The following non-exhaustive list of cycling terms might be of interest to a new member.
| Aero Bars | Handlebar attachments that allow the rider to get into a lower more aero position. |
| Audax | Latin for daring. A cycling event to test the endurance of touring cyclists. |
| Barrel Adjuster | A hollow bolt that gear or brake cables run through. These bolts can be turned to adjust the amount of tension on the cable for fine tuning. |
| Bead | The edge of the tyre held in place by the rim. The bead can be made of wire, or kevlar. |
| Bidon | The french name for the drinking bottles inserted into bottle cages. You should always have two in hot weather! |
| Bonk | That horrible feeling when your body runs out of fuel on a long distance cycle ride. Eat and drink plenty as you go to avoid this. |
| Bottom Bracket | Refers to the short threaded tube, known as the bottom bracket shell, that runs at a right angle to the seat and down tubes, also to the axle and bearings, which screw into the shell. |
| Block | A threaded assembly of rear sprockets that screws onto a threaded rear hub (now replaced by a cassette on most new bikes). |
| Brake Caliper | A single assembly that moves the brake shoes toward the rim. These are the brakes found on most road bikes. |
| Cadence | The rate or speed of pedal rotation whilst cycling. Cruising speeds are normally around 80-90 rpm while fast cycling is around 100 rpm or higher. |
| Cantilever Brakes | A brake system used on mountain and touring bikes where the brake arms are mounted on frame bosses and joined by a link or cable. |
| Captain | The person on the front of a tandem who does some of the work plus the necessary bits like braking and steering. (see also stoker) |
| Carbon Fibre | A material used for building bicycle frames and parts. Strands of carbon that are placed on a sheet and held in place by a resin. |
| Cassette | A set of sprockets that are assembled onto the splines of a rear hub, forming part of the drive train. The number of teeth on each of the sprockets may sometimes be pre-selected to suit riding conditions. |
| Chain Rings | Sometimes known as chain wheels. These are the toothed rings that bolt onto the right hand crank forming part of the chainset. They function as the drive end of the drive train and there will normally be one fitted to a track bike, two to a road bike or three to a touring bike. The chain is moved from one ring to the other by the front derailleur (front mech).. |
| Chain Stays | Frame tubes that connect the bottom bracket to the rear dropouts, where the rear wheel is attached. Run the same path as the chain, thus the name. |
| Chainset | The unit that comprises the chainrings or chainwheels and the cranks. |
| Clincher | A type of tyre and rim. Clincher rims hook clincher tires in order to hold them in place. |
| Clipless Pedals | A type of pedal system that is similar to a ski binding. a cleat on the bottom of the shoe locks into place on the pedal. |
| Crank | The two-armed mechanism that connect the pedals to the chain ring. |
| Disc Brakes | A braking system that has a dedicated disc for the braking surface. can substantially improve the braking modulation and control over traditional brakes. |
| Down Tube | Frame tube which connects the bottom bracket and the head tube. |
| Draft/Drafting | Where one rider rides directly behind another in order to gain an aerodynamic advantage. The rider behind expends 30% less energy than the rider in front. |
| Drive Train | The transmission of the bike that consists of the chain, chainrings, cranks, bottom bracket, front and rear derailleurs, cassette, and rear hub. |
| Drops | The lower part of a road handlebar below the brake levers. |
| Fixed Wheel | This refers to the rear gear or lack of them. The single rear sprocket is firmly fastened to the hub and does not freewheel! You must never stop pedalling on one of these bikes! |
| Fork | Attaches the steering system (handlebars and stem), to the front wheel. |
| Frame | The heart of the bicycle — all parts of the bicycle are attached to the frame. |
| Frame Bosses | Normally refered to as “braze-ons” these are mountings for fittings such as bottle cages, cable stops, racks etc. They may be brazed on, welded, riveted or glued to the frame, depending on frame tube material. |
| Front Derailleur | Often referred to as the “front mech” it is a device that moves the chain from one chainring to another (a term known as changing gear).” |
| Gear Ratio | Using CT = number of chainring teeth, ST = number of sprocket teeth and WD = wheel diameter the gear ratio may be calculated by the following formulas: CT/ST x WD – this is the old method and relates to a penny farthing, or CT/ST x WD x 3,142 (Pi) – this is the current method which relates to the distance travelled by one pedal rev. It is usually calculated in metric units. |
| Granny Gear | A very low ratio gear invented to make life easy for mountain bikers. now also used by a lot of cycle tourists to avoid having to honk. |
| Gripshift | An alternative to handlebar trigger gear change. a motorcycle throttle type gear change, i.e. twist to change gear. |
| Head Angle | The angle of head tube to the ground. Optimizes steering precision on each frame size. |
| Head Tube | The tube at the front of the frame connected to the top and down tubes. It incorporates the head set (bearings) and forks (steerer tube). |
| Headset | The pair of bearings and bearing races (races are things that bearings run in) at each end of the head tube that allow the fork to steer the bicycle smoothly. |
| Hill | Nearly impossible to describe, as individual definitions vary so widely, but you’ll know it when you see it. Some go up. Other, more popular ones, go down. |
| Hub | The centre of the wheel that contains the spindle. Spokes run from the hub to the rim. |
| Hybrid | A bicycle developed from the mountain bike but having 700c size wheels. A good allround commuting or town machine for occasional offroad riding. |
| Jockey Wheel | The two toothed pulley wheels (upper and lower) fitted to the rear derailleur, which carry the chain from one sprocket to the other when the rear derailleur is operated. Worn jockey wheel bearings are often the cause of bad gear changes. |
| Lanterne Rouge | French for ‘red light’. Unexcitingly, this is merely a name for the person who is last! |
| Limit Screw | Located on both derailleurs to control how high or low the derailleur body moves. Limit screws that are not properly adjusted can cause shifting problems. |
| Pinch Flat | A type of puncture that results from the tube being pinched between the tire and the rim. Pinch flats are commonly referred to as snake bites. |
| Presta Valve | A high pressure type inner tube valve used for road bikes. they need a different connector to the schraeder valve type. |
| Rear Derailleur | Often referred to as the rear mech it is a device that moves the chain from one sprocket on the cassette to another (a term known as changing gear). |
| Rim | The outer hoop of the wheel that holds the tire. Spokes connect the rim to the hub. |
| Schraeder Valve | An inner tube valve of the car type. |
| Seat Stays | Frame tubes that connect from the frame near the seat post to the rear dropouts, where the rear wheel is attached. |
| Sprocket | An individual gear forming a unit part of a cassette or block. |
| Stand Over | The distance from the ground to the point on the top tube where you straddle the bike. |
| Stem | The stem connects the handlebars to the fork. |
| Stoker | The person who sits behind the captain on a tandem and does most of the work but sees very little! |
| Titanium | A metallic element increasingly used in bicycle frames and components. Strong, light, corrosion resistant and expensive. |
| Tubeless | A tubeless tyre looks like a standard tube-type clincher tyre but requires no inner tube and, once ‘seated’ (seating is the process of snapping the beads into position), it forms an airtight seal with the rim. A valve just like the one you’d find on an inner tube is fitted directly to the rim. For the system to work, neither the rim nor tyre can leak air, so the tyre needs to fit tightly to the rim. Sealant, which sloshes around inside the tyres, is an essential part of any tubeless setup. Sealant, poured into the tyre or injected through the valve, helps plug any tiny leaks. This sealant stays liquid inside the tyre and will heal small punctures suffered while riding. |
| Tubular | A tyre with the innertube stitched or vulcanised inside the outer casing. These tyres are extremely light and many may be inflated to pressures in excess off 200psi (13.8bar). They have to be fitted to special rims (once known as sprints) using adhesive tape or cement. Nowadays they are generally used for racing only. |
| Wheelbase | The distance between the centre of the front and rear wheels. A short wheelbase makes a bike more rigid and responsive, but can provide a harsh ride, whereas a long wheelbase makes a bike more flexible and comfortable, but can be sluggish to handle. |