Common MTB Terminology and Slang

1X: Pronounced “one by.” A drivetrain with 1 gear up front (at the crankset) and multiple gears on the back wheel.

2X: Pronounced “two by.” A drivetrain with 2 gears up front (at the crankset) and multiple gears on the back wheel.

26: Typically refers to 26 inch diameter wheels, commonly found on older bikes.

27.5: Pronounced “twenty-seven point five” Typically refers to 27.5-inch diameter wheels—also knowns as 650b.

27.5+: Pronounced “twenty-seven point five plus” Refers to 27.5-inch wheels with plus-sized (2.8″ or larger) tires.

29: Typically refers to 29-inch diameter wheels. Bikes with 29-inch wheels may be referred to as 29ers.

650B: The technical term for 27.5 inch mountain bike wheels. See 27.5

All-Mountain (AM): 1. Refers to all-purpose trail bikes, which are mountain bikes designed to handle pretty much any trail conditions you can throw at them during a full day of riding. A well-made all-mountain trail bike can handle cross-country (XC) and downhill equally well.
2. Refers to a type of mountain bike riding/racing that involves steep climbing, large drops, and technical sections than the cross-country discipline. May also be called Enduro. These competitions are raced in stages that are sometimes completed over two or three days.

Alloy: Typically refers to an aluminum-alloy bike frame. Alloy frames are the most common type of mountain bikes available due to their comparative ease of manufacturing, lower cost, and durability. Want to see how an alloy frame is made?

B-Line: The alternative to the main, obvious route down a trail. The B Line is usually the easier option that avoids a bigger feature like a drop or technical rock garden.

Berm: A banked corner that can be ridden faster than a flat corner.

Bonk: Running out of energy so suddenly that you simply can’t go on. Symptoms of bonking include poor balance, worse line choice than usual, and an inability to remember your own first name.

Bottom Bracket: The place on the bike where the crankset connects to the frame, allowing it to rotate freely. The bottom bracket contains the spindle to which the crankset attaches, and the greased bearings that allow the cranks to rotate while pedaling.

Bunny Hop: A technique to add to your skills repertoire so that you can clear technical features such as rocks logs without stopping.

Cadence: Your spin rate or pedaling rate—the number of revolutions of the cranks per minute. If you’re a beginner, don’t worry about this, just keep spinning!

“That rock garden totally screwed up my cadence. I was in the zone but now my flow is gone.”

Carbon: The latest, greatest thing in bike frame and component technology is manufacturing those parts out of carbon fiber. Carbon fiber is extremely light and has a very high tensile strength while still allowing a proper amount of flex (not too little, not too much). The downside is that carbon frames and components costs a great deal more than their alloy or steel counterparts. To learn more about how carbon frame are made, check out this video from GCN: Trek Factory Tour – From Rolls Of Carbon Fiber To Complete Bikes In Waterloo, Wisconsin

Case: When a rider doesn’t clear a jump completely and their back tire clips the top of the landing. This can be no-big-deal or it can pitch the rider over the handlebars.

Chain Ring: The front cog on a bicycle attached to the cranks. May also be called a Sprocket.

Chain Slap: The noise and feel of the bike chain hitting the chainstay.

Chain Stretch: Over time, your bike’s chain wears out because the metal bushing wear the chain pins down. This increases the spacing between the links, which decreases your drivetrain’s performance.

Chain Suck: When the chain either falls off the big ring into the spokes or falls off the small ring between the frame and crank.

Chainstay: The part of a bike frame that connects your bottom bracket to your rear axle. So called because it is the part of the frame nearest the chain. The chain often slaps against the chainstay while riding over rough conditions, so many bikes either come with chainstay protective covers or post-market covers are added by bike owners.

Chamois: Pronounced “shammy.” A padded liner found in cycling shorts and cycling bids that is meant to alleviate pressure on your butt and sensitive private areas, and prevent chaffing due to friction and sweat or moisture.

Clean (verb): To ride through a section of trail without crashing, stopping, or taking your feet off of the pedals.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever cleaned that rooty uphill climb.”

Clipless: Often a confusing term, riding clipless actually means that a rider’s shoes are actually clipped into their pedals. Some riders call this clipped, or clipped-in. The confusing nature of the term goes back to the days when some riders actually had toe clip cages that surrounded the rider’s foot which were very hard to get out of quickly. Modern clipless cleats and pedals allow riders to release their feet quickly—usually with a simple twisting motion.

Cockpit: The handlebars, stems, and everything attached to them. The place where the rider controls the bike with their hands.

Cover: To keep at least one finger—typically the index finger—on the brake levers at all times.

Crank or Crank Arm: The portion of the crankset that connects the pedals to the spindle.

Crankset: The portion of a bicycle drivetrain that consists of the spindle, one or more chain rings (sprockets), and the crank arm.

Creek Crossing: Exactly what it sounds like: a place along the trail where said trail crosses a creek. Creek crossings may be wet or dry, depending on current weather conditions.

Cross-Country (XC): Of the three main types of mountain biking disciplines, cross-country is the least extreme and most popular in terms of participation. Cross-country racing involves racing from point-to-point along pre-marked trail sections in the fastest time possible. Cross-country races may cover a variety of trail types from flowy singletrack and endurance climbs to technical descents.

Dab: To take a foot off of your pedal and lightly touch the ground to maintain balance or keep yourself from crashing.

Derailleur: The mechanism that moves the bike chain, shifting it to different cogs. Most often refers to the rear derailleur which is hanging from the very rear of the bike frame.

Derailleur Hanger: A small piece of metal attached to the bike frame at the rear dropout (or rear axle) to which the rear derailleur is attached. These hangers are designed to bend or break off so that the strain of an impact does not bend or otherwise permanently damage the bike frame. Each bike frame model typically has a unique-shaped derailleur hanger, and it’s a good idea to keep a spare in your bike bag in case of catastrophic failure.

Dialed: Can refer to when your bike is set up so well that it feels perfect beneath you as you ride. Can also refer to riding a section of trail aggressively and with such perfect flow that your riding buddies comment that your riding is “dialed today.”

Dirt Jump: Can refer to either the practice of riding a bike over jumps made of dirt or soil. Can also refer to the jump itself.

Double: Another name for a gap jump—a jump with an empty space between the take off ramp and the landing ramp that increases risk for the rider.

Doubletrack: Two trails that run parallel to one another. Typically these are simply jeep trails or fire roads. Doubletrack trails allow riders to ride side-by-side.

Downhill: Often considered as the most extreme discipline of mountain biking, downhill mountain biking takes place on steep, rough terrain that features jumps, drops, rock gardens, lots of roots, and other technical obstacles. Downhill racing bikes are heavier and stronger than most other mountain bikes, featuring front and rear suspensions with longer travel to help glide over obstacles. Of particular difference is the double-crown fork usually found on downhill bikes, which mounts the fork to the bottom and top of the frame’s head tube.

Downshift: Shifting to a lower gear.

Drop: A technical trail feature where the trail’s elevation abruptly changes at a steep enough angle so that your front tire cannot easily roll down to the lower elevation.

Drivetrain: Collectively, the front cranks, chain, derailleurs, and rear cassette on a bike. Like the transmission in a car, your bike won’t go very far without a drivetrain.

Dropped: Getting left behind on a group ride because you’re either slower than the pack, crash, or have a mechanical issue. A cool group of riders won’t leave you behind if you’ve crashed or have trouble. If they do, you need to find better friends. However, getting dropped because you’re slow may be their way of pushing you to get faster.

Dropper Post: A seat post capable of being raised or lowered while riding by pressing a lever.

Dropouts: The place on a bike frame where the rear wheel’s axle slides into place. Combined with quick release skewers, a dropout allows the rear wheel to be removed without derailing the chain.

Dual Suspension: A full suspension bicycle—one with both front and rear suspension.

Enduro: One of the three main disciplines of mountain bike racing, enduro racing typically has a greater focus of downhill sections (which are timed) in proportion to uphill and cross country sections.

Feather/Feathering: (Also called Modulating). A technique whereby the rider is gently pulling a brake lever in order to control their speed rather than come to a complete stop. Feathering involves a light touch, and it’s not necessarily constant pressure. Pressure is applied to the brake lever off and on as needed.

Feature: A notable obstacle on the trail such as a jump, drop, rock roll, tabletop, rock garden, etc… Features vary widely in technicality from easy rock rollers to steep rock faces.

Fire Road: Typically any dirt or gravel road that is wide enough for emergency vehicles to use and reach remote portions of a trail.

Flat Cornering: A technique in which the rider much navigate a corner that does not have a bank or berm. It sounds easy enough, but is actually harder to navigate safely at high speeds—especially when the trail is dry.

Flow: When the corners, downhill, and obstacles along a trail fit together perfectly in a way that allows the rider to feel like they’re almost floating along the trail at high speeds.

Fork: Also referred to as the front fork, it is the part of the bicycle that holds the front wheel.

Front Triangle: Typically refers to the main body of the bicycle frame—consisting of the top tube, down tube, and seat tube—which collectively form a triangle.

Full Squish: Slang term for a full suspension bicycle.

Full Suspension: A mountain bike with suspension on both the front and rear wheels.

Fully Rigid: A fully rigid bike has no suspension at all.

Gap/Gap Jump: A type of jump on a trail in which there is a break between the takeoff and the landing. This is different than a tabletop where the takeoff and landing surfaces are connected by a contiguous, flat section of dirt.

Gassed: Exhausted. Completely physically spent. Out of gas. Out of energy.

Geometry: The angles at which a bicycle’s three main frame tubes—top tube, down tube, and seat tube—are positioned. These angles affect how the bike handles.

Gnar: Can refer to a very difficult technical feature on the trail. Can also refer to a very rocky or rooty section of trail.

“I love shredding the gnar in Gnarlington.”

Granny Gear: The easiest gear on a bicycle.

Hardtail: A bike that only has a front fork suspension, making them harsher, but lighter and faster, to ride.

Head Tube: The part of the frame where the front fork steerer tube is mounted to the bike.

Hero Dirt: Hero dirt is when the soil is the perfect consistency, the holy grail of balance between moisture content and softness where the flow is perfect and the traction is optimum. Hero dirt has a very short lifespan, lasting for only a day or so after a trail reopens following a rainstorm. It is called “hero dirt” because when you’re riding it, you feel like the dirt consistently is actually help you be a better rider, as if you were a super-hero.

Hip Jump: A form of jump that requires the rider to change direction or orientation of the bike in mid-air.

IMBA: The International Mountain Biking Association.

Kit: A term more widely used in the road bike community, kits are the clothes that bikers wear. Racers usually have custom-made kits that showcase their team name and sponsors.

KOM: Stands for “King of the Mountain”. This is a Strava term for the fastest male rider on a specific Strava segment. Also see QOM

LBS: Local Bike Shop.

Line: The path a rider takes through a technical section of trail. Sometimes lines are obvious and other times there are several different lines through an obstacle. For larger features and obstacles, there’s usually an “A line” that goes through or over the feature and a “B line” that goes around. See also B Line.

Lip: The edge of a takeoff or landing

Loam: Dirt that is soft, moist, and almost powdery in consistency. May also be referred to as hero dirt. Some areas of the world (some trails in Great Britain and the Pacific Northwest come to mind) that are naturally loamy year round. Loamy soil is especially sought after for it’s balance between superior grip and flow.

Loop: A one-direction trail that begins and ends at the same point.

Manual: A riding skill similar to a wheelie that involves lifting the front wheel off the ground while in motion without pedaling the bike forward. The , the rider maintains balance on the back wheel while riding downhill. Skilled riders can also manual over trail features like roots and dirt rollers, which helps maintain speed and also looks super cool.

Mechanical: A ‘breakdown’ on the trail which usually refers to a flat tire, but could also include a broken chain, twisted bars, or a dropped chain. Usually a mechanical can be fixed trailside.

MTB: An abbreviation for Mountain Bike or Mountain Biking.

Mullet: A bike that runs a 29-inch wheel in the front and a 27.5-inch wheel in the rear.

N + 1: A simple principle in which n = the number of bikes you currently own, and you constant need for one more. Whenever someone looks at the fifteen bikes hanging in your personal bike shop and asks, “How many bikes do you need?” the answer is always, “n + 1.

Neutral Position: A mountain biker’s riding position for when the trail is flat or non-technical. The rider is sitting atop their saddle with a relaxed body, knees and elbows bent slightly, index fingers covering the brake levers, and weight evenly distributed on the pedals. A good, relaxed neutral position allows the rider to move into attack position quickly.

Off-Camber: An off-camber segment of trail describes a section where the outside edge of the trail is lower than the inside edge. The trail is no longer laterally flat and level, which makes the bike want to move toward the outside edge, so the rider must use balance and cornering-type skills to keep the bike on the trail

OTB: Mountain bike slang for ‘Over The Bars”. Typically describes a crash in which the rider is sent over their bike’s handlebars.

Pedal Strike: When a pedal hits the ground or a rock/obstacle while riding. This could be no-big-deal or it could cause the rider to crash.

Pinch Flat: Pinch flats happen when a bike is using inner tubes, and the tube gets pinched between the wheel rim and the tire and punctures the tube. This can create two small holes in the tube a short distance apart that resembles a snakebite. A pinch flat is sometimes referred to as a “snakebite” for this very reason.

Plus Size: Can refer to tires with a width of 2.8-inches and 3.25-inches. May also refer to a bike running plus sized tires.

Presta Valve: The type of value typically found on high-pressure road and most mountain bike inner tubes. Presta valves are longer and about half as wide as their car-tire-style counterparts, which are called Schrader valves. The Presta valve was designed exclusively for bikes. Unlike a Schrader valve, which uses a check valve that allows airflow in only one direction, a Presta valve seals based on the pressure in the tube or tire. Tubeless tire setups pretty much use Presta valves exclusively, chiefly due to the lack of a check valve, which could easily clog up with tubeless sealant.

PSI: The amount of air pressure in a bike’s tube or tire measured in Pounds per Square Inch. Road bike tires usually run at much higher PSI than mountain bike tires, and tubeless setups can run even lower pressure reliably.

Pump: 1. A device for inflating tire. 2. A riding technique which allows a rider to gain speed without pedaling.

Pump Track: A dirt-track or off-road surface track that consists of a loop of banked turns and roller coaster type features designed to be ridden by pumping rather than pedaling in order to gain and control speed.

QOM: Stands for “Queen of the Mountain”. This is a Strava term for the fastest female rider on a specific Strava segment. Also see KOM

Quick Release (QR): Also known as a Quick Release Skewer, which is a mechanism used to attack a wheel to a bicycle frame. It consists of a rod of metal which serves as an axle. This rod is inserted through a wheel’s hub. The rod is threaded on one end and has a lever-operated cam on the other end for tightening the wheel to the frame.

Ratchet: A pedaling technique in which your pedal with short, partial strokes in order to clear obstacles where a full pedal stokes isn’t possible.

Reach: The horizontal distance between the center of the head tube and an imaginary vertical line that runs down through the center of the bottom bracket.

Ready Position: As opposed to Neutral Position, Attack Position is used when the trail becomes steep, rocky, or otherwise filled with sketchy technical features. In general, Attack Position my be described as having your butt up off the saddle with your weight evenly distributed on your pedals in a semi-standing posture, hips back, a deep bend in your elbows and knees, chest down and head up, looking down the trail. And don’t forget to keep your index fingers covering your brake levers. Also, the steeper the downhill, the further back your hips should be over the rear wheel.

Rear Triangle: The portion of a bike frame that connects the rear wheel to the main part of the frame. It consists mainly of the seat stay—which runs from the seat tube to the rear wheel, and the chain stay—which runs from the bottom bracket to the rear wheel. On a hardtail bike, the rear triangle is welded to the front triangle. On a full suspension bike, the rear triangle is typically a completely separate piece that attaches to the front triangle via pivot bolts.

Rock Garden: A trail feature that includes lots of embedded rocks.

Saddle: Another (more accepted) name for a bike’s seat.

Sag: The amount of dip a front fork and rear shock depress when a rider is sitting casually on a bike.

Schrader Valve: The type of tire air valve found on automobiles.

Scrub: When a rider purposefully stays low over a jump. Typically racers scrub jumps to save time. Scrub can also refer to slowing down before turns to make them smoother and faster.

Seat Stay: The part of a bike frame that connects the seat tube to the rear wheel.

Session: To repeatedly practice riding a particular technical trail feature or difficult segment until you can ride it cleanly.

Single-speed (SS): A mountain bike with only one gear. This is not the same as a fixie bike because the rear hub is still a free hub (allows pedaling backwards) just like any other mountain bike.

Singletrack: The most common type of mountain bike trail, so called because it is narrow and mustch be ridden single file.

Sketchy: May refer to a section of trail that was particularly difficult, but due to conditions outside that particular trail’s normal For instance, when a trail is very dry, corners that are typically not difficult may be harder to navigate than usual, and thus termed “sketchy” by a rider. Sketchy may also refer to a man-made feature that is rickety, old, or otherwise feels or looks unsafe.

“It’s been years since I came down that ramp, but it looks really sketchy now.”

Skinny: A man-made feature, typically made of wood, that is extremely narrow—not much wider than the width of the average mountain bike’s tires. Skinnies may be made from narrow logs or simply elevated two-by-fours and require that rider to test their balance and bike handling skills.

Slack: Describes a head tube angle where the front fork is raked outward, closer toward parallel with the ground. Slack head tube angles can make a bike’s steering response slower but increases handling on descents.

Slop: Also known as chain slop, which refers to side-to-side wear of the bike chain that leads to slow, inconsistent shifting.

Standover Clearance: Also known as Standover Height or just Standover. This is the distance measured from the ground to the top of a bike’s top tube. On mountain bikes, this measurement is take from the middle of the top tube’s slanted angle. Standover clearance is a part of fitting a bike correctly for a rider. Most riders look for 2 to 4 inches of clearance between the top tube and their crotch when standing flat-footed on the ground over the bike.

Step-down: A feature on a trail where the rider jumps down to a lower elevation from a higher section of the trail.

Step-up: A type of jump that sends a rider up from a lower section of trail to a higher elevation.

Stoppie: Essentially a front wheelie, where the front brake is carefully applied and the bake wheel is lifted so that the bike is ridden only on the front wheel.

Strava: Popular GPS tracking service used by road and mountain bikers alike. Riders may track their rides and gain insights on their speed and effort, as well as compare themselves against other riders, or simply against their own previous rides. Roads and trails are divided into segments, and riders who record the fastest time on those segments are dubbed King/Queen of the Mountain until another rider posts a faster time.

Switchback: A hairpin turn on a trail that makes climbing and descending more moderate. Switchbacks zig-zag riders up and down steep sections of trail. Switchbacks zig-zap the riders up the hill through a series of S-curves.

Table/Tabletop: A jump with a flat section of dirt in between the takeoff and the landing. A tabletop jump involves much less risk than a double (gap jump) since the rider will have a relatively safe landing area in case they come up short.

Taco: When a wheel is bent in a catastrophic crash, it often takes on the shape of a taco shell.

Teeter-Totter: A type of boardwalk or skinny where a biker rides up one side of the apparatus and their weight on the far end causes it to dip back down to the ground

Trackstand: A technique where a rider learns to maintain their balance on their bike while standing up on the pedals and either keeping the bike stationary or only moving around very little. Pedaling is not allowed for a regulation trackstand. Learning to trackstand on a flat surface give a rider an improved ability to negotiate difficult sections on the trail where they must roll extremely slowly and keep their balance.

Travel: The distance from the bottom of your suspension’s stroke to the top of the stroke. Travel is typically measure in millimeters, or mills. The more travel your suspension has, the more expensive it will probably be to purchase.

Tubeless: Setting up a bike’s wheels to run without the use of an inner tube.

Upshift: Shifting into a higher gear.

Wallride: A man-made, wooden technical trail feature built at a very steep angle—almost perpendicular to the trail surface—in which a rider can treat like a high-speed, high-difficulty berm.

Wash out: When your bike wheels completely lose traction and slide laterally out from under you. Washouts typically happen on flat or loose corners, or on very loose sections of trail.

Wheelbase: The measurement of distance from the center of a bike’s rear wheel to center of the front wheel.

Wheelie: Lifting the front wheel off of the ground while pedaling.

Whip: A trick performed during a jump while the bike is in midair. The rider stylishly pushes the bike sideways in the air and then whips the rear wheel back in line before making contact with the ground.

Wipeout: A particularly spectacular crash.