Bike Components: "What's it called, and who makes them?"

[Twenty26Six]

Bottom Bracket - The bearing system that the pedals (and cranks) rotate around. Contains a spindle to which the crankset is attached and the bearings themselves.

Brake - Bicycle brakes are used to stop the bicycle. Rim brakes and disc brakes are operated by brake levers, which are mounted on the handlebars. Coaster brakes are operated by pedaling backward.

Cassette - one of the types of gears on the rear wheel of a bicycle with a rear derailleur.

Chainring - (one of the) front gear(s), attached to a crank arm.

Cogset - the set of rear sprockets that attaches to the hub on the rear wheel.

Crankset - composed of crankarms and chainrings


Derailleur gears are a variable-ratio transmission system commonly used on bicycles, consisting of a chain, multiple sprockets and a mechanism to move the chain from one sprocket to another. Although referred to as "gears" in the bike world, bicycle "gears" are technically sprockets since they drive or are driven by a chain, and are not driven by one another.

Modern front and rear derailleurs typically consist of a moveable chain-guide that is operated remotely by a Bowden cable attached to a shift lever mounted on the down tube, handlebar stem, or handlebar. When a rider operates the lever while pedalling, the change in cable tension moves the chain-guide from side to side, "derailing" the chain onto different sprockets.

Down Tube - tube on a bicycle frame that runs from the head tube to the bottom bracket.

Head Tube - the tube of a bicycle frame that contains the headset

Headset or head set - the bearings that form the interface between the frame and fork steerer tube

[Twenty26Six]

A groupset or gruppo (from the Italian for "group", often misspelled grouppo) is...

...a bicycle component manufacturer's organized collection of mechanical parts. It generally refers to all of the components that make up a bicycle excluding the bicycle frame, forks, stem, wheels, tires, and rider contact points, such as the saddle and handlebars.


These parts typically include some of the following:

* 2 gear levers or shifters and
* 2 brake levers or
* 2 integrated brake levers/shifters
* 2 brake calipers, front and rear
* 2 derailleurs, front and rear
* 1 headset
* 1 bottom bracket
* 1 crankset
* 1 chain
* 1 cogset, freewheel or cassette
* 1 seatpost
* 2 hubs, front and rear (Some manufacturers now offer group-branded pre-built wheels)
* Pedals pair
* assorted cables and cable housing[1]


Except for special commemorative versions, manufacturers do not actually package the various different component together to be sold by retailers as a complete groupset. Therefore when a modern road groupset is bought after-market (as an upgrade for an older bike, or for someone building their own bike), the customer can choose which parts they require, the price of the groupset is just the individual prices of the chosen parts added together.

The major groupset manufacturers are Campagnolo for road bicycle and Shimano and SRAM for both road and mountain bikes.


Manufacturers typically offer a range of several groupsets, each targeted at a different budget or use. For instance, Dura-Ace, Super Record and Red are the top-of-the-line road racing groupsets for Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM respectively.

[Twenty26Six]

2009 Groupsets
Each manufacturer's list is most-expensive to least-expensive.

Shimano - 2009
* Dura-Ace Di2 (10, electronic)
* Dura-Ace (10)
* Ultegra SL (10)
* Ultegra (10)
* 105 (10)
* Tiagra (9)
* Sora (9)
* 2200 (8)


Campagnolo - 2009
* Super Record (11)
* Record (11)
* Chorus (11)
* Athena (11) - new for 2009.
* Centaur (10)
* Veloce (10)

Older Campagnolo groupsets that were discontinued from 2009 are the lower-end:
* Mirage (10)
* Xenon (10)

Campagnolo also offers 3 triple chainring offerings for steep hill-climbing. Ordered from the highest to the lowest quality, these are:
* Comp Triple (10)
* Race Triple (10)
* Champ Triple (9)


SRAM - 2009
* Red (10)
* Force (10)
* Rival (10)

In 2006, SRAM released two groupsets for racing bicycles, aimed at competing with Shimano and Campagnolo's offerings. The top SRAM groupsets are called 'Red' and 'Force', being the pro-level and amateur racing level lines, respectively.

[Dead Fingers]

Several parts to this but an interesting read.
http://www.totalbike.com/articles/Campy-Shimano.html

[Twenty26Six]

Campagnolo's Top of the Line...
Super Record 11!


* Shifters
http://img.artscyclery.com/thumbs/CAEP9SR1C-thumb.jpg


* Brakes
http://img.artscyclery.com/thumbs/CABR9SR-thumb.jpg

[Twenty26Six]

[continued]

* Derailleurs
http://www.artscyclery.com/descpage-CARD9SR1.html


* Crankset
http://www.artscyclery.com/descpage-CAFC9SR.html


* Cassette
http://www.artscyclery.com/descpage-CCSSR11.html

[three lions]

Sub....Nice work..:cool:

[Twenty26Six]

Shimao Utelgra 6700
http://www.rbaction.net/imagefly.aspx?w=471&h=550&p=contentimages%2FUltegra_6700_hero_roadbikeaction.jpg

[aveslacker]

This is really interesting for me because, even though I've logged quite a few miles in the last few years on my bike, I don't know shit about bike parts.

[Mosco]

Greetings

I like to bike ride just casually I bought a mountain bike from my tax return about a year ago the name is (Speacialized) now if I wanted to modify my bike what things can I get for it? As of now i have Tora forks rock shox 302 SL series and Shimano petals or are they called cranks? Anyways I was wondering if i can buy better tires and possibly are those 3 spoked rims better than the stock ones i got now?

[cjump]

you can replace every single piece on that bike except the frame. then it would be just a new bike. if you can be more specific on the model Specialized and year then i am sure we could help you out tons.

[Mosco]

you can replace every single piece on that bike except the frame. then it would be just a new bike. if you can be more specific on the model Specialized and year then i am sure we could help you out tons.



Yeah thanks for replying it's the Rock Hopper Comp series
and the rims are Alex Rims on the frame it also says M4-Specific alloy Manipulation not that it matters size 17 I got this bike cause I am kind of a big guy meaning alittle over weight not that fat but just some extra pounds that I want to shed so I figured I might need a strong bike for my size so I figured a mountain bike should do but it seems that I have to petal alot, not like a 10 speed when I remembered back in the day you just do a couple of petals and your already at the end of the street lol anyways I like the bike it's a nice silver grey color with black and royal blue lines running vertically along the the frame. So is their some better tires and rims for this bike?

[cjump]

first off, the efficiency of a road bike is much greater than that of a mountain bike because of the shear nature of the criteria in which they fulfill. you should feel the difference.

secondly, the weight issue. weight is a cyclist worst enemy whether on the bike or body. if you are wanting to shed some pounds, it shouldn't be too hard to meet your goals quickly and healthy. you have to stick with it and eat correctly or all your time, effort, and money will be a waste. it is up to you. a great book is "heft on wheels" if you are interested. it chronicles a mans journey from overweight novice to enthusiast. great read.

now on to the real questions:

if you are wanting to put on miles on the road, you should look into the mavic speedcity wheelset. it is a road bike rim with a MTB (mtn bike) hub so you can run disc and the wheel will actually fit. a road bike has a 130mm rear spacing between the dropouts. a MTB has a 135mm rear spacing. this sounds small but is a factor that can be the difference between fitting and not. the Mavic SpeedCity wheelset will allow you to run a 19mm to 32mm wide tire (normal road bike is 23-25mm) on your MTB because it has the correct spacing.
you would need:
• mavic speedcity wheelset
• 9 speed cassette
• (2) 700c tubes that match the size of the tires
• (2) 700c x 19-32mm tires

another option that would be substantially cheaper is just tires. there are many companies that make a 26x1.5 road tire for people like yourself looking to put on base road miles on a MTB. you will be able just to swap those out but you will not see the same efficiency as a 700c like the mavic/road bikes.
you would need:
•(2) 26 x 1.00-1.50 tire
•(2) 26 x 1.00-1.50 tube

many other options are available but those might be a little too extreme until you actually find out what you really want. these include new gearing by changing out cassettes and/or chainrings or a new bike completely. you shouldn't have trouble finding a several year old used road bike for the $4-500 range. the mentioning of 3-spoke wheels makes me remember a quote from a friend. "you don't need anything until you know why you need it." remember that. Hed3's and wheels of that style are not what you need on a MTB.

if you are wanting to ride in the woods still, then everything you just read is a quasi-waste-of-time.

if you have any questions you have some good resources with some of the guys on here, including myself. some of us work in the bike industry or have extensive knowledge. i have no problem if you just want answer to questions through PMs or in threads. Let us know if we can help more...

[aveslacker]

Please don't take this to PMs. I'm learning a lot.

[Mosco]

first off, the efficiency of a road bike is much greater than that of a mountain bike because of the shear nature of the criteria in which they fulfill. you should feel the difference.

secondly, the weight issue. weight is a cyclist worst enemy whether on the bike or body. if you are wanting to shed some pounds, it shouldn't be too hard to meet your goals quickly and healthy. you have to stick with it and eat correctly or all your time, effort, and money will be a waste. it is up to you. a great book is "heft on wheels" if you are interested. it chronicles a mans journey from overweight novice to enthusiast. great read.

now on to the real questions:

if you are wanting to put on miles on the road, you should look into the mavic speedcity wheelset. it is a road bike rim with a MTB (mtn bike) hub so you can run disc and the wheel will actually fit. a road bike has a 130mm rear spacing between the dropouts. a MTB has a 135mm rear spacing. this sounds small but is a factor that can be the difference between fitting and not. the Mavic SpeedCity wheelset will allow you to run a 19mm to 32mm wide tire (normal road bike is 23-25mm) on your MTB because it has the correct spacing.
you would need:
• mavic speedcity wheelset
• 9 speed cassette
• (2) 700c tubes that match the size of the tires
• (2) 700c x 19-32mm tires

another option that would be substantially cheaper is just tires. there are many companies that make a 26x1.5 road tire for people like yourself looking to put on base road miles on a MTB. you will be able just to swap those out but you will not see the same efficiency as a 700c like the mavic/road bikes.
you would need:
•(2) 26 x 1.00-1.50 tire
•(2) 26 x 1.00-1.50 tube

many other options are available but those might be a little too extreme until you actually find out what you really want. these include new gearing by changing out cassettes and/or chainrings or a new bike completely. you shouldn't have trouble finding a several year old used road bike for the $4-500 range. the mentioning of 3-spoke wheels makes me remember a quote from a friend. "you don't need anything until you know why you need it." remember that. Hed3's and wheels of that style are not what you need on a MTB.

if you are wanting to ride in the woods still, then everything you just read is a quasi-waste-of-time.

if you have any questions you have some good resources with some of the guys on here, including myself. some of us work in the bike industry or have extensive knowledge. i have no problem if you just want answer to questions through PMs or in threads. Let us know if we can help more...




Hey thanks bro for a moment it felt like I was talking to someone at a bikeshop lol. As you can tell I don't know too much about bikes all I want to do is use it for losing weight and getting in shape

[cjump]

well i do work at a shop. most* shop employees are there to help and we like helping people. there is no stupid question and until you ask, you will just remain ignorant. ignorance is not a good thing. trust me, i would rather talk about bikes with you all day than actually do my real work and if you walk away knowing more than you did walking through the door, then i did my job. So ask away any of you and if i can't answer it, i am sure someone else can or we can find the answer.


* i know plenty a**holes too

[Mosco]

well i do work at a shop. most* shop employees are there to help and we like helping people. there is no stupid question and until you ask, you will just remain ignorant. ignorance is not a good thing. trust me, i would rather talk about bikes with you all day than actually do my real work and if you walk away knowing more than you did walking through the door, then i did my job. So ask away any of you and if i can't answer it, i am sure someone else can or we can find the answer.


* i know plenty a**holes too



Thanks for the info. How do you rate the quality of (Speacialized) bikes as far as hearing good stuff about them and knowing if people are satisfied with them? I like my bike I just want to modify it the best I can I like quality products.

[cjump]

i don't sell Specialized but i do have teammates who own shops that do. they had a great product from top to bottom but do some shady things to suppliers.

[cjump]

buying new cranks this week and i need some guidance. do i go with a normal compact 50/34 or do i go with a 52/36. i have a 12-27 cassette and ride rolling terrain and mountains. help.... i don't care if you don't know shit, just take a guess on which i would like more.

[Moishe]

buying new cranks this week and i need some guidance. do i go with a normal compact 50/34 or do i go with a 52/36. i have a 12-27 cassette and ride rolling terrain and mountains. help.... i don't care if you don't know shit, just take a guess on which i would like more.

Really depends on your riding style. If you like to mash a big ring then don't do the compact but since you ride rollers and mountain I'd say definitely the compact. That's what I use since I like to spin a high cadence.