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  A To Z Of Cycling Terms llilll

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  EVERY SPECIALITY HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE, AND CYCLING IS NO EXCEPTION
 Learn a few of these names and terms about cycling, then you'll understand some of what a cycle-mad friend or bike shop sales person is actually talking about !.		  

 
ATB (All Terrain Bicycle)
All Terrain Bicycle, a former name for 'mountain bike', now more commonly appreciated as MTB

Bar ends
Extensions to the handlebars that help 'honking' (riding out of the saddle - mainly up hill and fire-road sections)

Bar-bag
Luggage that fits onto the handlebar

Bars
Handlebars / Flats (XC) / Riser / (Free-ride / Enduro)

Base layer
Term for 'wicking' garments worn next to the skin for comfort and warmth

Big ring
The largest of the front chain-wheels

Block
The cluster of sprockets, or cogs, on the back wheel. Also called the freewheel

Bosses
Brazed-on mounting points on a bike frame for bolting on bottle cages, pannier racks and some gear levers

Bottom bracket
The axle linking the two cranks

Brake shoe
The sleeve the brake pad is fixed to

Braze-on's
See bosses

Bunny-hop
The act of jumping off the ground on a bike

Butted tubes
Either double or triple - frame tubing which has walls which go thin at the centre to reduce weight

Cadence
Pedalling rate, i.e.. the number of crank revolutions per minute. The more the merrier. 'Spinning' is more knee-friendly that straining on the pedals

Cager
Slang term for car drivers

Cantilever brake
Brake system, common on mountain bikes, where the brake arm is pulled from the top by the break cable pivoting the brake pad onto the rim

Captain
The person who sits at the front of a tandem

Chain-set
The cogs, or chain-wheels, attached to the cranks which can be single, double or triple

Chain-stay
The tube that runs from the bottom bracket to the rear of the frame

Chain-wheel
The cog, or cogs, attached to the cranks

Clearance
The amount of space between the ground and the bottom bracket

Cleats
Mechanism that is screwed to the sole of the shoe to fit clip less pedals

Clip less pedal
A mechanism which fixes the riders shoe to the pedal so the rider's feet don't slip of

Computer
Small, electronic computer measuring speed, distance and many other useful on-the-road functions

CoolMax
Technical fabric made from polyester used as for jerseys and base layers

Cordura
Heavy duty nylon used in panniers, boots and rucksacks

Crank
The pedal arm

Cro-mo
Or chrome-moly. Short for chrome-molybdenum which is a high tensile steel alloy used for cycle frames

Damping
The cushioned 'spring' associated with suspension systems

Derailleur / Rear Mech
The mechanisms to change gears at the rear of the bike (called the rear Mech) and at the front (called the front Mech) if there is more than one chain-ring

Dish(ing)
The degree of asymmetry of the spoke arrangement on either side of a wheel. A front wheel is symmetrical, a rear wheel is asymmetrical because of the offset - or dish - needed to accommodate the rear block

Double-butted
See Butted

Down tube
The tube that runs from the head-tube at the front of the bike to the bottom bracket (crank)

Drop handlebars
The handlebars that curve down in an s-shape found on road racing bikes and tourers

Drop outs
Where the wheel is attached to the fork at the front and the frame at the rear

Elastomer suspension
Used in front and rear suspension - Elastomer is a sponge-like plastic that compresses and expands to provide damping

Egg Beaters
4 sided spd pedals that look like kitchen egg whisks (good for mud clearance)

Frameset
The frame and forks

Freewheel
The cogs at the rear of the bike, sometimes called the block

Gore-tex
Waterproof breathable fabric

Granny ring
The smaller of the front chain-wheels. In the 'granny ring' you spin very fast and can climb steep slopes

Group-set
A collective term used for the components of a bicycle, i.e.. brakes, hub, chain, cranks, chain-set, freewheel and gears

Halogen
Type of cycle light filament bulb that emits a bright, white light

Head tube
Contains the headset, see below

Headset
The sleeve inside the frame that links the stem to the front fork

Honking / Stonking
Pedalling out of the saddle putting a lot of weight and power on to the pedals, usually uphill

HPV
Human powered vehicle - a name given to pedal driven cycles that aren't 'traditional' in looks, e.g.. recumbent

Hybrid
A cross between a road bike and a mountain bike, i.e.. an MTB-like frame but with thinner larger wheels more suitable for riding on the road

Knobblies
Deep tread tyres found on mountain bikes

Lacing
Weaving spokes together to form a wheel

LED
Light emitting diode - flashing lights attached to bikes or riders

Lugs
Sleeves that join two frame tubes together which can be welded or glued into place

Mitts
Short fingered gloves also called 'track mitts'

MTB
Abbreviation for Mountain Bike

Nipple
Bolt that secures a spoke to the rim
Pannier racks Framing that fits onto the front or rear of a bike that can carry luggage

Pannier bags
Cycle luggage (Fit to the front or back of bike)

Pertex
Windproof and water-resistant nylon fabric that is very lightweight and highly breathable

Polartec
Polyester fleece fabric used for thermal wear and base layers

Presta valve
Valve on the inner tube mainly found on road, touring, city and hybrid bikes. It is longer and thinner than Schrader car-type valves

Quick release or QR
Skewers that secure the wheel through the hub that can be tightened and released quickly without tools

Rake
The curvature in a pair of front forks that 'spring' a little, i.e.. the distance between a centreline drawn through the fork tube, and a parallel line drawn through the fork drop outs

Rear triangle
The seat-stays and the chain-stays, or the back end of the bike

Recumbent
An HPV bike where you sit reclining in a 'bucket' seat

Rim
Part of the wheel that the tyre runs around and where the spokes are attached.

Rip-stop
A way of preventing windproof fabric from tearing. It has heavier threads at regular intervals looking like squares or hexagons in the fabric

Roadies
Cycle enthusiasts who prefer road riding than mountain biking

Roadster
European style bikes that have a very upright cycling position and come fully equipped with mudguards, chain-guard, lights and pannier racks

Sag wagon
Luggage carrying van or truck which follows cyclists either on a tour or a mass ride, and which will pick up tired riders

Sam Browne belt
Fluorescent sash worn by cyclists and motorcyclists to make other road users aware of their existence. "The leather belt with a strap over the shoulder and originally with a sword-frog, compulsory for officers and warrant officers in the British Army until 1939 when it was declared optional. This belt was invented by General Sir Sam Browne VC (1821-1901) a veteran of the Indian Mutiny

Schrader valve
On the inner tube mainly found on mountain bikes. It is fatter than a Presta valve

Seat post or pin
The tube that is attached to the saddle which can be set up or down in the 'seat tube' to suit the height of the rider

Seat tube
The frae tube that runs down from the seat post to the bottom bracket

Seat-stay
The frame tube that runs from the top of the seat tube to the rear of the frame

Semi-slicks
Tyres with partial or shallow tread found on hybrid, touring and city bikes

Shifter / Pods
Gear changing lever

Shimano
A Japanese manufacturer of gears, brakes and other essential cycle components

Skewer
A rod pushed through the hub that secures the wheel to the drop outs

Slicks
Tyres with no tread

Snell
The Snell Foundation carry out stringent safety tests on helmets

SPD (Spd's)
Shimano Pedalling Dynamics - Shimano's term for their clip-less pedals

Sprocket
A cog in the freewheel

Stem
Attaches the handlebar to the frame via the headset

Stoker
The person who sits at the back of a tandem

Toe-strap
A strap that is fitted to a pedal to keep the foot in position so power can be added to the upstroke not just the down stroke

Top tube
The frame tube that runs along the top of the frame, sometimes called the crossbar

Track-stand
The art of balancing the bike in one place with both feet on the pedals, useful for waiting at traffic lights

Trike
Another term for tricycle

Truing
Straightening a buckled wheel

Twist shift / Twisters
Method of changing gear by twisting part of the grip on the

Ventile
Traditional, tough cotton fabric tightly woven making it windproof and treated for waterproof-ness
 
   
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