Glossary
- 700c The standard wheel size for road bikes and touring bikes.
- Bar end shifters Gear shifters for the ends of drop bars.
- Bar ends Short extensions for the ends of a flat handlebar.
- Bottom bracket The part that the cranks attach to.
- Braze-ons Small bits of metal brazed to a bicycle frame for fastening components to.
- Brifters Brake levers with integrated gear shifters.
- BSD (Bead Seat Diameter) The diameter of a wheel rim in millimetres.
- Caliper brakes The traditional type of brake.
- Cantilever brakes A type of centre-pull brake seen on old mountain bikes and some touring bikes.
- Chain stay The thin tubes connecting dropouts to bottom bracket at the rear of the frame.
- Chainring The large sprocket near the pedals.
- Chainset The cranks and the chainring(s).
- Chainwheel An American term for chainring.
- Clipless pedals Special pedals for use with cleated cycling shoes.
- Compact double Chainset with two smaller-than-standard chainrings.
- Compact geometry Frame design with a sloping top tube.
- Crank The arm joining the pedal to the bottom bracket.
- Cyclocross bike A type of fast off-road bike, usually designed for drop bars.
- D-lock A type of solid metal bike lock shaped like a D.
- Derailleur The sprung mechanism that shifts the chain onto different sprockets in a derailleur system.
- Down tube The long diagonal tube in a bicycle frame.
- Drop bars The kind of handlebar seen on racer bikes.
- Dropouts The slots for mounting the rear wheel to the bicycle frame.
- Dual pivot caliper More powerful modern version of the traditional brake.
- Eyelets (frame) The holes you bolt the mudguards to.
- Fixed gear A single speed drive train without freewheel.
- Flat bars The kind of handlebar found on mountain bikes.
- Frameset The frame and fork.
- Freewheel Sprocket that allows the rider to coast without pedalling.
- Friction shifting The traditional mode of gear shifting involving a simple gear lever.
- Head tube The very short tube at the front of the bicycle frame.
- Indexed gearing A mode of gear shifting where one shifter click corresponds to one gear.
- Innertube The tube inside a tyre.
- MTB An abbreviation of mountain bike.
- North Road bars A kind of handlebar where the handles sweep back from the centre.
- OLN An abbreviation of Over Lock Nuts, signifying the width of a wheel.
- P-clips Clips that allow mudguards or a rack to be fitted to a bike without eyelets or bosses.
- Pannier A type of cycle luggage that mounts to a rack.
- Pannier rack The metal structure attached to the rear of the frame for carrying luggage.
- Rack pack Small item of cycle luggage that sits on top of a rack.
- Rapid fire shifters A type of gear shifter with two buttons, one to shift up and one to shift down.
- Road bike Style of bike commonly referred to as a 'racer'.
- Saddlebag A type of cycle luggage that attaches to the rear of the saddle.
- Seat post The round tube with a clamp on top that connects the saddle to the bike frame.
- Seat stay Slim tubes at the rear of the frame.
- Seat tube The near-vertical, central tube in a bicycle frame.
- Sheffield stand The standard kind of cycle parking stand in UK towns and cities.
- Sidewall The side of a tyre.
- Single speed A bike with a freewheel but only one gear.
- SPD A clipless pedal system developed by Shimano.
- Sprocket Any of the cogs attached to the back wheel.
- Stem The component that connects the handlebar to the fork.
- Step-through frame A design of frame with a very low top tube, or no top tube at all.
- STI Shimano's brand of integrated gear shifters.
- Top tube The long tube at the top of a bicycle frame.
- Touring bike A type of bike designed for comfortable, long distance journeys with luggage.
- Track pump A vertical pump with a plunger and a hose.
- Tyre The part of the bicycle that makes contact with the road.
- Tyre flint Anything sharp that gets stuck in a tyre.
- Tyre valve The inlet for the innertube.
- Utility cycling A cycle journey made for reasons of transport, rather than leisure or sport.
- Vee brakes A type of side-pull brake.
- Wheelbase The distance between front and rear wheels.
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