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4 July 2017Patents

Bike patent figures revealed as Tour de France continues

With stage three of the Tour de France now completed and 298 separate riders having participated, the European Patent Office (EPO) has revealed the number of European patents related to bicycles.

The cycling industry is expected to be worth over $45 billion by 2024, according to Persistence Market Research, and it appears patent owners in Europe don’t want to miss out.

Figures from the EPO show there are a total of 1,950 registered European patents relating to bicycles.

These include 300 for bicycle saddles and 400 for the frames.

The two largest patented features of bicycles are the brakes and rear derailleurs (gears).

Both features were covered by 450 registered patents each.

The front derailleurs and handlebars had 150 and 200 patents respectively.

Examples of registered bicycle-related patents include number MX2016002473, for detatchable head-tube assembly—which allows the handlebars to detatch—and TW201704088, for a method of changing gears through a device fixed to the handlebars.

According to the EPO’s latest figures, the office granted 96,000 patents in 2016.

Despite being named the Tour de France, the world-famous race started in Düsseldorf, Germany on July 1 and stage four begins today, July 4 in Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg. It ends on July 23 in Paris.

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