Shift lever and integral handbrake apparatus

A shift apparatus and integral handbrake assembly particularly for bicycles comprising handbrake housing means on which pivots a handbrake lever, means for demountably attaching said housing means to the bicycle handlebar, pivotal shift lever means integrally carried by said housing means, means coupling said shift lever to a Bowden cable, said shift lever having one end formed as a shift barrel and the other end formed as a handle, the interior of said housing means being formed with a support partition on which pivotally mounts said shift barrel, a slot formed in said housing means and operatively placed adjacent to said support partition, the mounting of said shift barrel being such that a portion of said shift lever is disposed in said housing slot thereby to place said handle out of and extending from said housing means, and friction means adapted to place a preset and controlled drag on said shift barrel to hold same stationary until finger pressure on said handle operates to overcome the drag placed on said shift barrel and cause movement of the Bowden cable relative to a Bowden cable jacket.

An integral shift lever and handbrake assembly including in combination a handbrake housing, said handbrake housing having an interior region formed with a support partition, a shift lever integral with said housing and having one end formed as a shift disc and the other end formed as a finger paddle, a slot defined in said handbrake housing, said shift disc being pivotaly carried by said support partition in such manner as to place a portion of said shift lever in said slot thereby to place said finger paddle extending from said handbrake housing, means for placing a controlled drag on said shift disc, and means for coupling a Bowden cable to said shift lever such that manual pressure on said finger paddle operates to provide the mechanical advantage necessary to overcome the drag placed on said shift disc pivoting same and thereby causing a relative lengthening or shortening of the Bowden cable.

An integral shift lever and handbrake assembly particularly for bicycles including a handbrake housing on which pivots a handbrake lever, said handbrake housing having an interior region formed with a support partition, a slot formed on said handbrake housing and communicating with said interior region, said slot being operatively placed adjacent to said support partition, a shift lever having one end defined by a shift barrel and the other end defined by a finger paddle, said shift barrel adapted to pivotally mount on said support partition so as to be substantially included in said handbrake housing, the pivotal mounting of said shift barrel being such as to place a portion of said shift lever in said slot thereby to orient said finger paddle extending from said handbrake housing, means for coupling a Bowden cable to said shift lever, means for mounting said handbrake housing on the bicycle handlebar, and means for placing a controlled frictional drag on said shift barrel such that manual pressure on said finger paddle overcomes the drag placed on said shift barrel pivoting same and causing a relative lengthening or shortening of the Bowden cable.