Acro-brat - little kids who use their bikes like pogo sticks, with pegs coming out of the front axle. Should be confined to the Circus or other freak show reviews
Adjustable cup - the left-hand cup in a non-sealed bottom bracket, used in adjusting the bottom bracket bearings and removed during bottom bracket overhaul
Aero levers - road bike brake levers employing hidden cables that travel out the back of the level body and under the handlebar tape.
Aerobic - an intensity of exercise below the level that produces lactic acid faster than the body can dispose of it. Oxygen needs are continuously met and the exercise can be continued for long periods.
Aerodynamic - a design of cycling equipment or a riding position that reduces wind resistance.
Ahead Set - a type of headset that fits on a fork that has a non-threaded steerer such as is found on many mountain bikes.
Air - It's big, it's bad, it isn't the stuff you breathe, - it's the stuff you get. Riding in the space shuttle; in suicide leaps off the Chrysler Building; and most importantly whenever you ride. What's that, you say? "I don't get air?" Well, that just makes you no damn good.
Airwalk - Super hip shoe company that caters to skateboarders and snowboarders. Makes skate-style mountain bike shoes that are OK, but the news flash is we're not boarders - we're bikers, at least when mountain biking is the thing we're doing - which is why more technical shoes by Shimano, Answer, and Nike are preferred by serious riders. Hey, we gotta be we.
Alaska - The last frontier. The ultimate place to ride your bike, and we're not talking after-work shredding. We're talking full-bore wilderness. C'mon, be a man (or a woman) and go there before the cruise lines, development interests, and politicians follow through on their threats to pave the place.
All-terrain bike (ATB) - An archaic term for mountain bike. It stands for "All Terrain Bicycle." Advocating it's adoption is just one of the many dumkopf things magazines have done in the past.
Allen key -(Allen wrench) - a small L-shaped hexagonal wrench that fits inside the head of a bolt or screw.
Altimeter - The only gadget that really makes your mountain bike life that much better. Our Casio altimeter watch - Model BM-200 - has been going strong for over five years, an astonishing record for a cheap piece of consumer electronics that goes through the abuse of off-road biking. Now, when somebody asks how high you are, you can tell him or her. To an accuracy of 20 feet.
Anaerobic - an intensity of exercise past the point where the body can cope with its production of lactic acid and need for oxygen. Thus, the exercise level cannot be sustained for long.
Anaerobic threshold (AT) - the point just below which the body's energy production switches from aerobic to anaerobic. Interval training raises the heart rate at which the threshold is crossed. Also called the lactate threshold (LT).
Anchor - your child, or children (anchors) that keep(s) you from riding. "Wait till you anchors grow up, you'll have road rash for breakfast and prunes for dinner!"
ATB - All-Terrain Bike or Biking.
Attack - an aggressive, high-speed jump away from other riders. Auger - to involuntarily take samples of the local geology, usually with one's face, during a crash. |