Tech Talk: Bike Components for Beginners

Buying a new bike or accessories can often be bewildering to the novice; the guys working in the shop almost seem to be speaking a different language. It's almost as bad as trying to pick out a personal computer!

From our perspective, sometimes it's hard to tell when we're using everyday language and when we're slipping into technical jargon. We have to really ask questions to make sure we're on the same page with a customer and really understand what they are looking for, and often it's just a matter of making sure we agree on the meaning of the words we are using. For example, we sometimes get people asking for a "wheel," when all they really need is a new tire. On the other hand, I gotten really perplexed looks when I've handed somebody a "rim," when they were really looking for an entire wheel.



So, breaking down the language barrier is an important step in productive relationships between bike shop customers and bike shop employees. To that end, here is a glossary providing a breakdown of the anatomy of the bicycle.


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 preferred fancy name for water bottle holder.


Cassette - the collection of gears that is attached to the rear wheel on most modern bicycles (see "Freewheel").



Chainrings - the gears that are attached to the right-hand crank arm nearer to the front of the bike. A bike with two chainrings is said to have a "double crank;" a bike with three chainrings is said to have a "triple crank."



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



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



Cyclocomputer - the preferred fancy word for an electronic speedometer/odometer.



Derailleur - the device that is bolted to the frame that handles the job of moving the chain from one gear to another when you shift gears. The front derailleur handles the shifting on your chainrings and is usually controlled by your left-hand shifter. The rear derailleur handles the shifting on your cassette or freewheel, and is usually controlled by your right-hand shifter.

Derailleur hanger - a part of the frame where the rear derailleur is attached. It is usually an integrated part of the frame on steel and titanium bikes, but is a separate, replaceable piece on aluminum and carbon fiber bikes.

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.



Dropouts - the U-shaped notches at the rear of the bike frame, and at the bottom ends of the front fork legs, where the wheels are held in place. So-called because if you loosen the bolts holding a wheel in place, the wheel "drops out."



Fixed gear - a type of bicycle that has a single gear and does not have a freewheel or cassette/freehub mechanism, so you are unable to coast. If the wheels are moving, you have to be pedaling. "Fixie" for short.



Flat bar - a handlebar with little or no upward or downward curve; some flat bars will have a slight backward curve, or "sweep."



Fork - the two-legged part of the frame that holds the front wheel in place. The steerer tube is a part of the fork that extends up into the frame through the head tube.



Frame - the main structural part of the bicycle, commonly made of steel, aluminum, titanium, or carbon fiber. Composed of a top tube, head tube, down tube, bottom bracket shell, seat tube, seat stays, and chain stays (see image). A frame and fork sold as a combination are referred to as a frameset.



Freehub body - a part of the hub on most rear wheels, it provides that coasting mechanism that transfers power to your wheel when you are pedaling forward, but allows the rear wheel to turn freely when you are pedaling backwards or not pedaling at all. The cassette is attached to the freehub body.



Freewheel - the collection of gears attached to the rear wheel found on mostly older bicycles and some lower-end modern bicycles. Both the gears and the coasting mechanism are part of the freewheel component, as opposed to cassette gears, where the gears are a solid, non-moving component, and the coasting mechanism is part of the wheel's hub.

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


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 of a wheel. Turning the nipples with a spoke wrench is what allows the tension in the spokes to be adjusted, in order to "true" the wheel, i.e. make 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 - a layer of material, usually cloth, plastic, or rubber, that is installed around the outside of a rim (between the rim and inner tube), to prevent the ends of the spokes from puncturing the inner tube.



Riser bar - a type of handlebar with a "U" shape in the middle. Some riser bars have a very shallow "U" shape, like on some mountain bikes and most hybrid bikes, but some have a very deep "U" shape, like on some retro-style cruiser bikes.



Saddle - the preferred fancy word for "seat."



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



Seatpost clamp - the collar located at the top of the seat tube on the frame, which holds the seatpost at the desired height. Some seatpost clamps have a quick-release lever that allows for easy, tool-free adjustment, while others require a tool to tighten or loosen the clamp.



Stem - the part that connects the handlebar to the frame. Do not call this the "gooseneck," unless you want to make it perfectly clear that you are a clueless newbie. Stems come in two varieties, threadless--which clamps to the outside of the fork's steerer tube, and threaded, which is held in place by an expanding wedge bolt inside the fork's steerer tube.



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

Leave a comment on this post if you have a question about any of the above terms, or have a suggestion for something that may have been left out.

Stage race coming to PA

Bicycle stage racing saw its heyday back in the 80's with the Coors Classic in Colorado (probably best-known as the setting for the Kevin Costner film American Flyers). The past few years have seen a return of major stages races to US soil, with the Tour de Georgia and the Tour of California, and new last year, the Tour of Missouri. Now, coming next month to our next-door neighbor, is the inaugural Tour of Pennsylvania.

Beginning on June 24 in Philadelphia, the Tour of PA will have stops in Downingtown, Carlisle, Camp Hill, Bedford, Latrobe, Ligonier, and ending in Pittsburgh. Eighteen domestic and international teams are scheduled to compete.

So, here's your chance to see some professional racing action without having to travel across the country or to another continent!

Volunteers Needed to Ride the Rail!

A segment of Fox 8 Cleveland's That's Life with Robin Swoboda will be taped in Peninsula on Monday, May 12, 2008. Volunteers are needed to ride the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad (at no charge). Volunteers must meet at the Brecksville Station at 9:00am, and will ride the train to Peninsula and Akron, and will be dropped off back at the Brecksville Station around 2:00pm.

All are encouraged to volunteer, but families (of all ages) are especially needed!

To volunteer, please contact:

Kelly Steele

Director of Marketing and Education
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Direct Dial (330) 657-1915

kelly.steele@cvsr.com

The Brecksville Station is located at 13512 Station Road, just off of Riverview Road.

Turn South onto Riverview Road from Route 82. Proceed 0.3 miles on Riverview Road to the Station Road Trailhead. Turn left and follow the roadway to the parking area.

The story that is being filmed on this day will be aired on Monday, May 19, 2008.

Should I walk or should I bike?

You can (sort of) do both, with this contraption:

If you watch the accompanying video, you can see that the bike (sort of) actually works. I think they need a lower gear...

Pancake Redemption

The annual Pancake Breakfast at the Stanford Hostel in Peninsula is something that many cyclists look forward to; there are usually more bikes than cars parked there. I had attended every year since 2005. Last year, those in our group left a little disenchanted; it took a really long time to get our orders, and then they only begrudgingly gave us seconds, and only after waiting interminably long again. In the interest of "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," I had planned to just practice my own quiet boycott of the event this year, and leave it at that.

But, some friends had planned a ride to the breakfast, and a few of them had not done it before, so I was convinced to join them yesterday. I am glad I gave them another chance. The service this year was super-fast, the pancakes were hot and tasty, and the coffee, provided by Phoenix Coffee Company, was also hot and plentiful. Somebody came around with a fresh pot of coffee for refills on a regular basis, and joy of joys, there was also somebody making the rounds with a fresh stack of pancakes so that any and all hungry cyclists (and non-cyclists) got their fill.

A big thanks to the folks at Stanford for providing a fine meal and fun event. I'll be back next year!

National Bike Month!

How many of you knew that May was National Bike Month? Raise your hands...let's see (counting hands) thats one, two, three...okay, ten.

Well don't look now but our designated month is upon us, and there's lots of bike activity happing this month. As mentioned earlier on this blog there is the Bay High School Bike to School Month and Bike to Work Week.

We've also posted info on Cleveland Bike Week on our website including more local National Bike Month Events. Don't forget the Saturday May 17th Night Ride! I know I will be there!



It's all about the bike this month (sorry Lance), so get out and ride, decorate your bike, inspire others to ride or bring cookies to your favorite bike mechanic.

Check out our Bike Gallery

Have you seen our Bike Gallery? This is a section of our web site where we showcase special bikes that we've built, usually custom-assembled special-orders for our customers, limited edition models, or custom modifications to stock models.

The latest edition to our Bike Gallery is a Salsa La Cruz:

You can see the full specifications here.

Ride the Hollow

I was scheduled to only work until 3pm today, so of course, my afternoon plans involved being on a bike. The question was, where? Fortuitously, a customer mentioned that he had been at Quail Hollow State Park earlier, and the trail was dry and in fantastic shape, so I grabbed my Raleigh XXIX and went to Hartville, or as we like to say, headed down "ta tha Holler."

During my drive, I had that familiar, nagging feeling that I was forgetting something. I went through the mental checklist...bike, front wheel, helmet, shoes, gloves, sunglasses...but came up with nothing. When I get to the trailhead, the first thing I usually do is air up my tires. Hmm...no floor pump! I had my emergency mini-pump, but it doesn't have a pressure gauge, and it's hard to tell by feel whether or not your tires are at the optimum pressure.

Just then, two guys pulled into the lot next to me. I asked to borrow a pump from them, but they only had a mini-pump as well. Then a guy came in from riding the trail, so I asked him. Turns out, he was parked on the other side of me, and did have a floor pump which he got out and let me use. His name was Matt, and he also had one of our "Define your life. Ride a bike." stickers on his vehicle. Thanks, Matt!

As my first real mountain bike ride of the season, the trail at Quail didn't disappoint, and I made it for four laps around the 3-and-a-half-mile loop. Afte my third lap, I met another guy, Chad, at the trailhead, so we agreed to ride our final lap together. He gave me a real run for my money during the first half of the lap, but as he admitted, he wore himself out too soon, and was chasing after me for the second half. Thanks, Chad, for a good ride.

One thing, though, and I hate to be Mr. Cranky after a day of great weather and great biking, but I gotta mention...With gas prices at record highs on an almost daily basis, driving a car to get to where you ride your bike really SUCKS. But I digress...

As I've mentioned elsewhere before, this is a great trail to develop and hone your skills if you're a beginning mountain biker. If you're a veteran, it's a great place to do a few laps and test how well your fitness has held up over the winter.

Full Bike Racks at Bay High School

Yesterday's opening day of Bike To School Month at Bay High School saw an amazing 363 students ride their bikes to school! Today, 310 students still rode in, even with the temperatures in the low 40's and without the first-day incentive of the free Chipotle burrito!

Century Cycles' owner Scott Cowan talked about the Bike To School Month event this morning on Kickin' It With Kenny. You can view the video clip on the Fox 8 Cleveland web site.

Velocity Velocage - Get 'em while you can

You know, it may seem ridiculous to get excited about a product as simple as a water bottle cage, but the Velocity Velocage is a perfect example of a basic item designed and executed well. They've been our favorite cages for years, and our go-to recommendation for anybody looking for something with a little more bling than the standard generic bottle holders, but not needing to go as high-zoot as carbon fiber cages. I use them on almost all of my bikes, both road and mountain. They hold your bottles tightly enough to avoid premature ejections, but not so tight that you have to wrestle the bottle in and out when you need a drink. Their light touch doesn't mark your bottles up with dirt as much as generic cages. Only 53 grams each, and they come in a range of colors to match any bike.

As it turns out, we were talking to Velocity last week while ordering some wheels, and they mentioned that they are discontinuing the VeloCage! So, we stocked up with a huge batch of their remaining stock. So get 'em while you still can; we've got them in all three of our stores, or you can order online.

Night Ride on the Towpath - April 26, 2008

Great spring weather brought out 94 riders this past Saturday, our biggest turnout ever for an opening ride of the season! You can see all of our pictures here, plus check out this video of Tom from our Medina store demonstrating the Hokey Spokes lighting system on his wheels:



Join us for our next ride on Saturday, May 17. Get more info here.

Experienced cyclists needed for Bike to Work Week

Are you an experienced cyclist? Can you help others learn about cycling?

Bike To Work Week is May 12-16 and ClevelandBikes is planning Bike To Work events for each morning that week. We need your help as a Ride Leader to show new bicycle commuters how to get over their initial fear of riding in traffic. It would be simple and it would be fun: we have a number of scheduled starting points and you would meet at one of them. At the scheduled time, you lead the group to downtown where ClevelandBikes and the YMCA has set up a temporary BikeStation. There are free showers, bike storage, food, and coffee waiting for you. NOACA has also donated a ton of bicycle accessories, so you might just get some new gear, too. You’ll be having fun while doing a good deed and helping a new bicycle commuter.

Bike shop folks – most of your stores open at 10:00 so you could be a Ride Leader and still get to the shop…what do you think?

Nurses, physicians, firemen, and others who might have a weekday off – can you volunteer for one morning that week?

People who work from home – this is a chance to get out for a morning – what do you say?

Attorneys, consultants, or professionals who can set their own schedule – want to break out of the routine?

If you can volunteer to be a Ride Leader, e-mail Kevin Cronin kevin.cronin.ohio@gmail.com your name, where you live, the days you are available, your cell phone number, and any other pertinant info. For example:

Fred Garvin; I can volunteer for Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri, I live near Metro Hospital, I can be a Ride Leader from Tremont or from Ohio City, 216-555-1212

Thanks everyone! Pass the word if you know cyclists who could help.

Two Century Cycles Employees Plan Pan-American Ride to Support Melanoma Research and Awareness

When Kevin Madzia and Ray Query begin pedaling from the shore of Lake Erie this summer, it will be more than a daily workout, even much more than an extended vacation. The two avid cyclists have set a goal of raising $20,000 for The Melanoma Research Foundation, and hope to promote awareness of the disease along the way, while traveling over 15,000 miles during an 8-month period.

The two will depart on August 24, 2008 from Cleveland, Ohio, “America's North Shore.” They will make their way down through the southern United States, through Mexico, and the countries within Central America and South America. They hope to cover 50 to 100 miles per day, depending on the terrain and conditions, and expect to reach Tierra del Fuego (the “Land of Fire”) at the southern tip of South America in April of 2009. Along the way, they will sleep in campgrounds and hostels, and prepare their own meals.

A web site has been set up at www.miles4melanoma.com, where Kevin and Ray will report on the progress of their preparations for the ride, as well as provide occasional updates during the ride. In addition to logging as many training miles on their bicycles as possible, they are also preparing by poring over maps to plan their route, collecting the proper camping gear, adapting their bicycles to carry the gear over long distances, and getting as much advice as possible from others who have made similar journeys. They are also taking the precaution of getting vaccinations for some of the diseases that are still prevalent in the less-developed regions of the world, such as typhoid and yellow fever.

Ray's lifelong passion for the cycling lifestyle was most exemplified by a journey he undertook on a dare in 2001, when he bicycled home from Anchorage, Alaska to Cleveland. He has dreamed for many years of making the trip by bike to Ushuaia, the “Southernmost City in the World,” which is the capital of the Tierra del Fuego province of Argentina. He has spent time living in various places around the world, including several years doing charity work in Chile and Nepal. He has also done extensive volunteer work locally with the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op. He currently works as an associate at the Century Cycles store in Rocky River, Ohio, and lives with his wife in Lakewood, Ohio.

Kevin's previous foray into long-distance cycling was in 2004, when he rode from Seattle, Washington to Gloucester, Massachusetts with a touring group known as Cycle America. In conjunction with that trip, he raised over $13,000 for The Melanoma Research Foundation. Kevin decided to make the cross-country journey, as well as the upcoming Pan-American Ride, in honor of his father George Madzia, who succumbed to the effects of melanoma in November of 2002. Kevin is a member of the National Mountain Bike Patrol, and is the Information Technology Coordinator for Century Cycles, based in Peninsula, Ohio, where he also resides.

The Miles 4 Melanoma Pan-American Ride team recently announced the support of their first major corporate sponsor. Raleigh Bicycles will be providing two Diamondback Transporter bikes that Kevin and Ray will use for their trip. The Transporter is a 26-inch wheeled mountain-style bike that is designed for heavy-duty commuting and touring. Its all-steel frame and rigid fork will provide comfortable riding on paved roads and durable performance on the rough roads that the team will encounter in the less-developed areas of the world.

Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. However, if it is recognized and treated early, it is nearly 100 percent curable. But if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007, there were 8,110 fatalities, 5,220 in men and 2,800 in women in the U.S.
The Melanoma Research Foundation is the largest private, national organization devoted to melanoma. Their mission is to support medical research for finding effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma, to educate patients and physicians about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of melanoma, and to act as an advocate for the melanoma community to raise the awareness of this disease and the need for a cure.

Recently named a Top 100 Bicycle Retailer in the U.S. for the seventh time, Century Cycles has hometown bicycle stores in Medina, Peninsula, and Rocky River, providing high-quality bicycles and exemplary service to cyclists and their families in Northeast Ohio for the past 16 years. Century Cycles is active locally and nationally in support of the benefits of bicycling, bicycling paths, and other issues of vital importance to the cycling community. More information can be found at www.centurycycles.com.

Raleigh Bicycles is headquartered in Kent, Washington, and manufactures high-quality bicycles under the Raleigh and Diamondback brand names. Since 1887, they have provided bicycles for racing, touring, and recreational use for cyclists of all ages and abilities. More information can be found at www.raleighusa.com and www.diamondback.com.

To help the Miles 4 Melanoma team meet their $20,000 goal, donations may be made on-line at www.miles4melanoma.com. Donations can also be mailed to Kevin Madzia, P.O. Box 546, Adena, OH 43901.

Corporations and other organizations are encouraged to contact the Miles 4 Melanoma team to discuss sponsorship, in order to assist with trip expenses, or provide equipment, services, or other contributions-in-kind in exchange for promotional consideration.

Cyclist rides across the USA backwards

I'm all for the idea of riding long distances for a good cause, and I thought I'd seen every possible variation on the theme, from people riding tandems, pulling their kids/dogs in trailers, riding fixed-gear bikes, etc. But I think this guy has the last word...

Define your life. Ride a bike. Save the planet!

Happy Earth Day!

Getting Earth Week off to a great start, Scott reports that they had a whopping 244 students sign up for Bay High School's Bike to School Month on the first day of registration yesterday!

Our latest sticker (shown at right) was designed by the BHS students and is being used throughout the school for the event. You can pick one up at any of our stores, too!