Parts of a bike

The main parts of a bicycle are wheels (车轮), frame (车架), seat (车座), handle bars (车把), and components (组件). We also could consider the helmet (头盔) as a key safety issue.

Frame

The bike frame forms the main structure of a bike. From road bikes to commuter bikes, mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes, frames come in lots of different shapes and sizes to suit different styles of riding. Getting a good quality frame is a good starting point when buying a bike as many of the other parts and components can be adapted, upgraded and replaced over time without changing the frame itself. Make sure the frame gives you the best riding position for its intended use and get the right size for ultimate comfort and performance.

Groupset

A groupset is at the very heart of the bike and is made up of the brake (刹车把手) and gear shifters (变速把手), front and rear derailleurs (前后变速器), front and rear brakes (前后刹车), chainset (齿盘), chain (链条) and rear cassette (飞轮).

Brakes (刹车)

Bike brakes allow you to control your speed whilst cycling and also bring the bike to a complete halt, so making sure you have high quality working brakes is vital for your safety.

Chainset (齿盘)

The chainset of your bike includes the cranks (曲柄), bottom bracket (底轴) and chainring (齿轮环). These components are fundamental to the drive chain which is essentially the engine, driving the bike forward. There are many different options when it comes to chainsets but the key to performance is to find a set up that suits your riding activities best.

CHAINRINGS

Road bike chainrings include compact (good for sportive style riding), standard (high gears for hill climbing) and triple chainrings (good range and low gears, good for touring bikes). For MTB you can choose between triple (good for hill climbing), double (good range of gears for both climbing and descending) and single chainrings (simplified setup becoming more popular with 11 speed cassette).

Derailleurs (变速器)

Derailleurs are the mechanical system that helps you to change gear on the bike. The mechanism carefully moves the chain from one chainring to the next. On the rear cassette the derailleur will control gears up and down the sprockets and if you have more than one chainring on the front, you’ll need a derailleur to move the chain between these as well.

Rear Cassette (飞轮)

The rear cassette determines the range of gears that you have on the bike. Made up of several sprockets of varying sizes, each cog will require a different level of pedal power with the larger sprockets providing easier gears and the smaller sprockets providing harder gears. Finding the optimum number and size of sprockets for your rear cassette can significantly improve your riding experience. The difference in size between the sprockets will also affect the jump between each of the gears so you need to decide how fine you want the changes to be.

Wheelset (车轮)

A wheelset is simply a pair of bike wheels. Bike wheels are made from a range of materials including steel, stainless steel, aluminium, titanium and carbon. Wheels can be a very cost effective way of upgrading your bike, making it lighter, faster and more responsive.

Pedals (脚蹬)

Fundamental to efficient power on the bike, pedals come in a vast array of types and sizes to suit different bikes and cycling adventures whether you are cruising around town, attacking a time trial or dropping into steep singletrack descents. From flat to clipless, MTB to road, nylon to magnesium, making sure you have the right pedal for the job can make a difference to your speed, endurance and comfort on the bike, so research all of the options before taking your pick.

Handlebars (车把)

Handlebars allow you to steer the bike, so it’s important that they provide you with control and confidence. Road bikes typically use narrow drop bars to provide better aerodynamic positioning on the bike when descending, commuter bikes have flat handlebars for a more upright position on the bike giving better visibility of the road ahead, and mountain bikes use wide riser handlebars to assist control around tight bends and over obstacles. If you want to reduce the weight of your bike, look out for featherlight carbon handlebars, but make sure they are still robust enough for your style of riding, in particular MTB handlebars need to take a bit of a pounding without compromising control of the bike.

Forks (前叉)

Bike forks hold the front wheel in place on your bike. Basic road bike forks are typically made from aluminium but carbon forks can offer weight savings as well as more stiffness and less road vibration.

Saddles (车座)

A comfortable saddle is essential to a good ride. If you are experiencing any discomfort or pain whilst riding, your saddle may be a factor. There are lots of different shapes to choose from; wide, narrow, long, short, standard, cut out. As a general rule of thumb, a flat narrow saddle suits more aggressive stretched out racing riding positions as you need room to move your legs quickly and tend to place less weight onto the saddle itself, whereas a wide, curved saddle is best suited to a more upright riding position to support your weight more effectively. It’s easy to think that more padding equals more comfort but too much padding can actually cause chaffing if you are riding hard, fast and far, so there’s a balance to be had.

Seat Posts (座杆)

The seat post fixes the saddle to the bike frame. Adjustable up and down, you can set the seat post to a height that best suits your riding and desired positioning whether more upright or a racing aerodynamic position.