Fixing device for fixing a handle stem to a front fork at a bicycle

Claim 1

A handle stem for a bicycle front fork comprising: a horizontal projecting portion having at a distal end thereof a handle bar holder and defining an axially central horizontally extending through hole, said handle bar holder comprising a handle bar retaining area, a pusher element facing the interior of said retaining area for engaging with a handle bar and screw means engaging with a screw thread provided in said horizontal through hole for biasing said pusher element toward the center of said retaining area; a vertically projecting portion comprising a vertical cylindrical member defining an axially central vertical through hole, an interior tapered surface at a portion of said vertical through hole, and an inner peripheral screw thread on said vertical through hole spaced from adjacent and above said tapered surface and spaced from and below the top of said cylindrical member; and, a handle expander assembly mounted within said vertical through hole and comprising a handle expander bolt having a length which is less than the length of said vertical through hole, a rotary control element for rotating said bolt, a screw thread on the outer periphery of said expander bolt in engagement with the screw thread of said cylindrical member, and an expander cone having a tapered surface complementary to the tapered surfacce of said cylindrical member and carried by said expander bolt, said expander cone being vertically movable upon rotation of said expander bolt imparted by said rotary control element such that its tapered surface moves into engagement with or disengagement from the tapered surface of said cylindrical member to control the radial expansion of said cylindrical member and the locking thereof to said front fork; said horizontal and vertical through holes terminating in a common area permitting access to said screw means and rotary control element through said horizontal and vertical through holes, said expander bolt having a length which prevents its projection into said common area.