Bicycle Frame
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Photo courtesy of Specialized
- Downtube: the section of a road bike that connects the bottom bracket and headtube
- Toptube: section of bike frame that connects headtube to seat tube
- Seattube: vertical section of bike frame that joins top tube, seat stays and chain stays
- Headtube: vertical section of bike frame that retains the fork and connects the top tube and down tube
- Fork: holds the front bicycle wheel
- Bottom Bracket Shell: joins the down tube and seat tube where the crankset and bottom bracket
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Your Next RideBicycle Components
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Photo courtesy of BMC
- Brake Calipers: hydraulic (or mechanical) assembly onto which brake pads are mounted; when activated, stops wheel rotation by friction against a brake rotor (disc brakes) or wheel rim (traditional brakes)
- Brake Rotor: disc brake braking surface
- Cockpit: refers to stem and handlebars; if referencing a time trial bike, this is the stem, basebar and bar extensions
- Headset: bearing assembly that allows the fork and connected stem to pivot
- Stem: connects handlebars to bike
- Handlebars: human/bike contact point, used for steering a bike
- Saddle: the area where you sit when on a bike
- Seatpost: mounting point for bicycle saddle, inserts into seat tube
- Shifters/Brake Lever: controls the front and rear derailleurs, as well as the brakes
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Your Next RideBicycle Drivetrain
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Photo/Greg Kaplan
- Bottom Bracket: consists of bearings and spindle onto which the crankset is mounted
- Cassette: the cluster of cogs—"bike gears"—mounted to the rear hub
- Chainring: the toothy rings that mount to the crank arms; common tooth configurations are 50/34 ("compact"), 52/36 ("mid-compact") and 53/39 ("standard")
- Crankset: comprised of crank arms, spider and chainrings; crank arm lengths are usually 165mm to 180mm
- Front Derailleur: moves the bicycle chain across the chainrings
- Rear Derailleur: moves the chain across the cassette
- Chain: transfers the energy generated through the crankset to the rear wheel, moving you forward
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Your Next RideBicycle Wheels
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Photo courtesy of Princeton Carbon Works, Shimano
- Hub: bicycle wheel mounting point that consists of a shell, bearings, axle, skewer and cassette carrier (on rear hub); mounting point for disc brake rotors (if applicable)
- Skewer: rod that runs through the center of the axle with a nut on one side and a quick release lever on the other; used to snug the axle to the bicycle frame
- Thru-Axle: axle that is completely removed from the hub—not just the skewer—to remove the wheel from the bike
- Quick Release: lever at the end of a skewer that attaches the axle to the bike
- Rims: surface onto which bike tires are mounted and serve as braking surface for traditional brakes
- Clincher Rim: uses a standard tube and tire setup; most common wheel type
- Tubeless Rim: a clincher rim, which can also be used with a tubeless tire system
- Tubular Rim: traditional wheel/tire system; tires are glued onto this type of rim
- Brake Rotor: braking surface for disc brakes, mounted to wheel hubs
- Disc Wheel: bicycle wheel made of solid construction carbon fiber, Kevlar, epoxy and other high tech materials, or may be a traditional spoked wheel with aerodynamic fairing permanently mounted at hub and rim
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Your Next RideBicycle Tires and Tubes
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Photo/Greg Kaplan
- Clincher Tire: an open casing that requires an inner tube and uses inflation to secure the bead, tucked under the hook inside of a clincher rim
- Tubular Tire: a tube sealed inside a closed casing—usually sewn shut—that is glued to a tubular rim; tubular tires also known as "sew-up" tires
- Butyl Inner Tube: traditional and most commonly used inner tube
- Latex Inner Tube: lighter weight, lower rolling resistance and may offer better flat resistance
- Presta Valve: long, skinny "European" valve found; Presta valve lengths can vary from 33mm to 80mm
- Schrader Valve: valve type also used for automobiles
- Tubeless Tire: tires with an open casing, similar to clincher tires, but use no inner tube; liquid sealant provides an airtight lock to a tubeless ready rim or clincher rim that has been converted to a tubeless rim
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Your Next RideBicycle Trouble Issues
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Photo courtesy of WickWerks
- Chainsuck: when a chain gets stuck on chainring teeth and wraps itself into the front derailleur
- Dropped Chain: when a chain falls off of the crankset
- Pinch flat: usually caused by the bike tire compressing into the rim, leaving a tell-tale "snakebite" hole pattern
- Puncture: when a sharp object penetrates a bike tire and creates a hole in the inner tube
- "Mechanical": general term for things not working correctly while riding a bike
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