Convertible exercise bicycle

Claim 2

In a convertible exercise bicycle comprising front and rear wheels, a seat, a pedal and driving mechanism for oscillating said seat substantially vertically, a stowable and expandable stand comprising a substantially U-shaped member surrounding said rear wheel, a spring clip for normally holding said stand horizontally in the raised position, and a pair of foldable bars attached to the sides of said U-shaped member and normally held upwardly closely adjacent said rear wheel, and means for spreading said bars outwardly and locking them when said stand is moved to the ground engaging position so as to lift the rear wheel from the ground to enable free rotation thereof, said bars thereby providing safe lateral support to said stand when the stationary bicycle is used as a jogging exercise machine.

Claim 3

A convertible exercise bicycle as recited in claim 1 wherein said driving mechanism includes a cam driven by said rear wheel, a member pivoted at one end on the front of the frame of said bicycle and supporting said seat intermediate the length of said member, a cam follower rotatably supported on a downwardly extending rear end of said member and frictionally engaging said cam and held there-against solely by gravity and the weight of the rider, and link means for locking said member in a pivotally raised position whereby said cam follower is raised from engagement with said cam.

Claim 4

A convertible exercise bicycle as recited in claim 1 together with a pair of tubular members attached alongside the legs of said substantially U-shaped member and having two sets of slots 90° apart on their lower ends and biasing springs for retaining and supporting said pair of foldable bars, keys attached to said bars for selectively locking said bars in either their folded or expanded position and held by said biasing springs in either of said two sets of slots, one set of slots determining a narrow frontal profile configuration of said bars when the stand is in the up or stowed position, and the other set of slots locking said bars in the down and expanded position for providing the maximum width for stable and safe support of the bicycle in the purely static mode of exerciser operation, said U-shaped member held in position against a stop on the frame by the moment of the reaction forces of the ground against the ends of said stabilizer bars.

Claim 5

A convertible exercise bicycle as recited in claim 3, wherein said pair of foldable bars are selectively movable to three locked positions, one folded toward said rear wheels during normal operation, one extended outwardly against the action of said biasing spring in a raised position from the ground and one raised outwardly contacting the ground when the stand is lowered underneath said rear wheel, which wheel is raised above the ground by said stand.