| gear case | A chain guard that totally encloses the chain, usually found only on roadsters. Gear cases (also known as "chain cases") are extremely practical for utility bicycles. They keep the chain clean in all weather, and permit cycling in ordinary street clothes without risk of soiling. Unfortunately, a satisfactory chain case to work with derailleur gears has not been developed, so they are only found on one-speed bicycles or those with internal gear hubs. Sometimes inaccurately referred to as an "oil bath". | Sheldon Brown |
| gear cluster | An assembly of gears usually described by their configuration: "My rear cluster is a 12-25." | Bicyclesource.com |
| gear ratio | Amount of motion or work per amount of motion of work. On a bicycle 1 rotation of a chainring with 42 teeth will cause a sprocket with 12 teeth to rotate 4 times - a ratio of 4:1. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| gel | A type of closed-cell foam, in which the bubbles are under higher than normal pressure. Originally developed by Spenco for wheelchair cushions, gel is also popular for saddles and saddle covers, and for padding the palms of cycling gloves. Perhaps not as effective as we would like it to be. | Sheldon Brown |
| 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 |
| generator | A generator (or "dynamo ") is a device for turning mechanical energy into electricity. Generator-powered bicycle lights have been available for many decades. Generators have the advantage of being ready to use at any time and costing nothing to operate. "Bottle" generators, the most common type, are shaped like a bottle, with a small wheel at the "cap" which rubs against the side-wall of the tyre. "Bottom-bracket" generators mount below the chainstays, and have a spring-loaded roller which presses against the tread of the tyre. Bottom bracket and bottle generators frequently slip and fail when ridden in wet conditions. Hub generators are built into one of the wheel hubs. They usually consist of a stationary armature (coil) attached to the axle, with a revolving multi-pole ring-shaped magnet surrounding the armature. The best-known of these is the no longer available Sturmey-Archer Dynohub. | Sheldon Brown |
| generator set | A system in which a small wheel runs against the tyre and turns a generator which creates electricity to power a headlight and /or a red taillight. Generators can also be built into either front or rear wheel hubs – they tend to slow you down, but you don’t need batteries. | Sheldon Brown |
| getting air | A MTBiking term. The exchange of currency for cylinders containing a mixture of compressed nitrogen, oygen, and other trace gasses. | Bicyclesource.com |
| giblets | A MTBiking term. Sexy little add-ons or upgrades, usually made of titanium or CNC'd aluminum. "That's the fourth time this week that Tom's gone by the shop to gawk at giblets." | Bicyclesource.com |
| Giro d'Italia | The Giro is a professional, 3 week long-distance road bicycle stage race held in May (or early June), in and around Italy. It is the 1st 3-week tour on the international calendar, the most important stage race after the Tour de France, and with Spain's Vuela they form the 3 'Grand Tours'. The first Giro commenced on May 13, 1909 at Milan, with eight stages totalling 2448 kilometres and Luigi Ganna was the winner. Since 1931 the overall leader in the Giro sports the maglia rosa (pink jersey), the "King of the Mountains" wears the maglia verde (green jersey), the leader of the points classification wears the maglia ciclamino (mauve jersey), and the Giro also has a daily competition - Intergiro - the leader of which is awarded the maglia azzurra (sky-blue jersey). Italian Felice Gimondi holds the record for the most podium finishes - nine in total - consisting of three victories, two second places and four third place finishes. | Wikipedia.com |
| gloves | Traditional cycling gloves are fingerless, with leather palms, often double layered with a foam sandwich under the heel of the hand. The backs were traditionally a crocheted mesh, though Lycra ® is more common of late. They considerably reduce hand discomfort on longer rides partly due to their padding, and partly due to the fact that they aren't as slippery on the handlebars.They constitute vital safety gear when falling, as one instinctive tries to cushion the fall with your hands. | Sheldon Brown |
| glutes | The gluteal muscles of the buttocks. They are key to pedalling power. | Sheldon Brown |
| glycogen | A fuel derived as glucose (sugar) from carbohydrate and stored in the muscles and liver. It’s the primary energy source for high-intensity cycling. Reserves are normally depleted after about two hours of riding | Sheldon Brown |
| glycogen window | The period within an hour after exercise when depleted muscles are most receptive to restoring their glycogen content. By eating foods or drinking fluids rich in carbohydrate, energy stores and recovery are enhanced. | Sheldon Brown |
| gnarly | A MTBiking term. An 80's term for a particular steep and rough section of trail. | Bicyclesource.com |
| gnarly dude | A MTBiking term. Southern Californian for Gnarly. | Bicyclesource.com |
| gonzo | A MTBiking term. 1) Treacherous, extreme. "That vertical drop was sheer gonzo." 2) Riding with reckless abandon. Not generally appropriate for singletrack | Bicyclesource.com |
| goofy footed | When you coast with the cranks in a horizontal position, ideally you should have the left foot forward, right foot rear. This way the stresses on the crank/bottom bracket interface are in the intended direction. If you coast with your right foot forward, that's sometimes called "goofy footed" and can even contribute to loosening up the crank, since it applies stress in the opposite direction than the stresses of normal pedalling. The term comes from the world of surfing, where left-foot forward is the norm. | Sheldon Brown |
| goose neck | Handlebar stem, particularly a stem with a long forward extension. | Sheldon Brown |
| gorp | Raisins and peanuts, a high-energy mix for nibbling during rides. Can also include nuts, seeds, M&Ms, granola, etc. | Sheldon Brown |
| GPS | A MTBiking term. Acronym for Global Positioning System - the modern compas & map. | Everythingbicycling |
| Gran Fondo Felice Gimondi | The Gran Fondo Internazionale Felice Girmondi represents one of the major cycling nevents in Italy, with 40 000 riders having participated in the past 10 years along Italian cycling greats. Fairly easy, with riders having the option 95.7km, 134.5km or a 165.3km loop from Bergamo. This race also forms part of the UCI Golden Bike Series. | UCI Golden Bike |
| Grand tour | The Tour de France, Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) and Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) are the three major stage races and the longest of the UCI Calendar at three weeks each. While the other two European Grand Tours are well-known in Europe, they are relatively unknown outside the continent, and even the UCI World Cycling Championship is familiar only to cycling enthusiasts. The Tour de France, in contrast, has long been a household name around the globe, even among those not generally interested in professional cycling; it is for cycling what the FIFA World Cup is to football in global popularity. | Wikipedia.com |
| grand tours | The combination of cycling's three premier stage events, being the Giro d'Italia , Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana - the most intensive edurance sporting events on the face of our planet. | Wikipedia.com |
| granny gear | Also a donkey gear. Slang term for the smallest chainwheel on a triple crank set. | Sheldon Brown |
| granny gear | A MTBiking term. The lowest gear available on a bike, or a third and smallest front cog, which is only found on bikes for the feeble. Roadies don't have, need, or want them. | Bicyclesource.com |
| grate | A MTBiking term. The act of producing bacon or little flaps of severed skin, against either the ground or a bike component. | Bicyclesource.com |
| gravity check | A MTBiking term. A fall. | Bicyclesource.com |
| grease | A lubricant in the form of a viscous paste, rather than a liquid oil. Grease is generally more difficult to apply, because most bicycle parts cannot be greased effectively without disassembly. Grease lubrication is commonly used on all ball bearings. Use grease (or oil) on the threads of most threaded fittings and fasteners, and also inside the steerer (to keep the stem from becoming stuck) and the seat tube (to keep the seatpost from becoming stuck.) | Sheldon Brown |
| grease tattoo | An oily, black mark left on the rider's leg from touching the chainwheel. Synonym: Chainring tattoo. | Sheldon Brown |
| Greg Herbold | A MTBiking term. "The Mighty Goof," off-roading's resident personality. First downhill world champ. A favorite with manufacturers; his input helped develop and fine tune the original Rock Shox and SPD pedals. Now semi-retired, but still a major force on the R&D circuit, and still Japan's biggest off-road star. | Bicyclesource.com |
| grimpeur | A French cycling term. A climber – one of the skinny guys who actually looks forward to the mountain stages. | University of Toronto |
| Grind | A BMX term. Sliding the bike along an object, usually coping (the metal edge of a ramp), a handrail or ledge, using anything other than both wheels. | Wikipedia.com |
| grindies | A MTBiking term. As in "all that dried mud and sand left me with a loud case of the grindies in my drivetrain." | Bicyclesource.com |
| gripped | A MTBiking term. Paralyzed with fear and utterly confused. | Bicyclesource.com |
| grunt | A MTBiking term. A very difficult climb, requiring use of the granny gear. Often used in understatement, as in "Well, I suppose it's a fair grunt, but we used to ride it all the time." | Bicyclesource.com |
| gruppeto | A group of riders in a stage race (typically non-climbers and suffering domestiques) who ride together as a group on the mountain stages, with the clear intention of finishing within the stage's time limit. | Sheldon Brown |
| gruppo | A is a set of parts for a bicycle from (usually) a single manufacturer. The practice of selling parts as a group (or "gruppo" in Italian) probably originated with Campagnolo in the 1960's.A group would normally include (as a minimum) the hubs , bottom bracket, derailleurs, shifters and brakes. If a particular manufacturer doesn't make one or more of these items, they may have some made under their name by another manufacturer to fill in their group. For instance, when Mavic was offering groups, they had everything above except for brakes, so they had brakes made under their name by Modolo and Dia Compe, and pedals by Look. If the manufacturer offers them, a group could also include pedals, headset and seat post. Note the distinction between a "group" and a "kit": In addition to the group, a kit includes everything needed to turn a frame into a bicycle: built-up wheels (rims, spokes, tyres, rim tape, tubes), handlebars, saddle, etc. | Sheldon Brown |
| GS ™ | Shimano speak - componentry. | Shimano.com |
| gumwall tyres | Tyres that have a natural gum rubber or synthetic - sidewall that looks like gum rubber. When gum rubber (or synthetic) is flexed, it returns with more energy than the typical black tyre rubber, so you get a more efficient ride. However, gumwall tyres are damaged from long-term exposure to the sun, and bicycle tyres are usually black because carbon is added to reduce wear. Tyres that are all gum would wear out quickly. | Sheldon Brown |
| Gunn-Rita Dahle | Born on 10 Feb 1973 in Stavanger (west coast of Northway) & still living there, Gunn-Rita is the world's most successful female cyclist, amongs others having won gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. She started racing 'by accident', having joined a local mtb club from her hometown. An offroad icon. | Wikipedia.com |
| gusset | Reinforcement welded or brazed to one or more tubes of a frame to reinforce an area of high stress. | Sheldon Brown |
| gutter / guttering | To ride ‘in the gutter’ is to ride close to edge of the road, making it hard for trailing riders to draft. | Sheldon Brown |
| gutter bunny | A bicycling commuter. | Bicyclesource.com |
| GWCBR | Great Westen Cape Bike Ride, South Africa. Not a race, but an 8 day leisurely bike ride across the Klein Karoo & Western Cape's winelands | |
| half-radial spoking | This refers to a wheel that is radially spoked on one flange, semi-tangent on the other. | Sheldon Brown |
| half-track | A MTBiking term. A trail so narrow and/or overgrown that you'd hesitate even to call it singletrack. | Bicyclesource.com |
| hammer | A strange expression of which the origins are unknown. "The man with the hammer got him" or "He got hit by the man with hammer"; the saying expresses a favourite rider who suddenly loses the ability to race contrary to expectations. Alternative expressions are " He got tapped" short for "he got tapped by the man with hammer". Associated with the expression "bad day" or "had a bad day". Alternatively it is also used to ride fast and hard; to "put the hammer down." | Sheldon Brown |
| hammered | A MTBiking term. Exhausted. | Bicyclesource.com |
| hammerfest | A brutally fast ride or race. | Dictionary of roadie slang |
| hammerhead | A MTBiking term. A rider who hammers, or simply can ride faster than the one commenting. Someone who refuses to EVER ride easy. | Bicyclesource.com |
| hand plant | A MTBiking term. A crash where your fall is broken only by cheese grating your hands. Best if done wearing bicycle gloves. | Bicyclesource.com |
| handicap | A style of road racing in Australia where riders are given time handicaps in bunches, with scratch being the last riders to leave and limit being the first riders to leave. The time intervals between groups, and the allocation of riders to groups is decided by the race handicapper, based on rider's ability, age and form. Race honours are usually awarded to the first 5 to 10 riders (depending on the size race) and to the fastest time. | Sheldon Brown |
| handlebar | "Handle bars" on early bicycles were actually bars of solid steel. Solid handlebars became obsolete before the end of the 19th century; all modern handle "bars" are actually tubular, but the name persists. | Sheldon Brown |
| handlebar levers | i) Levers for drop handlebars (which follow the curvature of the handlebar). These levers alsohave mounting clamps to fit the 23.8 mm (15/16") diameter of almost all drop handlebars. ii) Levers for upright ("mountain" "cruiser" "BMX") handlebars mount on a straight section of the handlebar, and curves away from the bar for better clearance. These levers have mounting clamps to fit the 22.2 mm (7/8") diameter of almost all upright handlebars. | Sheldon Brown |
| handlebar tape | Cloth or plastic or leather tape that is wrapped around handlebars to provide better grip and some cushioning. Most commonly used on drop handlebars. | Sheldon Brown |
| hanging on | A MTBiking term. Riding in the slipstream of another rider, but being lazy and refusing to take your turn in at the front. | Bicyclesource.com |
| hard pack | A MTBiking term. The compressed soil encountered on well-used trails | Cultcycling.co.za |
| hard pack with loose cover | A MTBiking term. Usually the loose cover will be small pebbles left behind on the top of hard pack after the dust that accompanied them has blown away, often created by riders skidding the rear wheel thereby eroding the hard pack. | Cultcycling.co.za |
| hardcore | A MTBiking term. 1) Word of praise and amazement, generally spoken as two separate syllables. 2) Iimpressive or requiring devotion, such as an extreme cliffbombing session. | Bicyclesource.com |
| hardened | Steel can be made to have different characteristics by various heat-treating processes. These involve heating steel to various temperatures then cooling it down either rapidly or gradually. Depending on the specific heat treatment chosen, steel may be either very hard and brittle or soft and flexible. This is complicated technology, with ancient roots. For many applications, such as sprockets and bearings, you need a very hard surface to the part, but the inside of the part should be treated to a lesser hardness so as to avoid excessive brittleness and breakage. | Sheldon Brown |
| hardtail | A MTBiking term that originated from a motorcycle term, for aride that has no rear suspension. | Sheldon Brown |
| head down | Similar to "on the rivet" but slightly less extreme. A rider making a serious effort. "He's puttting his head down." | Sheldon Brown |
| head tube | The front tube of the frame through which the steerer passes. Interestingly enough the length of the head tube gives a quick visual indication of frame size, because it proporsionally varies more with frame size than any of the other tubes. | Sheldon Brown |
| headset | The bearing assembly that connects the front fork to the frame, and permits the fork to turn for steering and balancing. Divided into 2 parts - top and bottom of the head tube - the headset contains the bearings on which the steering tube rotates. (A bearing assembly mounted to a frame that allows the smooth rotation of the handlebars for steering.) | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| headset & lockring spanner | Handy tool for bike maintenance. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| headset & pin spanner | Handy tool for bike maintenance. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| Hell of the North | French held road race from Paris to Roubaix. Also known as I'Enfer du Nord / Hell of the North as a result of a 52km stretch of bone-jarring cobblestones. It constitutes the most prestigious Monument of Cycling, and is referred to as 'The Queen of the Classics'. Interestingly, riders can be stopped by crossing trains during the race, running the risk of disqualification in not stopping. | Wikipedia.com |
| hellenic stays | A frame design in which the seat stays don't go to the seat cluster, but rather cross outside of the seat tube a few inches below the seat cluster, then go on to be attached to the top tube a few inches forward of the seat tube. Hellenic stays were introduced by (and named for) the British frame builder Fred Hellens in 1923, and have been used off-and-on since by frame builders who wish to make their frames visually distinctive. | Sheldon Brown |
| hematocrit limit | Hemotocrit is the percentage of total blood plasma taken up by oxygen-carrying blood cells, of which normal levels vary between 42-48%. Riders with levels exceeding 50 percent are prohibited from competition / have exceeded the fail limit / test positive. | Daniel Coyle |
| Henrik "Hank" Djernis | Pronounced "JER-nis," the three-time defending world cross-country mountain-bike champion and hard-guy of the dirt. Use his surname (charitably) to make your riding chum feel very tough. "Man, you really Djernised me on that last climb." | Bicyclesource.com |
| HG | HG stands for 'Hyper Glide' and all Shimano chains have a HG prefix, being available in HG53 (Tiagra), HG73 (105), HG93 (Ultegra) & DuraAce. These chains can be used on any 9-speed drivetrain - whether it's road or MTB - the HG 53 being the cheapest and DuraAce top of the range (respectively). All 9-speed (on 9-speed) and 10 speed (on 10speed) chains are interchangeable despite their origin, but a 10 speed chain do not work on a 9 speed cassette! A SRAM powerlink is great for cleaning the drivetrain, as no tools are required to "break" the chain. | TheHubSA.co.za |
| Hi / Lo speed damping | A MTBiking term. Terms used to discuss how a suspension system handles quick, sharp impacts (high speed) or larger depressions or drops in the trail (lo speed). | Shimano.com |
| high gear | A high gear is one in which the pedals move slowly compared to the speed of the wheels. High gears are achieved by using large chainwheels and small rear sprockets. | Sheldon Brown |
| high tensile | High tension, Hi-Ten - a fancy name for ordinary tubing used to build cheap bicycle frames. | Sheldon Brown |
| high wheeler | The second-oldest style of bicycle, the successor to the "bone shaker," and the predecessor of the modern "safety" bicycle." Before the use of chain drive, bicycles had direct drive. The cranks were directly attached to the hub of the drive wheel. The larger the wheel, the farther the bicycle would move with each turn of the pedals. The diameter of the drive wheel determined the gear of the bicycle. The larger the wheel, the higher “the gear “.With a chain-driven "safety" bicycle, you can have any gear you want by selecting appropriate sprockets. With a high-wheel bicycle, the limiting factor is how long your legs are, because you can only pedal a wheel that is small enough for your legs to straddle and reach the pedals throughout the pedal revolution The safety bike was first introduced on a commercial scale in 1885, and by 1893 high-wheelers were out of production. | Sheldon Brown |
| hill categories | Cat 4 = less than 2 miles (3.3km) @ not too steep an incline. Cat 3 = less than 3 miles (5km) @ an increased incline. Cat 2 = 3-6 miles (10km) @ more than 4 % grade.Cat 1 = 6 to 12 miles (20km) @ more than 5 %grade. Hors catégorie = longer, steeper grades / out of category climbs. | Daniel Coyle |
| hill climb | A short distance uphill race, usually an individual time trial over approx 3 - 5 km. | Sheldon Brown |
| hi-normal | High-normal rear derailleurs when no cable tension is applied will return to the smallest cog on the cassette. Most Shimano mountain, all Shimano road, and all SRAM and Campagnolo derailleurs are high-normal designs. | Wikipedia.com |
| Hite-Rite ™ | A spring device that attaches to the seatpost and to a quick-release seatpost bolt. It allows the rider to adjust the saddle height while riding. This was a fashionable option n the early days of mountain biking, but is no longer popular. | Sheldon Brown |
| hitting the wall | Bonking, running out od energy. Zonking. It results in being dropped. | |
| hitting the wall | It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree onto my shoulders and was making me carry it the rest of the way in.”—Dick Beardsley, speaking of hitting "The Wall" at the second marathon of his career, the 1977 City of Lakes Marathon. "Hitting The Wall" is basically about running out of energy. Bonking, running out of energy. Zonking. It results in cracking & 'being dropped' | Bicyclesource.com |
| HOHA | A MTBiking term. Abbreviation for Hateful Old Hikers Association. "HOHA members hate mountain bicyclists with a fervor exceeding that of rabid wolverines." | Bicyclesource.com |
| hold the wheel | Expression - similar to follow but more dramatic. Holding a wheel may infer a rider is riding above his normal performance just to stay with a better rider or indicates he is about to be dropped or crack. Expressive "he can't hold the wheel". | Sheldon Brown |
| Hollowtech 2 ™ | A MTBiking term. A trademarked Shimano name for hollow forged crank arm with a permanently integrated bottom bracket spindle. | Shimano.com |
| Hone ™ | Shimano speak - componentry. | Shimano.com |
| honk | A MTBiking term. 1) To vomit due to cycling exertion. 2) To grab hard on the bar ends while climbing to increase torque and traction on the rear wheel | Bicyclesource.com |
| hors catégorie | A French cycling term. The term primarily used to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization", an incredibly tough climb. Most climbs are designated from Category 1 (hardest) to Category 4 (easiest) based on steepness and length. A climb that is harder than Category 1-being 'out of category' is designated as "hors catégorie". | Sheldon Brown |
| horst link | A MTBiking term. A multi-link suspension with lower rear pivots on the chain stays named after Horst Leitner (of Amp Bicycles) who patented a chain stay pivot location sold to Specialized. Also called a '4 bar'. | mundobiker.es |
| hose-pipes | A MTBiking term. Large-section tubular tyres, about the size and weight of clincher touring tyres. Much heavier than racing tubulars which can be two or three times lighter. | Bicyclesource.com |
| HPV | Human Powered Vehicle. Technically a bicycle is an HPV. In practise, the term is used for any human powered vehicle that is not a bicycle. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| HRM | An acronym for 'Heart Rate Monitor'. Used in powertraining. Heart rate is not really a very accurate guide to checking exercise intensity, but it is fair guestimate. | Everythingbicycling |
| hub | The front- and rearwheel units that hold the wheel axle & to which are attached the spokes. | The Complete Book of Bicycling |
| hucker | A MTBiking term. One who is ejected wildly through the air and does not land on his/her feet | Bicyclesource.com |
| human growth hormone | Human growth hormones stimulate cell growth, aids in muscle mass growth and its recovery. Typically, the hormones can either be injected prior to a period of training to aid muscle development, or during competition to speed up recovery. HGH is not tested for, and abuse leads to thickening of the bones (particularly the jaw bone), swelling of hands and feet and increased organ growth. | Sheldon Brown |
hunger knock | Also shortened to "the knock". See bonk (condition) | Sheldon Brown |
| Huret ® | A French manufacturer most known for derailleurs and freewheels. For many years, Schwinn's most common models were equipped with Huret derailleurs. | Sheldon Brown |
| hybrid | Term given to a street bike design which fuses togewther key features of a mountainbike and a tourer: straight handlebar, bar mounted brake & gear levers, cantilever brakes and wheels with narrow section multi purpose tyres. | Richard's bicycle repair manual |
| hydraulic | A MTBiking term. A flavour of brakes which use brake fluid to actuate the pads, which offer better modulation even than most high-end side-pull calipers, but at an intimidating cost. | Bicyclesource.com |
| Hyperdrive ™ | Shimano speak - transmission componentry. | Sheldon Brown |
Cycling Terms 
