Cycling Terms

(One - Bye) Also known as 1x.

A drivetrain that uses a single chainring as the input gear and multiple cogs for the output gear. Very popular on Gravel and Mountain bikes. A 1x drivetrain simplifies and lightens up the bike by removing the need for a Front Derailleur, front Shifter, front Housing and multiple Chainrings.

The name '1 By' is a vernacular derived from '1 By 10' where 10 would be the number of cogs in the output gears.

26 Inch wheels used to be the standard mountain bike wheel size. Now 26 inch wheels are commonly found on kids' mountain bikes, some recreational bike and fat bikes.

(Two - Bye) Also known as 2x.

A drivetrain that uses two chainrings as the input gear and multiple cogs for the output gear. Very popular on road, hybrid and recrational bikes. 2x drivetrains provide more gearing options for ease of use over all types of terrain.

27.5 wheels are 27.5 inches in diameter and are commonly used on mountain bikes. These are also 650b wheels, and sometimes used on road bikes made for shorter riders or kids.

27.5+ wheels are the same diameter as 27.5 wheels, but use a wider tire. These are commonly used on mountain bikes, they are fast rolling and agile.

29er wheels are 29 inches in diameter, these are commonly used on mountain bikes. They are fast rolling, and roll over obstacles with ease.

700c wheels are commonly used on road and gravel bikes.

Weight, stiffness, aerodynamics, and vertical compliance: finding the correct balance between the four is key to optimum ride quality. BMC adjusts geometry, carbon lay-up and examines frame cross sections to try to do just that - using computer generated testing. It reports having tested 34,000 frames in this way over the course of just one year. The result is frame constructions which it feels hits the target.

Short for Aerodynamic. An Aero bike is a bicycle that is designed for maximum aerodynamic efficiencies.

A sealed air cartridge usually found in suspension forks and shocks on bicycles that acts as temporary power storage when the bicycle experiences an impact. In contrast to a coil spring or elastomer spring, the air spring is preferred in many suspension cases due to it's high tunability, extreme light weight and progressive spring power.

A metal material used in many bike frames. Alloy combines multiple metals to provide better properies (strength, weight, corrosion resistance).

A Specialized Innovation. ANGi is a helmet mounted saftey sensor that pairs with a Smartphone App. ANGi does live tracking, crash detecting and it is a safety beacon. ANGi measures forces that occur during crashes even if your helmet doesn't hit the ground. When ANGi decects forces of a dangerous level it triggers an alarm on the paired phone. If the alarm is not stopped within a period of time, the app notifies designated emergency contacts and includes your location. ANGi is included on some Specialized helmets, and sold as a standalone item. ANGi is compatible with most cycling helmets.

The angle at which the front wheel approches an obstacle. A larger angle of attack means that 'rolling over' said obstacle will be easier.

Bearings designed to take load in both radial and lateral directions. Commonly used in nicer quality bottom brackets and hubs. Usually used in all quality level headsets. A common cup and cone style hub is a perfect example of an angular contact bearing.

APS is BMC's dual link suspension design. It offers what they believe to be the best balance between pedaling efficiency, braking performance, and general suspension performance for XC racing and beyond.

To jump off your bike to avoid danger, or the fear is overwhelming, or to avoid an obstacle last minute. 'I was going to ride the expert trail but I bailed at the last second to ride the beginner trail.'

Very commonly confused with a steel ball.

A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. Literally 'bearing' a load. Common types in bicycles are ball bearings, roller bearings and angular contact bearings. It is very important to keep your bearings clean and free of debris. Regular bearing maintenance will greatly prolong the life of your components.

For the absolute best bearing performace, use ceramic bearings.

Bikes with belt drives do not use standard chainrings or chains. Instead their drivetrain uses a belt with notches to power the bike. Belt drive bikes are great for riding in bad weather or commuting since they are low maintenance.

A banked turn that has a dirt or wood along the outside edge of the corner providing more surface area to ride around the corner. Riding the berm allows riders to go into turns with more speed and continue to gain speed.

Bibs are a type of cycling shorts. They feature a chamois, but they get their name from having suspenders built in. Bib shorts are popular for their increased comfort, since they do not have a thick waistband and are held in place by the suspenders.

Bikepacking is camping via bike, or backpacking on a bike. To bikepack, the rider uses an assortment of bags and mounts to contain all of their tent and gear on their bike and then ride the loaded up bike to campsites.

Short for Bicycle Motocross. BMX is a style of riding, either BMX racing, or freestyle (tricks and jumps) riding.

A Specialized Innovation. Body Geometry (BG) is the term for the science and engineering Specialized does for all of their items that connect you and your bike. Gloves, grips, shoes, insoles, shorts, and saddles are all items that are created using BG science to improve comfort, increase performance and reduce the chance of injury. Specialized partnered with expert doctors to develop products focused on proper ergonomics based on SCIENCE! And to save men from cycling related ED.

A Specialized Innovation. Brain Technology is used on some Specialized mountain bikes with suspension. This Technology knows the difference between pedaling force and bump force. It keeps suspension firm on smooth terrain and switches suspension to fully active the instant things get rough without needing to use lockout switches. The all-new Brain is still in a class by itself when it comes to instantly and automatically adjusting suspension from firm to active to maximize efficiency and control.

Brakes are the devices that allow the rider to slow the bike or come to a stop. Bicycle Brakes convert kinetic energy into thermal energy and sound waves in order to slow and stop a bicycle's forward motion. There are multiple kinds of bike brakes that all apply friction to a breaking surface to regulate the speed of the bike. The types of bike brakes are: Mechanical Disc Brakes, Hydraulic Disc Brakes, Caliper Rim Brakes, V-Brakes, Cantilever Rim Brakes and Coaster Brakes. In many cases, better brakes allow a rider to go faster. This may seem counter-intuative, but if we consider if a rider has more powerful and better functioning brakes, the rider will be able to maintain speed for a greater length of time going into a corner before applying the brakes.

A bunny hop is a trick in which the rider gets both wheels off the ground at the same time without the use of a jump.

Cadence is the reveloutions per minute of a riders pedalling. It is an important data point to measure for a lot of cyclists that race.

The material of choice for light weight, stiffness, durability, repair-ability, custom manufacturing abilities, comfort and speed. Most high end bicycles and components are made of carbon.

The cluster of gears (cogs) that drives the rear wheel forward. Cassettes slide onto a spline pattern that is attached to the rear wheel. Cassettes are superior to freewheels due to the fact they contain no moving parts, are lighter, and allow hub manufacturers to place the bearings further apart from each other thus strengthening the hub.

Century is a term that it used for a 100 mile bike ride.

A bearing that is built with rolling elements made of ceramic instead of steel. Ceramic is much harder than steel and can be manufactured to much more exacting tolerances of roundness compared with steel. This results in extreme low friction in the bearing, which means more of your power from the pedals gets transferred into forward motion. Ceramic bearings are the best of the best and likely the most efficient upgrade you can make on your bicycle.

The bicycle chain is the only chain that is a symbol of freedom, rather than oppression.

Bicycle chains are the main component in the transmission of power from the input gears to the output gears. A clean chain is a fast chain. Keep your chain clean and lubed and you may enjoy thousands of miles from a single chain.

When the bicycles chain it hitting bike bikes chainstays in a slapping motion caused by riding over uneven terrain.

Chainrings attach to the crank and drive power to the output gears attached to the rear wheel via the chain. Chainrings are either 1 by, single speed, or multi speed.

The padding sewn into cycling shorts to increase comfort.

An eBike Rating. Class 1 eBikes have a maximum speed of 20mph, and are pedal assist only (no throttle).

An eBike Rating. Class 2 eBikes have a maximum speed of 20mph, and have a throttle assist.

An eBike Rating. Class 3 eBikes have a maximum speed of 28mph, are and pedal assist only (no throttle).

Climbing refers to going up a hill to climb is to ride your bike up a hill or incline.

A bike pedal and shoe term that means to ride without pedal straps. Instead, these have locking mechanisms that attach the shoe to the pedal.

Carbon dioxide: CO2 molecules are made up of a carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. In cycling, CO2 is used to help fix flats quickly. The CO2 containers are small, and lightweight making them a great option to carry with on bike rides.

Just like an airplane, where the pilot is housed, where all the controls are, and where the magic happens. On a bike, the cockpit area is the area between the seat and the front of the bike. It includes the sadddle, handlebars and pedals.

A commuter is a rider who bikes to work, or a bike that is used to ride to and from work regularly. These bikes are typically able to have racks and bags mounted to them which makes commuting easier on the rider.

Connects the chainring to the pedals. Cranks have a spindle they attach to that either intersects with or connects to the bottom bracket. They are available in different lengths, often from 150mm for youth bikes up to 185mm for very tall adults.

Also known as a Crit. A race that requires multiple laps on a short course.

A common issue. When shifted to the big front chainrin and biggest rear cog, or smallest and smallest. This stretches the chain diagonally and is usually accompanied by a noise. The solution is to shift to a different combination of gears. If you find yourself cross chaining frequently, you may want to consider upgrading your gearing.

A Specialized Innovation. An aluminum welding technology that precisely matches the welded area of tube-to-tube joints, in turn allowing a better welded joint, much stronger weld areas, and ultimately a stronger, lighter frame. Chris D'aluisio is the engineering brain behind smartweld, which is where it gets its name.

An external gear shifting component that 'de-rails' the chain from one set of teeth to another. Controled by the shifters. See Rear Derailleur and Front Derailleur.

Digital Integrated Intelligence. Di2 is a fast and accurate electronic shifting set of components.

In mountain biking double track is a wider trail where bikers can ride next to each other. These are less common than singletrack.

Riding closely behind another rider to reduce your wind resistance.

A bike drivetrain includes everything that is neccesary to put the bike into motion from pedaling. This includes the cassette, chain, chainrings, cranks, derailleurs and pedals.

Whoops, fell out of my hands and hit the floor. To drop in cycling is when a faster rider pulls away from other riders and they do not wait for them to catch up. The faster rider 'dropped' the slower riders. A goal in racing, not very kind when riding with friends.

A type of handlebar usually found on Road or Gravel bikes, these handlebars are straight across the top, and then curl down. Dropbars offer mutlple places to position your hands.

A blog about being faster than the other people on the group ride.

All BMC road frames feature this technology, which allows cable routing to be swapped between mechanical and electronic drivetrains. Every cable or housing entry and exit port has an adjustable system fitted.

A bicycle that provides pedal assist from an electrical system. eBikes are still pedaled, some ebikes do also feature a throttle for extra speed assist.

A bottom bracket that is slightly off center from the bottom bracket shell. This allows a mechanic to rotate the bottom bracket in order to tension the chain when the rear dropouts have no forward or backward adjust-ability. Also very common in the front bottom bracket on tandem bikes to tension the timing chain.

(End over end) When the back wheel of the bike flips over the front wheel in a crash.

An electronic shifting set of components, eTap is wireless, accurate and quiet.

A Specialized Innovation. (FACT) Functional Advanced Composite Technology. A comprehensive carbon fiber engineering process that guides Specialized's development of frames and components.

A mountain bike with oversized (fat tires). The large tires are typically low pressure which allows fat bikes to ride with ease and float through snow and sand, making them great for winter riding but also all year round.

A bike accessory that can be attached to a bike to cover the wheels to protect the rider from water and other debris while riding.

Fixed gear bikes are single speed bikes that do not have a freehub. This means that the rider is not able to coast, or always has to be pedaling if the bike is moving. These bikes are used in track racing, and are also popular for urban riding.

A type of pedals that only feature a platform surface for the shoe - they do not have a locking mechanism that attaches to the shoe.

A term that describes the feel of a mountain bike trail. Trails with good flow do not require a lot of pedalling, they feature rolling sections, berms, and small jumps. These trails are easy to navigate and ride continuously.

The part of the bike that holds the front wheel. Forks can be rigid or feature suspension.

A rear hub that allows the bike (primarily BMX) to roll backwards without needing to pedal.

Controlled by the Front Shifter. The Front Derailleur moves the chain from one chainring to another. The slack in the chain is then taken up by the rear derailleur. Front Derailleurs either come in 'Double' or 'Triple' depending on how many chainrings the bicycle has.

A bike that features both front and rear suspension.

A Specialized Innovation. Future shock features up to 20mm of travel to create a smoother and faster ride. Future Shock is available on some Specialized bike models. The Future Shock is positioned above the head tube in order to move in a vertical path. So when the front wheel encounters rough terrain, the bike moves up towards your hands and preserves your forward momentum without slowing you down.

The space between two jumps that a rider can jump over; take off of the first jump, and land on the backside of the second jump. A gap is also the space between two riders.

To be extremely tired, usually after a bike ride. 'Man, all of those hills have left me gassed.'

Short for shred the gnar. To ride a difficult trail or feature well.

Synonym for 'cool'.

Land that is near or through an urban area that is left undeveloped for recreational use, such as a bike path.

A device (sometimes called a detangler) that allows the rider to turn the handlebars in full rotations without the cables ever becoming tangled.

Links on a half link chain feature an internal and external end, allowing a single link to be removed from the chain. This allows for more specific adjustability of the chain and rear wheel.

To pedal really hard to go as fast as you possibly can.

A mountain bike that has front suspension only.

One of the most important biking accessories. Helmets protect the riders brain in the even of a crash/fall. Every rider should wear a helmet on every ride.

When the motor of an electric bike is integrated into the wheel of the bike.

BMC aims to cut down on drag with an entirely integrated cockpit, tying in the ICStem and ICFork. Ease of use is considered, with the ICFork's service friendly cable routing system and ICStem's cable clamp, cable cover and integrated mounting system lending a hand.

A rear hub that houses parts to control the bikes 'gearing' inside of the hub. These replace the need for a derailleur and are low maintenance.

A non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide.

Chainrings or Belt Drive Rings.

The standards used for industrial activities in Japan. In cycling, this pertains to some component standards like Bottom Brackets, Headsets, Fasteners and Tooling.

All the parts needed to turn a frame into a complete bike. Or matching cycling apparel.

Tires with a tread that consists of large blocks of tread in the patterns. These tires are great for mountain biking because the large blocks of rubber in the tread provide traction.

King Of The Mountain - the cyclist that holds the record for climbing a hill the fastest.

Diamondback's patent pending platform that isolates pedaling from suspension inputs, making these bikes efficient climbers and peddlers.

In mountain biking a loop is a section of a trail that starts and ends at the same location, so that laps can be ridden. Sometimes a loop can be multiple trails combined on a ride/lap.

Lubrication. Used to keep the moving parts of the bike moving smoothly, also lengthens the life of the bike parts.

Lifting the front wheel off the bike while rolling forward, but not pedaling.

A Specialized Innovation. Used in Specialized seats and saddles for women, Mimic Technology makes numbness and pain disappear with a design that mimics the body's response to different types of pressure to create equilibrium within soft tissue. No more suffering in silence—no more suffering at all. So what if society is uncomfortable hearing about pain and numbness on your vagina (or more accurately, your labia)? That's no reason for you to be uncomfortable on your bike, Mimics goal is to ensure that.

A Specialized Innovation. A phone app that connects to Specialized eBikes to fine tune the assist settings, track rides and ride data. The app also gives instant feedback on system health.

An acronym for 'Mountain Bike'.

BMC's MTT comes in two forms, MTT Stays, built into the seatstays, and MTT Suspension Fork, built into the crown of the fork. MTT Stays are found on all URS gravel bikes while MTT Suspension Forks are found on URS LT models. MTT Stays offers 10mm of rear compliance for added power transfer and control on rough terrain in a lightweight package. MTT Suspension Fork offers 20mm of travel to the fork of the bike with a spring curve optimized for gravel riding. There is a lock out on the top of the stem. BMC claims this dampens more than 46% of the typical impacts experienced during gravel riding. Bikes with MTT Suspension Forks come with three options for both spring stiffness and preload plugs, so it can be fine-tuned for each rider.

The principal about how many bikes someone should own. N being the current amount +1 being the amount needed. Therefore everyone always needs one more bike.

A group ride in which the group will not leave any slower riders behind. If a rider starts to fall behind, the group with either slow down or stop to wait for the riders to regroup and adjust their speed to remain as a group on the entire ride.

Cassettes, Freewheels, or Single Cogs. Output gears attach to the rear wheel to drive motion forward.

A cycling specific bag that mounts on the side of a rack next to the wheels. There are panniers that can be mounted by the rear wheel and the front wheel.

A term used for e-bikes that provide power to help the rider accelerate the bike while they pedal. Pedal assist, assists the rider in getting more power out of their pedaling.

The main group in a cycling race.

A type of flat caused by the tube getting caught between the edge of the rim and gets cut, causing a flat tire.

A type of valve commonly used on road bike tubes, or for any tube that is intended for high pressure.

Short for Pounds Per Square Inch. The measurement used for tire inflation, commonly found on the sidewall of a tire.

A type of mountain or BMX bike trail. A pump track is a loop made up of features like rollers, berms that allow riders to ride the track by creating momentum over the features instead of pedaling.

Queen Of The Mountain - The cyclist that holds the record for climbing a hill the fastest.

A skewer for bike wheels that features a lever that allows the wheels to be removed and put on quickly.

Very commonly confused with bearings.

A steel ball is a common rolling element component of a bearing. Other types of rolling elements are Ceramic Balls, and Cylindrical Rollers. 'Loose Ball' hubs and bottom brackets consist of many steel balls used as rolling elements.

Not to be confused with a wheel.

The tires are the only part of the bicycle that should touch the ground. Tires are made of rubber and either encase an inner tube, or tubeless sealant. Tires provide traction and a small amount of non-damped suspension.