"Trekking" bicycles are similar to "hybrids" except that they come with a lot of accessories that are not stock on a hybrid, such as fenders, racks and generator lighting systems. Another way of looking at it is that a trekking bike (or a hybrid for that matter) is basically a touring bike with upright handlebars instead of drops. Although the word "trek" is of Afrikaans origin, and (amongst other things) refers to a famous & arduous journey on foot & oxcart, the term "trekking bike” originated in Germany in the 1980s.

A MTBiking term. The art of hopping onto large objects on your bike, for those who can't go fast and have no endurance. Not to be confused with Time Trials, which is just the opposite. Trials are a form of bicycle acrobatics, in which the object is to navigate a course that is as close to un-rideable as possible, without putting a foot down (known as "dabbing.") Trials are sometimes done on more-or-less standard mountain bicycles, but more often with purpose-built trials bicycles. A trials bike is a one speed, geared very low, with a tiny chainwheel both for low gearing and improved clearance. Tyres are usually fat 20" or 24" size, with aggressive tread. Frames are small, equipped with a very low saddle. Trials riders never actually sit on the saddle, but a saddle is required as a safety measure. The major technique involves locking the wheels up with the brakes, and bouncing the bike up and down in the manner of a pogo stick.

A "true" wheel is one in which the rim is perfectly concentric and runs along a plane perpendicular to the axle. A wheel which is "out of true" vertically will be ‘out of round’, and will give a bumpy ride even on a smooth road. A wheel which is "out of true" horizontally may rub on the brake shoes at part of its revolution causing excessive drag. The brake can be adjusted looser than it should be to prevent this drag. "Truing" is the act of making a wheel run true. To bring a wheel or other rotating device - such as a chainwheel - into proper alignment and remove eccentricity.

Inside of all modern bicycle tyres you will find an inner tube, which is basically a rubber balloon with a valve that fits through the rim so that you can inflate it. The purpose of the tube is to make the tyre airtight. The tyre itself may have small holes and pores without creating a problem, as long as the tube doesn't leak. If the tyre has a large hole or cut, the stretchy rubber tube can bulge through and burst. The tube does not, in itself, have the ability to withstand the high pressures used in bicycle tyres without the support of a tyre around it. Most tubes are made of synthetic (butyl) rubber.

A type of tyre mainly used for racing. A tubular tyre has no beads, instead, the two edges of the carcass are sewn together (hence the term "sew-up") with the inner tube inside. Tubulars fit only on special rims, where they are held on by cement. A lightweight tyre that has its tube "sewn inside" the casing. Also called a sew-up. The tyre is glued to the rim.  “Tubs”  are also referred to as Singles in Australia. Tubulars use Presta valves. You should never use valve caps or other screwed-on valve accessories with tubulars. For most non-competitive applications, conventional clincher tyres are more appropriate. Most people find tubulars too expensive for recreational riding and cheap tubulars are distinctly inferior to good clinchers in that they tend to be lumpy and crooked. Comparing high-quality tubulars with clinchers ( including the rims, tubes, etc,) tubulars save about 50 grams per wheel, but the bike winds up heavier because you  need to carry a complete spare tubular, as opposed to a tube and/or a patch kit.  If you don't glue your tubulars on properly they can roll off. If you get a flat on the road you can't glue your spare securely since the glue needs to dry overnight, and you have to ride sparingly on your spare taking it easy. With two flats on the same ride, you're screwed. Some people believe that tubulars corner better in the rain, but if you flat in the rain, your repair is problematic, because there's no way to make a wet tubular stick to a wet rim. Tubulars are fairly immune to "snake-bite" rim cuts, and may offer slightly better "suspension" action than comparable clinchers.

A MTBiking term. 1) A jump during which the rider twists the handlebars back and forth in mid-air, the more times the better. 2)  to slightly injure a part of the body or the bike in a crash. "I tweaked my wrist when I fell". 3)  To make a minor adjustment. "My brake pads were rubbing but I tweaked the cable and it went away." 4)  When something isn't quite right, "You'd have to be seriously tweaked to replace those hydraulics with V-Brake."

A MTBiking term. The so-called "29 inch" tyre size is not actually a new size, it is just a new marketing term for 622 mm (700C) wheels with fat tyres. This size is probably a good option for taller riders for off-road use, compared with 559 mm (26 inch decimal) wheels. Larger diameter wheels don't sink as far into holes so they will give a better ride in rough conditions. For shorter riders, wheels this large will cause unfortunate compromises in frame geometry, so they're probably not a good option for riders of short or medium height.

A style of crankset in which the axle and right crank/chainwheel are a single part, and the left crank attaches to the axle either with a cotter or by tightening a pinch bolt that holds the crank to a splined axle. These were formerly usually found on low-quality bicycles and exercise machines of European manufacture. Most crank sets are three-piece, there are also one-piece crank sets Shimano revived the two-piece design with the 2004 Dura-Ace "Hollowtech II ® " crand and bottom bracket. This system is expected to "trickle down" the Shimano line in coming years. For 2005 it is already available in Ultegra, XTR and Saint.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) tyre-inflators work wonders for high-pressure racing under 3hours inflating tyres in a flash, but use caution when applying them to old tyre/tubes as they might cause a blowout. Perhaps an expensive tool - which cannot be re used - but definately worthwhile when out on the road. The CO2 molecule is smaller than nitrogen (the main component of air) and leaks faster from the tube. While this is not significant during a 3-hour road race, it could be in an endurance event.

A special tool for prying the bead of a tyre over the rim. Most tyre levers have a rounded end which slips between the rim wall and the tyre. The other end of the lever is bent and has a notch. Once you have inserted the first tyre lever and pried one section of the bead over the edge of the rim, you can hook the other end around a spoke. This leaves your hands free to stick another lever in, usually two spokes over from the first. One or two tyre irons are usually enough to get all but the most recalcitrant tyre beads over the rim, but in extreme cases you may need three. When the third is in place, the middle one can be removed and re-inserted farther over. This is why they are usually sold in sets of three, since you never need more than three.

The UCI's endorsemetn of a series of 8 international cycling events  - a quality label granted to the best cycling events in the world - created to encourage cyclists to carry their passion outside their countries to new horizons. Events are chosen on their organisation's ability, friendliness towards foreign participants & being spectacular sporting destinations. Participants completeing all 8 events receive membership of the club.

Established on September 9^th, 2000, Cycling’s Hour Record has been the most prestigious record, for the longest distance cycled in one hour (on a Eddy Merckx type standard diamond frame bike without aero wheels), in a velodrome (for aerodynamic benefit) at altitude. Disallowed under the new rules are time trial helmets, disc or tri-spoke wheels, time trial aerodynamic bars, and/or aerodynamic monocoque frames. Ondřej Sosenka – Moscow, on 19 July2005 -is the record current holder having improved the record to 49.700 km (30.882 mi) using  54x13 gearing, a radical positioning of the seat and a relatively small vertical frame height (still having stayed within the UCI’s regulations).

Upright handlebars are used on most of the world's bicycles. They permit a fairly erect posture of the upper body, and are more comfortable for cyclists who ride at a low intensity level. Cyclists seeking greater speed or efficiency often prefer drop handlebars. Upright handlebars are sometimes referred to as "mountain bike " handlebars, but that's sloppy usage, because upright handlebars are used on most bicycles designed for street use. Upright bicycles are conventional bicycles, providing an upright riding position, as opposed to recumbents.

A metal or plastic screw-on cover intended to protect the innards of a tyre valve from dust and other foreign matter. In the case of Presta valves, which have non-removeable, built-in caps, external caps are unnecessary in use. The purpose of these redundant caps that come with Presta tubes and tubulars is so that the pointy end of the valve won't puncture your spare tube or tubular while it is rolled up. These caps can be dangerous if you ride tubular (sew-up) tyres: Should your tubular come unglued and roll off of the rim, with luck, you will be able to roll to a semi-controlled stop on the bare rim. If you have a cap (or Schrader adaptor) screwed onto the valve, the wheel will only roll until the captive tubular bumps up against the frame or fork, then the wheel will lock up, and down you will go!

A MTBiking term. This brake - orinally a Shimano trademark - is a direct pull cantilever brake which does not use a separate transverse cable. It has two tall arms attached to the frame - one of which has a housing stop and the other an anchor bolt - on either side of the rim sporting rim aligned pads. The cable runs horizontally from one arm to the other, delivering more mechanical advantage than normal cantilever brakes - which advantage even increases during pull - and they require hand levers with less-than-average mechanical advantage to keep the overall mechanical advantage in a useful range. Some V-Brake also incorporate a parallelogram linkage which mantains the shoe at the 'correct angle' as it approaches the rim, and they feauture increased clearance over tyres. These brakes power drops off in the wet - especially with mud - and do not function well on buckled rims.

A sporting arena purpose-built for track cycling & feature steeply banked 180-degree bends connected by two straights. The corner bankings are designed so that the bicycles follow a constant radial position allowing the riders to concentrate on race tactics. Indoor velodromes are used for top flight & big events such as the Olympics. The track length is measured on a special line 20 cm up from the inside of the track. Olympic standard velodromes are minimum 250 metres in circumference but can range from 150 m to 500 m ( 333.33 m is popular). The length of the track multiplied by a round number of laps or half laps should result in 1.000 m. Many older tracks were built around the outside of athletic tracks or other sports grounds and banking was quite shallow. The smaller the track the steeper the banking. Tracks are surfaced in wood or smooth concrete.

The blue band “côte d'azur” is between the infield and the actual track and is 10% of the track width, not part of the track & moving into this space will disqualify a rider. The black measurement line is 20 cm above the inside of the track, the red sprinters lines 90 cm above the inside of the track (the best line around the track). A rider leading in this zone may only be passed on his longer outside. The blue stayers' line line is used in stayer races behind pacemaker motorbikes, 250 cm (or half the track width) above the inside of the track & stayer-riders riding below the blue stayer line may not be overtaken on the inside. In Madison races the riders usually recover above the blue line - cycling slowly - until a team mate comes around the track and either pushes or slings the partner into the race (‘exiting’ himself). The Finish line is black on white at the end of the home straight. Red pursuit lines are exactly the middle of each straight as start and finish line for pursuit races. A 200m white line marks the last 200 m until the finish line.

A type of locking pliers. It has a toggle link mechanism in one leg, and an adjusting thumbscrew in one of the legs. Vise-Grips are operated much the same as quick-release mechanisms. This is a tool of last resort for removing nuts or bolts whose heads are so badly damaged that the proper wrench will not fit them. They should not be used on un-damaged fasteners, because their serrated jaws will damage the part they are used on.

One of the 3 'Grand Tours'  - 1st held in 1935 and annually since 1955, the Vuelta runs for three weeks in a changing route across Spain. The inaugural event saw 50 entrants face a 3411 km course over 14 stages, and was inspired by the Tours in France and Italy. Since 1995 the race has been run in September and the course includes two individual time trials. The finish of the Vuelta is traditionally the Madrid. The overall leader wears a golden jersey - Jersey de Oro - but there is also the best sprinter's yellow fish jersey. The record for most wins is held jointly by Switzerland's Tony Rominger (1992, 1993, 1994) and Spain's Roberto Heras ( 2000, 2003, 2004). Heras also won in 2005 but was disqualified for a doping offense. Three Germans have taken first place: Rudi Altig (1962), Rolf Wolfshohl (1965) & Jan Ullrich (1999), but the Spaniards have won 26 of the 57 runnings of the Vuelta.