 12 and permits interaction between the bicycle frame 12's drivetrain and the bicycle trainer 14. More particularly, because the depicted bicycle trainer 14 is a “direct-drive” trainer, the rear wheel dock 16 engages the rear axle 28 of the bicycle frame 12 as well as components of the bicycle's drive train including, for example, the chain 24. Other prior art training systems may instead engage the rear wheel itself in a stationary but rotatable manner and apply increasing or decreasing force to the rear wheel during a training system.

#To use the bicycle training system 10, a user removes the rear wheel and associated cassette from the bicycle frame 12, leaving the remaining portions of the drivetrain on the frame 12 including the chain 24 and a rear derailleur 26 attached to the frame 12. The front wheel of the bicycle frame 12 is fixedly engaged by the front wheel dock 18 via a clamp or similar mechanism. The rear of the bicycle frame 12 is connected to the rear wheel dock 16 via the rear axle 28. In some instances, the rear axle 28 may be the axel associated with the bicycle frame 12 that is used to hold the rear wheel rotatably in place when the bicycle frame 12 is outfitted for on-road use. In other instances, the rear axle 28 is an integral component of the bicycle trainer 14, and thus both the bicycle frame 12's rear wheel and rear axle are removed prior to use of the trainer, and the bicycle frame 12 is in turn affixed to the rear wheel dock 16 using the integrally provided axle 28.

#In any event, the rear axle 28 affixes the rear portion of the bicycle frame 12, for example the rear dropouts 13 of the bicycle frame 12 or similar frame component, to the bicycle trainer 14 in a rotatable manner. When so affixed, the rear dropouts 13 are supported by the bicycle trainer 14 in such a way that a rotor 21 with attached cassette 22 of the trainer 14 can rotate between the stays of the bicycle frame 12, much like a rear wheel would rotate between the stays during on-road use. The chain 24 is engage with one sprocket of the cassette 22, much like the chain 24 would engage a sprocket of the cassette of the rear wheel of the bicycle frame 12 when used for on-road use. Thus, as a cyclist turns the pedals of the bicycle, the chain 24 translates the cyclist's motion to the rotor 21 because the chain 24 is engaged with a sprocket of the cassette 22, thereby spinning the rotor 21. As should be appreciated, the cyclist can switch between multiple sprockets on the rear cassette 22 by using a shifter lever mounted to the bicycle frame 12's handlebars, downtube, or other frame component, with the shifter lever being connected via a cable to the rear derailleur 26. The rear derailleur 26, in turn, shifts the chain 24 between the multiple sprockets, thereby changing the effective gear ratio between the rear cassette 22 and the crankset attached to the pedals and thus altering the amount of rotations of the rotor 21 per rotation of the pedals and thus crankset.