| E-Z Fire ™ | Shimanospeak componentry | Shimano.com |
| face plant | A MTBiking term. Hitting the ground face first. "Joe hit a tree root and did a spectacular face plant." | Bicyclesource.com |
| fair grunt | A MTBiking term. An expression exclusively used by some to nonchalantly describe a death march; in the hope that others will try it, fail, and revere them as bike gods. "It was a fair grunt, you know." | Bicyclesource.com |
| fairing | A lightweight shell that covers all or part of the rider/bicycle. Fairings are primarily intended for improving the aerodynamics of a vehicle as well as protecting the rider from cold and rain, but they are generally prohibited from organized bicycle racing | Sheldon Brown |
| Fakie | A BMX term. Riding backwards. Made more difficult due to the fact that most rear bicycle hubs will force the cranks to rotate backwards while the back wheel is rolling backwards. | Wikipedia.com |
| false flat | A section of road that looks level, but is actually slightly uphill | Sheldon Brown |
| fartlek | ‘Speed play’ (from Swedish) is a form of conditioning which puts stress mainly on the aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of this exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems can be put under stress. Most Fartlek sessions last a minimum of 45 minutes and can vary from aerobic walking to anaerobic sprinting. Fartlek training is generally associated with running, but can include almost any kind of exercise including cycling, rowing or swimming. | Wikipedia.com |
| fastback | A style of seat cluster in which the seat stays butt up directly against the back of the seat tube, rather than the sides. Sometimes supposed to provide a "stiffer", "harsher" ride. | Sheldon Brown |
| fat boy | A rider with more muscle than you, (especially above the waist.) | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| FDGB | Fall Down, Go Boom. Usually accompanied by dirty looks from the stoker | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| February legs | That heavy, stoney feeling in your thighs. | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| Feeble Grind | A BMX term. A grind when the rear peg is grinding and the front wheel is rolling along the top of the ledge or rail. | Wikipedia.com |
| feed zone | Specified areas where soigneurs hand off their musettes - cloth bags containing food and drink - to riders. It is considered unsporting top attack near a feed zone. | Daniel Coyle |
| feedback | A MTBiking term. The tendency for the cranks to rotate backward due to an increasing chain length as the suspension compresses (due to a hitting bump for example).see kickback". | mundobiker.es |
| feeling nedly | A MTBiking term. When older riders are having a particular strong outing. | Bicyclesource.com |
| feeling the chain | A good pull; a good burn. "I was feeling the chain after that pull." | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| fender | A covering for the upper part of the wheel, to protect the bicycle and rider from spray when riding in wet conditions. Also called "mudguards." | Sheldon Brown |
| ferrule | A metal or plastic fitting that slips over the end of a run of cable housing to provide a solid base for the end of the housing. Rim eyelet | Sheldon Brown |
| FFS ™ | Shimano speak - componentry. | Shimano.com |
| field | A MTBiking term. The clump of riders near or at the front in a road race. "We made a break on that big ascent, and at one point the rest of the field was over a minute behind." | Bicyclesource.com |
| fieldsprint | A MTBiking term. A sprint for the finish line involving a large group of riders - an impressive sight indeed. | Bicyclesource.com |
| filet brazing | The art of welding high-end metal bikes. The tubes fit together with almost invisible seams, as opposed to the monstrous, caterpillar-like welds on most mountain bikes.Pronounced "fill-it". A process in which frame tubes are brazed directly to one another, without the use of lugs. The fillet is the strip of brass melted along the seam to connect the steel parts. (The fillet is usually filed smooth, so that the tubes seem to flow smoothly into one another with no sharp transitions). | Bicyclesource.com |
| first blood | A MTBiking term. Credit to the first rider in a group who crashes and starts bleeding as a result. | Bicyclesource.com |
| fishtail | A MTBiking term. When the rear end locks and slides about behind you. Occurs during strong braking on loose terrain. | Bicyclesource.com |
| fit kit | A great set of equipment and instructions to measure the components of a correct bicycle fit. Generally, pretty accurate, and are especially good for positioning cleats. | Bicyclesource.com |
| fixed cup | In a conventional threaded bottom bracket, the left cup is adjustable, and its position is secured by a lock ring. The right cup is not adjustable, its position is fixed, usually by a shoulder which presses against the side of the bottom-bracket shell. The fixed cup is screwed all the way into the bottom bracket, until it runs out of threads. The fixed cup usually has a left-hand thread to prevent it from coming unscrewed due to the action of pedalling. Bicycles with French or Italian threading have right-hand threaded fixed cups; these fixed cups must be tightened very firmly to keep them in position. | Sheldon Brown |
| fixed cup & pin spanner | Handy tool for bike maintenance. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| fixed gear | A rear hub in which the sprocket is rigidly connected to the hub, without a freewheel. The pedals of a fixed-gear bicycle revolve whenever the rear wheel turns and coasting is impossible. This type of gearing is usually associated with track racing. | Sheldon Brown |
| fixing bolt | The bolt which holds a cotterless crank onto its axle. | Sheldon Brown |
| flail | To ride badly and out of control. e.g. "He flailed off the jump and hit a tree." | Bicyclesource.com |
| flamme rouge | A French cycling term. The red pennant/ triangle that hangs over the road to indicate one kilometre to l’arrivée announcing a crashing zone - having inspired El Diablo! | University of Toronto |
| flange | A raised circular rib around a part. The usual use for this term in bicycle usage is to refer to the part of a hub that the spokes attach to. Most hubs in current production are "small-flange" or "low-flange" designs, where the flange is no taller than it needs to be to provide a suitable place for the spoke holes to be drilled. "High-flange" or "large-flange" hubs have a larger flange, usually drilled out for lightness. They transmit torsional forces with less stress to the spokes than small-flange hubs do, but this is not a problem in practice with modern equipment. High-flange hubs can make a wheel with slightly greater lateral strength than equivalent small-flange hubs, because the spokes create a wider bracing angle to the rim. This makes them popular with track sprinters, who create greater-than-normal side loads on their wheels. | Sheldon Brown |
| flange | Circular collar projecting from each side of a wheel hub, with eyelets into which the spoke ends are secured. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| flash | A MTBiking term. Clearing a technical pitch without dabbing, especially if the rider has no previous experience on the route. Flash in the pan? | Bicyclesource.com |
| flat spot | Refers to a condition in which the radii of a section of the tyre / wheel are shorter, often as a result that the tyre is not mounted well or is of poor quality. A flat spot / bald spot can also be the result of excessive braking, sliding / grinding the tyre on tar, which causes a “flat spot” on the tread. | Sheldon Brown |
| flathead calves | Legs that are in fatless form. | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| flatland | A branch of freestyle cycling done at ground level. | Sheldon Brown |
| flatliner | A rider who is good on the flat, but as soon as the road goes up, gets shelved . | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| flats | Wide supportive pedals that allow the rider to remove feet instantly (for performing tricks) and wear casual shoes (for looking cool on video), often having adjustable grab screws for some traction. | Sheldon Brown |
| Fléche Wallonne | One day race held in April in France, featuring cobblestones, rain, and thousands of fans. | Daniel Coyle |
| flex | When the frame doesn't stayput - bending - when you are mashing the brakes, the pedals, or do other things. A typical bproblem on lighter bikes. | Bicyclesource.com |
| Flexstem ® | A handlebar stem with a pivot and an elastomer bumper to provide suspension for the handlebar. | Sheldon Brown |
| flick | A MTBiking term. To whip your bike through sweet singletrack. | Bicyclesource.com |
| flicking | A derogatory term referring to connivingly jostle within the peloton, during a race. | Lance Armstrong |
| flip-flop hub | A double-sided hub, intended to take a sprocket or freewheel on each side. Removing the wheel, and installing it backwards could change the gear of a one-speed bicycle. Most flip-flop hubs are intended to accept a fixed sprocket on one or both sides. There is a special BMX variant of flip-flop hub which is intended to take a single-speed freewheel on each side. This type has a standard thread on one side, and a smaller thread on the other side, which fits special undersized 15- and 14-tooth freewheels. (There is not room to fit a freewheel mechanism inside of a 15-tooth or smaller sprocket, with a normal sized hub.) | Sheldon Brown |
| float | A property of a clipless pedal system that allows the rider to rotate the foot within limits, as opposed to a fixed cleat which holds the shoe at a fixed angle in the yaw axis. Pedals with float allow you to rotate your heel inward or outward to some extent before disengaging the cleat. | Sheldon Brown |
| floating brakes | A MTBiking term. Rear disc brake mechanisms in which the brake is mounted on its own linkage arms ( which do not form part of the load bearing components). These mechanisms can give mono-pivots a braking character similar to those found on some 4-bars. | mundobiker.es |
| FOC | Abbreviation for "Full On Conditions" - biking with the chance of running into severe foul weather conditions. | Bicyclesource.com |
| folding bike | A bicycle that folds in the frame to make it easy to store/ transport (often folding bikes have twenty-inch or sixteen-inch wheels). Clever designs, but at a weight and performance penalty. | Sheldon Brown |
| folding tyre | A tyre with a plastic or fibreglass (rather than steel) bead that can be folded when not in use. Folding tyres have benefits in storage and transportation, and fit with a bit less effort required than a clincher. | Sheldon Brown |
| foot fault | A MTBiking term. When a rider can't disengage his cleats from the pedals before falling over. | Bicyclesource.com |
| Footjam | A BMX term. Jumping onto the deck of a quarterpipe and jamming your foot into the front tyre, causing youre back end to come up in the air. Many variations can be performed. | Wikipedia.com |
| forcing the pace | A MTBiking term. To increase the speed of the race to the point that other riders have trouble keeping up. | Bicyclesource.com |
| fork | Usually refers to the front fork, the part of the frame set that holds the front wheel. The fork is attached to the main frame by the headset. The fork consists of the two blades that go down to hold the axle, the fork crown, and the steerer. The term "rear fork" is sometimes used to refer to the part of the frame that holds the rear wheel. | Sheldon Brown |
| fork blades | The twin tubes of a fork that extend from the crown to the dropouts (at which the front wheel is mounted). | Sheldon Brown |
| fork end | A flat piece of solid metal, with a notch or slot to receive a wheel axle. There is one at the bottom of each fork blade, and another pair at the junction of the seat stays and chain stays. Lower quality fork ends are stamped from sheet metal; better ones are forged. | Sheldon Brown |
| fork plant | What happens after you realize that your front skewer wasn't as tight as it should have been... | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| foxing | Deliberately riding slow in the hope of getting a better handicap. An ancient Australian tradition in the weeks before a big race. | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| frame | The skeleton of a bicycle. The most common type of frame is called the "diamond" frame, and consists of two (or three, depending on how you look at it) triangles. The front triangle consists of the seat tube, the top tube, and the down tube...well, it also includes the head tube, so is is not a perfect triangle, but the head tube is usually fairly short, so it is pretty close to being a triangle. The front triangle holds the saddle, the bottom bracket, and, via the headset, the front fork. The rear triangle (or triangles, if you count both sides separately) includes the seat tube, seat stays and chain stays. The diamond frame has evolved over the course of more than a century, and every dimension has been tinkered with and fine tuned to the point that it is a nearly perfect design for the tubular materials commonly used. This is not to say that it is the ultimate, however. For some applications the cross frame is still viable, and with mouldable materials, monocoque designs may yet eclipse the diamond, as it lends itself to suspension applications. | Sheldon Brown |
| frame geometry | A group of critical frame dimension that indicate how a particular bicycle will fit a rider and handle on the road/trail. MTB frames are designed for off-road manoeuvrability and strength, and the geometry - frame angles, chain stay length, rake & trail - is relaxed for predictable steering and stability. Road frames feature steeper geometry for more responsive handling. Track & trial bikes feature even shorter wheelbases positioned for power & aerodynamics. Cruisers feature a more upright, relaxed poistioning." Women specific" frames incorporate the relative differences between men & women's body geometry, and is well worth the effort. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| frame set | All the tubes that make up the frame of a bicycle. Usually a "frame set" will consist of the frame and fork. In some cases, it may also include a headset and/or a seat post, or other parts peculiar to the frame. Frame builders sometiems mix tubes of different types, grades and weight in order to be able to finely tune the bicycle for the rider's, body geometry, weight and riding style. | Sheldon Brown |
| frame size | Frame size generally refers to a measurement of the seat tube. This is measured from the centre of the bottom bracket to somewhere near the top of the seat tube. Unfortunately, manufacturers disagree about where to figure the top of the seat tube, and some confusion exist. | Sheldon Brown |
| frame table | A MTBiking term. A big strong table that Will Not Flex and which has anchors at critical places -- dropouts, bottom bracket, seat, head. It also has places to attach accurate measuring instruments like dial gauges, scratch needles, etc. The frame is clamped to the table and out-of-line parts are yielded into alignment. | Bicyclesource.com |
| fraying | A condition in which the inner wire of a control cable comes unravelled. If the unravelling happens beyond an anchor bolt, the condition is just annoying and ugly. If it happens anywhere else, it indicates that the cable will die soon, probably when you are depending on it the most (!) and should be replaced. Fraying at the end of a cable can be prevented by soldering, or by pressing on an anti-fray cap, called a ferrule. Ferrules are little aluminium or plastic pieces that just slip on the end of the cable inner wire. | Sheldon Brown |
| fred | A MTBiking term. 1) A person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can't ride. "What a Fred -- too much Lycra and titanium and not enough skill." 2) A person who has a mishmash of old gear, does't care at all about technology or fashion, didn't race or follow racing, etc. Often identified by chainring marks on white calf socks. Used by "serious" roadies to disparage utility cyclists and touring riders, especially after these totally unfashionable "freds" drop the "serious" roadies on hills because the "serious" guys were really posers. This term is from road touring and, according to popular myth, "Fred" was a well-known grumpy old touring rider, who really was named Fred. | Bicyclesource.com |
| freecoaster | A special type of rear hub used for freestyle tricks. Unlike most hubs, a freecoaster permits the bicycle to be rolled backwards without causing the cranks to turn backward as well. | Sheldon Brown |
| Freehub ™ | Shimano trademark for a rear hub in which the freewheel mechanism is built into the hub itself, rather than being part of the sprocket cluster. Most freehubs use a cassette of sprockets | Sheldon Brown |
| freeride | Encompasses all the disciplines of mountainbiking, and was probably fathered by Hans “no way” Rey. It often involves plunging off the side of cliffs without a parachute. A style of aggressive cross country riding with an emphasis on downhill with maneuvers over jumps or drop-offs | Hansrey.com |
| freeride bike | A mtb often having a dual crown fork, but certainly a 1.5 inch steerer fork allowing up to 6” of suspension travel in front and back. The head angle will not be as relaxed and stable as a Downhill bike but not as twitchy and responsive as a XC bike either. | Sheldon Brown |
| freestyle | Stunt riding, and the bicycles evolved for this purpose from BMX-style bicycles. Freestyle bicycles resemble BMX machines, but are heavier, more rugged, and feature pegs, platforms and other places to stand. Freestyle riding is divided into "flatland" and "aerial" classes. Freestyle bicycles usually are equipped with the "Potts modification" and a "rotor" which allow the handlebars and fork to be turned 'round and 'round at will without tangling the brake cables. 1. Doing bicycle performance tricks which are not regulated within a set of rules. 2. A bicycle specially equipped for freestyle riding. The most common freestyle bicycle is like a BMX bike. It may have a longer frame and a rotor so the front wheel and handlebar can be turned around and around. Foot pegs may also be found on the ends of the front and rear wheel axles so the rider can stand on parts of the bike other than the pedals. Freestyle bikes are usually equipped with single-speed freewheels and calliper or cantilever brakes at both wheels. | Sheldon Brown |
| freewheel | The mechanism that makes coasting possible. A ratchet mechanism that allows the rear sprocket(s) to drive the wheel when pedalled forward, but allows the wheel to turn forward independently even when the sprockets are not turning. In other words, the freewheel is the part which makes coasting possible | Sheldon Brown |
| freewheel remover | Handy tool for bike maintenance. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| freight train | Big guys that take a long time to get up to speed then hold a VERY fast pull at the front while everyone barely hangs on over the flats. | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| French standard | A set of dimensions used to maintain parts interchangeability among all bicycles following the French Standard. For instance, pedals on a Peugeot will fit cranks on a Jeunet. | TheBikewebsite.com |
| friction shifting | Shifting operated by a lever that moves smoothly through its range. With friction shifting, the rider must learn exactly how far to move the lever to get from one gear to another. If the rider moves the lever too far, or not far enough, the chain will not line up properly with the sprocket, causing noise and roughness. | Sheldon Brown |
| Fritz Pienaar Cycles | See everythingbicycling's 'Trader Pages'. | everythingbicycling |
| front- centre | The distance from the bottom bracket to the front axle. | Sheldon Brown |
| front drive | A front-drive tandem runs the primary chain from the front bottom bracket all the way to the rear wheel. The more common rear-drive setup runs from the rear bottom bracket. Front drive is slightly heavier, due to the greater length of chain, and in some cases the stoker's right crank may interfere with the chain. Front drive greatly reduces torsional stress on the frame: with rear drive, the stoker's bottom bracket is being pulled forward on the left by the synch chain, while being pulled to the rear by the primary chain. | Sheldon Brown |
| front wheelie | What endo used to mean in BMX: a trick where the rider applies the front brake and lifts the back wheel off the ground. Most riders cannot pedal effectively while doing a front wheelie. | Bicyclesource.com |
| Frontflip | A BMX term. Rotating the bike 360 degrees on the vertical axis, forwards. | Wikipedia.com |
| FS | A MTBiking term. An ambiguous term, can mean Front Suspension or Full Suspension. Not used by anyone who wishes to be understood. | Bicyclesource.com |
| FSA. | Acronym for 'full speed ahead' - bicycle componentry & apparel manufacturer. | FSA |
| FSR™ | A MTBiking term. Specialized's suspension design trademark. | Specialized |
| Fufanu | A BMX term. Leaving the ramp, then placing the rear tyre on the coping, while holding the nose of the bike in the air, and returning nose first into the ramp. | Wikipedia.com |
| fuggitivi | An escapee (Italian). An expression referring to a breakaway rider / on the attack. | Daniel Coyle |
| fulchrum | A cable housing stop, in Sturmey-Archer terminology | Sheldon Brown |
| full rigid | A MTBiking term. A MTB with no suspension mechanism. (Often a cheapy ) | Cultcycling.co.za |
| full rigid single speed | A MTBiking term. No gearing on a bicycle that has no suspension mechanism. | Cultcycling.co.za |
| full suspension | A MTBiking term. Mountainbikes that have suspension in the front (fork), and pivots from the frame that allows the seat- and chainstays to interact with a spring unit ( elostomer, air , coil over spring, or hydraulic). A frame that allows both the rear- and front wheels to move in relation to the rider. | Cultcycling.co.za |
| full susser | A MTBiking term. Mountainbikes that have suspension in both the front (fork) and pivots from the frame that allows the seat- and chainstays to interact with a spring unit ( elostomer, air , coil over spring, or hydraulic). A frame that allows both the rear- and front wheels to move in relation to the rider. | everythingbicycling |
| full tuck | An extremely crouched position used for maximum speed on downhill - descents. | Cultcycling.co.za |
| funny bike | An extreme time-trial bicycle, usually featuring a top tube that slants down toward the front. Funny bicycles are built for all-out speed, with no regard for the rider's comfort. | Sheldon Brown |
| GABRAN | An acronym for the 'Great Annual Bike Ride Across Natal', held during May in South Africa, over 3 days / 350km. The Gabran is not a race, neither time nor position is recorded, and it is an event to ride at your own pace, on the bike of your choice. The ride takes one from the majestic Drakensberg to the golden beaches of Durban, and constitutes a camping tour through the province of Kwazulu Natal. | Gabran.co.za |
| gain ratio | One of 3 comprehensive systems for numbering the gear values for bicycle gears. It is the only system that takes crank length into account, giving a true value for the relative leverage of different gears on bicycles with different size wheels and cranks. Gain ratio has the further advantage of not needing any units. It is a pure ratio, and is the same whether you use metric or inch-based units to calculate it. | Sheldon Brown |
| gapped | An expression. A distance between two or more riders large enough for drafting to no longer be effective. Also used as verb (US English), for example: "Armstrong has gapped Ullrich!". It's much easer for a stronger rider to pull ahead of others once a gap has been achieved; without a gap, the others can draft along using significantly less power to sustain the same speed as the rider in front. While gaps are usually achieved through attacks, on mountain climbs the slower speeds mean the advantage of drafting is much less significant, riders are often gapped as they cannot maintain the tempo of the faster riders. | Wikipedia.com |
| Garmin ® | The leaders in commercial GPS technology. | Everythingbicycling |
| gauge | Thickness, or diameter. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| GC | Abbreviation for “general classification". The overall standings in a stage race in terms of the timing splits is used to determine who is winning the race. Calculated from the first rider over the line each day, time is measured towards 'the back' by the 'timing gaps' using the winner-of-the-day's time as point of reference. Time gaps are then - in turn - added and calculated between riders to determine the overall position of riders, relative to each other. Riders can 'attack' during stage races for time, rather than winning the days stage. They are said to be "riding for G.C." In such circumstances alliances can form where some riders in a breakaway will work to help others win the days stage despite not contesting the finish as the overall gap the breakaway gains helps them "on G.C.". | Sheldon Brown |
| Géant de Provence | A French cycling term. Mont Ventoux is a mountain in the Provence region of southern France, located some 20 km north-east of Carpentras, Vaucluse. On the north-side, the mountain borders the Drôme département.. It is by far the biggest mountain in the region and has been dubbed the "Giant of Provence". | University of Toronto |
| gear | The "gear" of a bicycle relates to the mechanical advantage of the whole drive system. In a “low gear” the pedals are easy to turn, & you have a greater amount of torque delivered. In a “high gear” the pedals are hard to turn, and is used for speed. | Sheldon Brown |
Cycling Terms 
