The Anatomy of a Cycle

If you're a newbie to cycling, often the anatomy of a bike can be frustrating to understand.


You could be at a group ride meet up and hear seasoned riders use terms like a derailleur, crank, caliper. Perplexed!? Or you need to explain to a mechanic what is wrong with the bike.

Breaking down the technical jargon is an important step towards becoming a knowledgeable cyclist.


Let’s look at the typical bicycle and explain what’s what in the anatomy of a bike..


Anatomy of a cycle


  • Frame - At the heart of the bike is the aluminum, steel, titanium, or carbon-fiber frame. Composed of a top tube, head tube, down tube, bottom bracket shell, seat tube, seat stays, and chainstays.

  • Bar ends - the angled extensions attached to the ends of some flat handlebars and riser handlebars that provide an alternate place to rest your hands.

  • Bottom bracket - the collection of ball bearings and spindle housed within the bottom bracket shell of the frame, which provides the "shaft" mechanism on which the crank arms turn.

  • Braze-ons - threaded sockets that may or may not be present on the bike frame that provide a place to attach accessories such as bottle cages, cargo racks, and fenders.

  • Cage - the name for the water bottle holder.

  • Chainrings - the gears that are attached to the right-hand crank arm nearer to the front of the bike.

  • Crank arms - the pedals screw into these; these bolt onto the bottom bracket spindle.

  • Cyclocomputer - A electronic device with features, speedometer/odometer, and other ride data.

  • Derailleur - the device that handles the job of moving the chain from one gear to another when you shift gears.

  • Derailleur hanger - a part of the frame where the rear derailleur is attached.

  • Drop bar - the type of handlebar found on road racing bikes, with the half-circle-shaped curved ends that extend below the top, flatter part of the bar.

  • Stem - the part that connects the handlebar to the frame.

  • Dropouts - the U-shaped notches at the rear end of the bike frame, and at the bottom ends of the front fork legs, where the wheels are held in place.

  • Fixed gear - "Fixie" for short is a type of bicycle that has a single gear and does not have a freewheel.

  • Headset - the collection of bearings housed within the head tube of the bike frame; it provides smooth steering.

  • Cassette - the collection of gears that are attached to the rear wheel on most modern bicycles.

  • Saddle - just a fancy word for "seat."

  • Hub - the central component of a wheel; inside the hub are the axle and ball bearings.

  • Nipple - A small flanged nut that holds a spoke in place on the rim. Turning the nipples with a spoke wrench allows the tension in the spokes to be adjusted, making sure the wheel is perfectly round.


  • Rim - the outer "hoop" part of a wheel. Usually made of aluminum, although can be made of steel on some older or low-end bikes, or made of carbon fiber on some high-end racing bikes.

  • Rim strip/tape - a layer of material, usually cloth, plastic, or rubber, that is installed around the outside of a rim, to prevent the ends of the spokes from puncturing the inner tube.

  • Seatpost - the rod that connects the saddle to the frame.

  • Seat clamp - the collar located at the top of the seat tube on the frame, which holds the seatpost at the desired height.

  • Cog - a single gear on a cassette or freewheel gear cluster, or the single rear gear on a fixed-gear bike.

  • Wheel - the complete assembly of hub, spokes, nipples, and rim.


If you’re looking for more information, do leave it in the comments.



Ride safe & ride more! 🚴🏻 🚴🏻‍♀️ 👍🏻
-

Nelson John 

Follow The Bangalore Cyclists on Strava

Follow The Bangalore Cyclists on Facebook

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