AUGUST 2017 PATENT OF THE MONTH-BIKE FITTING MEASUREMENT TOOL FOR PEDALS

A  PEDAL-FITTING APPARATUS FOR DYNAMICALLY FITTING A GENERALLY LATERALLY-MOVING BICYCLE PEDAL TO AN INDIVIDUAL CYCLIST. ALTHOUGH THE PEDAL-FITTING APPARATUS IS ILLUSTRATED IN THE FIGURES WITH A TRADITIONAL “FLAT” PEDAL BODY, THE PRESENT INVENTION CAN ALSO BE PRACTICED WITH VARIOUS PEDAL CONFIGURATIONS, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH A CLIPLESS PEDAL TO WHICH A CLEAT ON A CYCLING SHOE CAN BE ATTACHED. LIKEWISE, THE PEDAL BODY CAN BE SINGLE-SIDED OR MULTI-SIDED, SUCH THAT THE CYCLIST CAN OPTIONALLY CLIP INTO THE PEDAL BODY WHILE THE PEDAL BODY IS AT VARIOUS ROTATIONAL ORIENTATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE ELONGATED AXLE.

The pedal-fitting apparatus can be included as part of a bicycle-fitting system. The system can be adapted to a stationary bicycle or a traditional bicycle. In the case of a traditional bicycle, it is preferred that the bicycle be altered to be made stationary by, for example, employing a mechanical frame that permits pedaling so that motion other than the repetitive motion of the generally laterally-moving pedal-fitting apparatus can be normalized. It is also contemplated that a single pedal-fitting apparatus can be employed in combination with a traditional pedal. That is, a bicycle can include one pedal-fitting apparatus, for example, as a left pedal, and a traditional pedal, for example, as a right pedal. Alternatively, a bicycle can be equipped with right and left pedal-fitting apparatuses, and as such, can collect and process data for each of a cyclist’s right and left leg.