Copy of `Cycling iSport - Cycling terms`

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Cycling iSport - Cycling terms Category: Sport and Leisure > Cycling Date & country: 01/02/2014, UK Words: 369

U-23
A rider older than 19 but younger than 23.

V02 max
An athlete's maximum aerobic capacity, defined by the maximum amount of oxygen that can be utilized by a body. A high VO2max usually indicates greater performance potential. Though V02max can be increased with training, it does have an upper genetic limit. Expressed as an absolute in liters or relative to body mass (in kilograms) as milliliters per kilogram. For example, an athlete that weighs 77 kilograms could have an absolute V02max of 5.1 liters and a relative V02max of 66.23 ml/kg.

C02 cartridge
Steel cylinders filled with pressurized carbon dioxide that can be screw onto a tube's valve allowing for quick inflation of a repaired flat tire.

Yard sale
A crash where you end up strewing all your belongs all over the road. Literally in that bottles, tubes, food, glasses, etc., end up everywhere. Metaphorically in that your crash was so emphatic that you might as well have strewn it all about.

Yellow jersey
The jersey worn by the general classification leader at the Tour de France.

B-tension screw
A screw on the backside of most rear derailleurs that controls how far away the derailleur sits from the cassette.

Wheel sucker
A rider that stays in the draft without pulling through.

Wheels-in-wheels-out
When riders are limited to the wheels they put into the support car. If you flat you only get a new wheel if you put one in the car.

Work
To take a turn riding in the wind at the front of a peloton, paceline or breakaway. If a rider does no work then he is a wheel sucker.

USAC
USA Cycling.

Valves
Connected to an inner tube. Protrudes through the rim and permits inflation. Either presta or schrader.

Velodrome
A banked oval made of wood or concrete and designed specifically for bicycle racing.

Warm up
The process of gradually increasing exercise intensity to raise the temperature and blood flow in the muscles to encourage optimal performance.

Twitchy
When a bicycle responds very rapidly to the rider because of a number of possible design features.

UCI
Union Cyclist Internationale. The cycling governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

Upgrade
To move to a higher racing category (e.g. from 3 to 2.).

Upshift
To move the chain into an easier gear ratio. See small gear.

Tubular tires
Tire with extended casings that wrap around the tube. The casing is then sewn shut, creating a self contained unit that is glued to special rims. See sew up.

Travel
The amount of movement within a suspension system, in inches or millimeters.

Trials
A cycling competition where riders navigate an unrideable obstacle course. Also known as observed trials.

Triple crank
A crankset with three chainrings that is most common on mountain bikes.

Tubeless tires
Clincher tires that mount onto special rims without using tubes.

Tubular cement
Cement used to glue tubular tires to the rim.

Trainer
A portable stationary training device that clamps onto and raises the rear wheel to provide resistance, allowing a rider to pedal in place.

Track
See velodrome.

Track stand
To balance on the bicycle without moving.

Top pull front derailleur
The front derailleur activated by a cable that runs across the top tube and pulls from above.

Top tube
The tube connecting the head tube to the seat cluster.

Tops
The flat part on a drop handlebar, where the stem attaches. Riding on

Timing line
The line on a track where timing begins for flying start events.

Tire lever
A plastic lever used to pry a clincher tire off of the bead.

Tooth
The protrusion on a cog or chainring that engages with the chain; e.g. 53 tooth chainring or 12 tooth cog.

Time trial
A race where riders individually ride the same set distance and drafting is illegal. The rider with the fastest time wins. Specialized aerodynamic bicycles and equipment are common.

Threshold
See functional threshold.

Through-and-off
Type of paceline where each rider pulls off as soon as they reach the front.

Time cut
In a stage race, riders with a time that is a certain percent greater than the winning time are eliminated from the race.

Tandem
A bicycle built for two.

Team pursuit
Pursuit contested by teams working together in a paceline. Similar to a team time trial.

Team sprint
See Olympic sprint.

Team time trial
A time trial where two or more riders work together in a paceline.

Technical
A description of a road or trail meaning that navigating through requires adept bike handling skills.

Tempo
Riding at a steady pace or effort.

Suspension
A mechanism used to absorb and decrease the impact on either the front or rear wheel of a bicycle.

Tail gunning
Riding as the last rider in the peloton. Usually intentional, a rider with good bike handling skills and fitness can get away with tail gunning early in race knowing that she can move up later. But could also refer to the misery of barely hanging on at the back all race.

Take a flyer
See flyer.

Take a pull
See pull.

Straight block
A cassette where each cog increases by only one tooth. For example a straight block 12-21 would be 12

Super D
A hybrid mountain bike gravity event that adds distance and a bit of climbing (though still a net loss of elevation) in addition to the typical features of a downhill or dual slalom.

Surf
A rider surfs the peloton by moving throughout the field without hitting the wind and thus doing minimal work. Surfing implies the rider is navigating through the pack with the ease and grace of a surfer on wave.

Stem
The component that connects the fork's steerer tube to the handlebars and allows the rider to steer the bicycle.

Standing start
A race where the rider starts from a standstill. See flying start.

Steerer tube
Part of a fork that inserts into a frame's headtube where it is held in place by the headset bearings.

Stagiaire
A young rider given the chance to try out with a professional team for a few months at the end of a season.

Stage race
A series of races (each race is called a stage) run over sequential days. The winner of the entire race is the rider with the lowest total time.

Sprocket
See cog.

Squirrel
A rider who moves erratically without holding a line in the peloton.

Spin
Pedaling quickly and smoothly, as opposed to mashing.

Spindle
The axle that the crankset is attached too. The spindle passes through and is supported by the bottom bracket bearings.

Spokes
Pieces of wire specially designed to connect the hub to the rim.

Sprint classification
See points classification.

Spider
The five or four armed star-shaped extensions at the end of a crankset that make it possible to mount chainrings.

Speed
See gear

Small gear
A gear combination that results in a lower gear ratio. See low gear.

Small ring
The smallest chainring.

Snakebite
See pinch flat.

Soft pedal
To pedal without much effort or coast.

Soigneur
Helper on a cycling team that handles massage, prepares race food, and generally takes care of the riders needs.

Slipstream
See draft.

Sloping top tube
Top tube that slopes from the headtube down to the seat tube.

Slow twitch
Muscle fiber that is characterized by its ability to contract slower and for long periods of time. Uses primarily fat for fuel. Good endurance athletes tend to have more slow

Slinky
See slingshot.

Sitting in or sitting on
Riding in another rider's draft without pulling through.

Skewers
Metal rods that clamp a wheel onto a bicycle using a lever or nuts. See quick release skewer.

Skinsuit
Combined shorts and jersey that closely hug the rider

Sling
To help another rider and transfer momentum by literally grabbing hands and swinging. Used in the Madison when riders exchange places.

Slingshot
See accordion.

Single speed
Any bicycle, though most typically a mountain bike, with a single gear (one front chainring and one cog) and thus no shifters.

Short track
A mountain bike cross country race run on a very short course and usually lasting less than a half hour.

Shoe covers
Lycra covers for shoes meant to increase aerodynamics.

Shifter
Mechanism on a bicycle for changing the gear ratio. Used for alternating between gears.

Seat cluster
The junction on the frame of the seat tube, seat stays and top tube.

Seat collar
The circular clamp (or integrated part of the seat tube) that secures the seatpost to the frame.

Seat post
Tube inserted into the seat tube that holds the saddle in place.

Seat stays
Tubes that extend from the seat cluster to the rear dropouts.

Seat tube
The tube on a frame that extends from the bottom bracket to the seat cluster.

Sew ups
See tubular tires.

Saddle bag
A bag that mounts underneath a bicycle seat allowing a rider to carry tools, spare tubes, and other ride essentials.

Schrader valve
A valve identical to those used on car tires. Used mostly on mountain bikes.

Scratch race
A track race run over a fixed number of laps. The first rider across the line wins.

Season
The competitive racing portion of the year. Specifics vary depending on the region or discipline, but a typical season will start in February and extend into early October.

Saddle
A bicycle seat.

RPE
Rate of Perceived Exertion.

Rolling resistance
The energy needed to deform a tire when it contacts the ground.

Rollers
A stationary bicycle trainer with three aluminum or plastic drums mounted

Retro grouch
A cyclist who prefers older and, usually, simpler components such as friction shifters.

Rim
The circular piece of aluminum or carbon fiber forming the outer circumference of a wheel that is attached to a hub with spokes and that a tire is attached to. A rim will be either clincher or tubular, and its depth can vary dramatically.

Road race
A mass start race that is ridden on the open roads.

Road rash
An abrasion to the skin that results from sliding on the road after a crash.

Rake
See offset.

Rate of perceived exertion
Using subjective perception to measure effort (versus a heart rate monitor or power meter).