Shimano Files for Anti-Lock Brakes Patent

Shimano has filed a patent for an ABS braking system for bikes. This move suggests that they may release its own version of the trending technology sometime in the future.

In the patent text, it appears the ABS system is designed with e-Bikes in mind (‘a vehicle that at least partially uses human force as a prime mover for travelling, and includes vehicles that assist human force with electric power’) but also refers to bikes of all types which could leave the door open to further developments down the line: ‘The type of human-powered vehicle can be a road bike, a mountain bike, or a cross bike’ the text explained.

First spotted by BikeRadar, the patent listing refers to speed and acceleration sensors designed to measure and respond to the “travelling environment” of the rider and “vehicle body speed” as well as GPS and a LIDAR light receiver which uses lasers and responds to ‘a light emitter that is configured to emit light to a travelling road surface’.

Last month, the CycleEurope Group lifted the lid on the first electric bike to fully integrate an ABS braking system, Blubrake ABS, which featured on the Crescent Ellie 7-VXL ABS Koppla model.

In June 2017, Cycling Industry News first broke news of Bosch debuting what was considered to be the first workable prototype of an ABS braking system for bicycles. Bosch has developed the system further since then.

This article was first published in Cycling Industry News