(19)Fresh off Patent
(45) Week of Oct 5, 2026 No. 5 3,852 lapsed 197 picks
Auto & Bike Accessories · lapsed Aug 7, 2026

Rooftop bike carrier with two-part pivoting lift arm

A roof-mounted bicycle carrier that uses a two-piece pivoting boom and a multi-link lift assembly with a gas spring to help raise a bike upright onto a vehicle roof rack. The second boom carries an adjustable clamp that secures the bike while the linkage, gas spring and a hydraulic damper control the lift motion; wheel straps on the rack hold the wheel. Intended for drivers who put bikes on car roofs and want lift assistance.

Sheet 1 of the patent drawingsSheet 2 of the patent drawingsSheet 3 of the patent drawings

(57) What the patent covered

The main independent claim required a roof support rack with first and second booms pivotally connected end-to-end and to the rack, a friction engagement between the booms, a linkage assembly pivoting between the first boom and the rack with a gas (pneumatic) spring attached from the rack to the linkage, a hydraulic dampening cylinder from the rack to the first boom, an adjustable bike clamp mounted on the second boom inward from its free end, and an adjustable wheel-retaining strap on the rack.

The distinctive part: Combining a two-part end-to-end pivot boom with a multi-pivot linkage plus a gas spring and separate hydraulic damper to assist and control lifting while the bike clamp sits inward of the boom tip.

Novelty 3/5. Two-part pivoting lift arms and roof-mounted bike clamps existed already, but the particular combination of an end-to-end boom, separate gas spring assist on the linkage and an added hydraulic damper was a clever improvement rather than a wholly new product.

Making it

stamped and welded steel or aluminum subassemblies for rack and booms, CNC or stamped pivot plates, assembly of gas spring and hydraulic damper, screw-adjustable clamp components, final hand assembly and torqueing of pivot fasteners

Materials: steel or aluminum tubing (booms and linkage), steel stamped fittings and pivots, gas spring (pneumatic cylinder) with metal end mounts, hydraulic dampener (small shock/strut), nylon or rubber wheel strap and plastic-coated clamp surfaces

Manufacturability 4/5. Several stamped/machined metal parts, tubing, and off‑the‑shelf gas springs and dampers; requires fixtures for welding and jigging but uses common manufacturing steps and modest part counts.

Is anyone buying?

Comparable products are on sale; this exact design wasn't found. Lift-assisted, gas-spring/damper mechanisms; multiple vendors market roof-rack lift aids; MOS UpLift advertises 70-75% lift assist with gas springs.

This demand check was run with a web search in the week of Sep 14, 2026. Listings change often, so treat it as a starting point for your own research.

Who buys it: car owners who put bikes on roofs and want mechanical lift help

Before you make it

We didn't find any related continuation or divisional patents still in force, although that doesn't rule out design patents, trademarks or unrelated patents covering the same product.

Practical risks include fitment to different roof rack footprints and roof load limits, need to source appropriate gas springs/dampers and robust pivots, and a crowded market of existing roof bike carriers.

Owners occasionally revive lapsed patents (about 1.5% are), and this page is a research lead rather than legal advice, so get a freedom-to-operate opinion before you manufacture anything.

Claim 1, as granted

1. An assisted lift bicycle carrier for vehicles comprises; a support rack on said vehicle, first and second lift booms pivotally attached in end to end relation to one another and to said support rack for raising and lowering a bicycle attached to said second boom to an upright position on said support rack, a friction engagement fitting between said first and second booms, a linkage assembly pivotally secured between said first boom and said support rack, said linkage assembly having a linkage body member, an independent linkage and linkage element formed by a portion of said linkage body member, a gas spring cylinder pivotally secured from said support rack to a pivot point on the end of said linkage body member, a bike engagement clamp adjustably secured on said second boom inwardly of the boom's free end for selective attachment on said bicycle, a hydraulic dampening cylinder extending from said support rack to said first boom between said linkage assembly attachment and said first boom's attachment to said support rack, a bike wheel retainment strap on said rack having an adjustable fixation strap engagement.