Vocabulary question

[Popoki_Nui]

What's a "hardtail" bike?

"Hardtail" refers to a bike with a suspension front fork, and a rigid rear frame triangle. (as opposed to "full rigid"..a bike with no suspension, and "full suspension"...a bike with suspension fore and aft).
~S.

[Dianyla]

Meanwhile, here's another vocabulary question. What, in web forum parlance, is a "troll"?

The usage of the word troll came about in the late 90's on usenet, to refer to someone who is posting merely to inflame, anger, or bait other users.

For more info:
http://www.help.com/wiki/Internet_troll
http://www.urban75.com/Mag/troll.html

[stella]

fixie: a fixed gear bike or the rider of a fixed gear bike

conversion: making your bike a geared bike to a fixed or singlespeed bike.

beater bike: the old bike you love that looks like you took it off a trash heap but ride it anyway...generally to run errands...

weight weenie: person who watches grams/weight of their bike (I've got to focus on my own weight before I go there )

someone asked about the term: endo: I believe it is short for "end over" the front of the bike. a mtn bike term

Can someone tell me what "Fred" means? I get the impression it is an insult, but I do not know how nor where it came from.

[CR400]

The Finnish word peloton is likely accurate in its own right, I mean you have to be fearless to desend a moutian at those speeds in a group. Not to mention just riding around a 30+mph with 50 other people.

As far as Fred, it's a bad thing to call someone. It basically means they are a person that rides their bike anyway they want not caring about what they look like,and they ride everywhere not paying attention to any trends in cycling. Think of the odd person that rides around town all the time on a road bike, or commuter, Fred. It is often used by bike snobs to belittle someone not like them.

[Bad JuJu]

I've also heard Fred used of someone who's not "in the know" about cycling trends in general, whether they ride at all or not. But it's still a pejorative term, and still used to identify who's "in with the in-crowd"--supposedly.

[Robbin_G]

I sometimes get lost in some other acronyms.... being straight, it took me a second when someone referred to their DP. Who? Ohhhhh.... Dorkette! There was another one I couldn't figure out and forgot what it was....

[profàvélo]

Actually, I think there are some people who are Freds on purpose, so it isn't necessarily an insult. It's almost the opposite of 'poseur,' the one with all the 'right' gear and clothing, but no ability to back it up.

And as for 'peloton,' it most generically just means 'group of people' in French. It was used for a pack of horses in a race before it was extended by analogy to a compact group of racers in motorcycle or bicycle races.

Since cycling is practically the national sport of France, it's not surprising that some of our cycling vocabulary is French in origin: échelon, dérailleur, vélodrome, tour de ____, pannier (Fr. panier), pédale (Latin-->Italian-->French-->English). I think that 'bidon' (water bottle) is used in English (as opposed to American).

Voilà!

[stella]

I've also heard Fred used of someone who's not "in the know" about cycling trends in general, whether they ride at all or not. But it's still a pejorative term, and still used to identify who's "in with the in-crowd"--supposedly.

thanks for the clarification! I got the distinct impression it was an insult when I heard one rider say it about someone that didn't "dress correctly" or have "the right equipment."

[Eden]

The legend that I heard is that "Fred" was this guy who would show up at the local fast group ride on an old beater bike, with tennis shoes on, ripped up shorts and knees scraped from his last crash, etc. No one really liked to have Fred around - he was a dork and he didn't shower often enough, but the really really frustrating thing about Fred was that he could hang with the A group without any problems.

So a "Fred" became a derogatory term for people who aren't cool - they don't have all the latest gear, fanciest bike, hairy legs, whatever, but watch out for Fred, cause he just might dust you.....

I've also heard chainring marks on the calf refered to as Freds

[Lise]

I know how to shift. I just don't know which is called "down" and which is "up" shifting. Is it "down" shifting to make it easier for the wheels to go around, and "up" shifting when you have to work harder? This maybe the dumbest question yet in this thread!

[Eden]

I know how to shift. I just don't know which is called "down" and which is "up" shifting. Is it "down" shifting to make it easier for the wheels to go around, and "up" shifting when you have to work harder? This maybe the dumbest question yet in this thread!

Warning I think I may actually confuse this matter more!

I think that it may actually depend on what "bike generation" you belong to. I have always thought of shifting up as going to a harder gear and down as to an easier gear. Mind you I started with down tube shifters and if you moved the shifter up you went to a harder gear and down to an easier gear.

With integrated shifters you are now essentially shifing sideways rather than up and down. Now I've heard at least one person referring to shifting up as up to a larger ring on the rear cluster, which is an easier gear, and vice versa.

In any case this is just speculation - maybe the up and down designations spring from gear ratios? or something else all together. Most of the people that I know refer to shifting up as going to a harder gear and down to an easier one and its the odd one out that uses it the other way around.

[uk elephant]

I have a question too....
Several of you people are doing brevets, but what are they? From what I understand it is something impressive that I'm not anywhere near ready to try myself, but I have no idea what it entails....

[Tuckervill]

It took me a long time, but I finally found a definition for brevet that was cycling related:


A brevet or randonn饼/span> is an organised long-distance bicycle ride. Cyclists - who, in this discipline, may be referred to as randonneurs - follow a designated but unmarked route (usually 200km to 600km), passing through check-point controls, and must complete the course within specified time limits. These limits, while challenging, still allow the ride to be completed at a comfortable pace - there is no requirement to cycle at racing speeds or employ road bicycle racing strategies.
Randonn饼/span> is a French word which loosely translates to 'ramble or 'long journey'. Brevet means 'certificate' and refers to the card carried by randonneurs which gets stamped at controls; it is also used to refer to the event itself, ie: a certificated ride.

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki..._%28cycling%29

Sounds interesting...but 200km? Are there shorter ones?

Karen

[Geonz]

I think 200 is the shortest (with a name like "brevet" it *should* be somethng short!)

Yea, Fred can be said insultingly... but the recipient gets to choose whether or not to be insulted. I have great respect for Freds. I'd like to become a Frieda...

[bcipam]

I know how to shift. I just don't know which is called "down" and which is "up" shifting. Is it "down" shifting to make it easier for the wheels to go around, and "up" shifting when you have to work harder? This maybe the dumbest question yet in this thread!

Generally when someone says "down" they mean make it easier and "up" means harder - ie you shift up to sprint and down to climb.

And yes I started out way back when with down tube shifters. I will never go back to those! Ugh!