Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, there weremore than 4,200 bike-related patents issued between 1996 and2000-do the math, and you're talking more than 800patents per year and more than two bike patents per day. Accordingto Bicycling magazine senior editor Garrett Lai, bikes have alwaysbeen a product category with plenty of patent action. "Bikesare accessible, people can see all the parts and how they work, andthey can create a new bike innovation in their garage," hesays.
It's true-inventors come up with new bike inventionsall the time. During our interview, Lai reeled off a quick listthat included Paul Turner, creator of RockShox, the firstcommercially viable front suspension system, and Rolf Dietrich,inventor of Rolf Wheels, which are now featured on Trek bikes. Bothinventors started on their own, like so many others before them,before eventually selling off their businesses to bigcompanies.
Continue reading this article — and all of our other premium content with Entrepreneur+
For just $5, you can get unlimited access to all Entrepreneur’s premium content. You’ll find:
- Digestible insight on how to be a better entrepreneur and leader
- Lessons for starting and growing a business from our expert network of CEOs and founders
- Meaningful content to help you make sharper decisions
- Business and life hacks to help you stay ahead of the curve
