A MTBiking term. A hub - based disc brake - very similar to an automotive disc brake - consisting of a disc that bolts on to the wheel’s hub and a calliper attached to the frame / fork that pinches the disc. Disc brakes are better able to dissipate heat and a bit less prone to collect mud, which makes them popular for off road application. Some early disc brakes had a reliability problem, in that outer part of the disc could break away from the part that attached to the hub. This would cause complete failure with no warning. Disc brakes are becoming increasingly common, partly because they work better in wet conditions than rim brakes, partly because they don't cause wear to rims, and partly because of fashion.

Wheels are made with spokes to save weight. However, spokes churn the air creating aerodynamic drag (just like an egg beater). To overcome drag designers have created wheels - disc wheels and the tri spoke wheel - which smooth the flow of air. Allthough these wheels are heavier, they require less energy at speed. They are notsuited for climbing because the added weight is too much of a disadvantage. Disc wheels are used at the rear where they are shielded by the rider's legs and frame tubes. At the front they would act like a sail making the bike unresponsive and even difficult to handle. Trispokes' spokes act like airfoils, and can be used on both front and rear.

A tool for checking the dish of a wheel. It has the form of a curved stick with an adjustable feeler near the middle. The two ends of the stick rest on the side of the rim, 180 degrees apart, and the feeler is adjusted to just touch the locknut or other locating surface at the axle end. The wheel is then inverted, and, if it is correctly "dished" the three points will all contact the corresponding points on the second side of the wheel.

A bicycle wheel should have the rim centred directly in line with the frame. The fork ends are symmetrical with respect to the frame, and the hub axle locknuts (or equivalent surfaces) press against the insides of the dropouts. Wheels should be built so that the rim is centred exactly between the axle ends on the hub. In the case of rear wheels, the spokes attach to flanges, which are not symmetrical - the right flange is usually closer to the centreline than the left flange, to make room for the sprocket(s). When rear wheels are built properly, the spokes on the right side are made tighter than those on the left side. This pulls the rim to the right, so that it is centred with respect to the axle (and to the frame.) Viewed edgewise, a rear wheel built this way resembles a dish, or bowl, since the left spokes form a broad cone, while the right spokes are nearly flat. By extension, the term "dish" is used as a general synonym for accurate centering, even in the case of symmetrical wheels.

A French cycling term. Literally, "a domestic servant". Originally used derisively to refer to a rider who rode in the service of another rather than attempting to win the race for himself. In 1911, Henri Desgrange first used the term to describe Maurice Brocco, who was later disqualified for selling his services to other racers. No team today can expect its leader to contend in the Tour without a number of dedicated domestiques.  In a racing team, a "domestique" / "foot soldier" are in the race to assist the team leaders. Typically a team might have a team leader, with perhaps 4, 5, to 8 domestiques tasked with pacing, providing water, drafting shelter or to breakaway from the peloton to elicit & entice another rider’s / team leader's burnout.

Eufemiano Fuentes was formerly the doctor of Spain's Athletics Federation. His wife Christina Perez earned fame winning a bronze medal at the European indoor championships in 1987. She tested positive but was not penalised because of a problem with the test form, & Fuentes was removed from his position. In 2001 Fuentes was doctor to the top two finishers at the Vuelta à Espana (Oscar Sevilla & Angel Casero). In 2006 after raids on his offices yielded a large quantity of anabolic steroids, blood transfusion equipment and more than 100 frozen packs of blood, Spanish daily El Pais reported that Fuentes' files and blood samples implicated 200 riders in suspected doping practices, & reactions were swift.  Liberty Seguros withdrew its sponsorship of Spain's best pro team. UCI President Pat McQuaid called it "the worst doping crisis in a decade" &  9 pro riders (including Jan Ullrich & Ivan Basso) were suspended by their respective teams just before the  ’06 TdF started, having been named in the affair.

Belgian Eddy "the cannibal" Mercx won the Amateur Road Championship title in 1964, and turned professional in 1965. He won the MilanS-an Remo the following year, but in 1967 (age 22) he won the world Championships, Milan San-Remo, Fleche Wallone and 2 stages of the Giro d'Italia. He went on to win 525 profesional races including 11 Grand Tours (5 TdF's) five Giro's and 1 Vuelta, 28 classics (Milan San remo 7 times, Paris Roubaix 3 times and Liege-Bastogne-Liege 5 times) during his career. He is regarded as the world's greatest cyclist - ever - and remains involved in cycling as a commentator and distributor of a line of bicycles.

Boosting an athlete’s red blood cell count (and thus the efficiency with which oxygen is transported around the body) in order to improve performance, can be done by injecting erythropoietin (EPO) – a hormone produced by the kidneys that stimulates production of red blood cells - and gives a massive advantage in performance.  The greater the amount of red blood cells available, the more oxygen can be carried from the lungs to the muscles.  EPO is typically taken prior to a big training block - out of competition - to ensure that by the time of the competition all traces of synthetic EPO will have disappeared. It enables the doper to train harder and longer than he would be able to “naturally” by stimulating bone marrow to produce more oxygen carrying red blood cells increasing a user's endurance. Managed via the 50% hemtocrit limit. Cheaters can also “micro dope” by staying under the fail limit, as an aid to performance. EPO is typically used in the treatment of cancer.

In the early '70's, many people bought bicycles with drop handlebars, even though drop bars did not suit their casual riding style. Given the frame and stem designs commonly available at the time, it was generally impossible to get drop handlebars high enough up to allow a low-intensity rider to reach the drops comfortably. Dia Compe invented bolt-on extensions that allowed Weinmann-type brake levers to be operated from the tops and middle of the handlebars, making this type of bar bearable for casual cyclists, since they never had to use the drops. This was so popular that Weinmann traded licensing with Dia Compe, so that each could copy the other's products. After the fad passed they were referred to as idiot levers.