Brake shoe system for bicycles

Claim 1

In a brake shoe system for braking a running bicycle wheel by frictionally contacting a rim portion thereof including brake block means, means for fixedly holding said brake block means at a location to effect frictional engagement with said rim portion, a hand brake lever, brake arm means operably connected to said lever and fixture means connecting said holder means to said brake arm to enable manual actuation of said system through said lever, the improvement comprising a plurality of brake block members formed integrally with said brake block means and protruding therefrom in a direction to frictionally engage said rim portion, said brake block means having a longitudinal centerline and a pair of longitudinal outer edges, said block members being positioned in linear alignment relative to each other longitudinally of said brake block means, each of said members being configured with a pair of first upstanding wall portions extending outwardly from the longitudinal center line of said brake block means, said pair of first wall portions consisting essentially of a pair of continuous surfaces intersecting at an apex and extending therefrom along a generally straight path in a diverging configuration rearwardly of the direction of rotation of said bicycle rim portion from said apex continuously to the longitudinal outer edge of said brake block means, a pair of oppositely located parallel wall portions extending integrally from the rearward ends of said first wall portions along the longitudinal outer edges of said brake block means, and a substantially straight single bridge wall portion extending generally perpendicularly across said block member between the rearward ends of said pair of parallel wall portions connecting said rearward ends with one another, said brake block members being so aligned that each of said bridge wall portions is adjacent, but spaced from, an apex of a next adjacent brake block member taken in the longitudinal direction of said brake block means.