Patents cost a lot of money- It may cost >$15k to obtain a patent that is actually worth something. It is important to write the application in concert with an experienced patent attorney or patent agent as there are many "gotchas" in the patent system.

Beware of invention submission companies however http://www.ipwatchdog.com/inventing/...ion-companies/ You also might want to browse around the rest of ipwatchdog.com- There's a lot of good info there.

Also try the following book http://www.amazon.com/Patent-Yoursel.../dp/0873375637 and there's a uspto help line you can call http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/pacmain.html Learn what makes something patentable and also the differences between a design patent and a utility patent.

Lastly, you'd be surprised at what's out there so it's good to do your own searching. Perhaps try google patents which provides a nice interface though their records aren't always accurate http://www.google.com/patents?q=bicy...Search+Patents

A quick look also reveals that the PTO has some subclasses in their classification system that will be good to search in: try class 74, subclass 551.1 and up http://www.uspto.gov/go/classificati...tm#C074S551100 Keep a note of patents and publications that you consider "material to patentability" as you must submit this to the office- ask your attorney about your "duty to disclose".