US Patent 7117762 Bicycle gear indicator mechanism

A rotatable handgrip shifting device (10) that is mountable on a bicycle handlebar and connected to a bicycle gear changing mechanism by a cable within a tube and reversibly operable at discrete shift points corresponding to the gears of the bicycle gear changing mechanism. The shifting device (10) includes a handgrip (34) rotatable about the handlebar, a spool (30) rotatable with the handgrip (34) and a housing (12) that secures the shifting device (10) to the handlebar. The housing (12) includes a gear display (18) denoting a plurality of discrete shift points of the gear changing mechanism. A flexible member (40) includes at one end a pointer (44) and a spool tab (42) at another end. The pointer (44) is reciprocally displaceable along the gear display (18) in response to rotation of the handgrip (34). The spool tab (42) is removably attachable to the spool (30) or the handgrip (34) and configured such that the flexible member (40) spools at a radius permitting alignment of the pointer (44) with the plurality of discrete shift points denoted on the gear display (18).