Quoth Michael Butler:
>I was very interested by the postings on names for bicycle
>components etc.and the differences in the names used. Most of us
>Brits of a certain age (50+) who would rather snobbishly refer to
>ourselves as real cyclists would have never have used the term
>mudguards only guards. The former would have been associated with
>roadsters or sports machines and we would only have fitted guards
>during the winter on our irons (racing bikes) and the real hard
>arsed never ever.
>Over here seat-pins can be called seat-posts or seat-pillars,
"Seat pin" and "../ Pillar" are virtually unknown in the U.S. "Seat
post" or "seatpost" are far and away the norm, though very
occasionally you'll see a reference to "seat mast."
>chainwheels either rings or clangers if you are old enough. Sturmey
>hub gears as friction cans. Handlebar stems were always universally
>called extensions,
I believe that only refers to the "7" shaped stems that have a
forward extension. I don't think that the stem on a roadster would
be called an "extension" but I could be wrong.
>similarly handlebars were drops,bars or bends.
The first and third of those terms would only apply to drop bars, I believe.
Actually, in the most literal sense, "handlebars" and "seat posts"
are archaic, because neither of these items has been made of solid
bar stock for many generations.
>Know one ever referred to racing pedals but used the term rat-traps
>and these were always fitted with straps and clips yeah you guessed
>it not a mention of the prefix toe.
>
I'm 60 myself. When I was starting out, the noun "rat traps"
referred to the clips, not the pedals. However, nobody called them
that, the shorter term "traps" was most commonly used. "Rat trap" as
an _adjective_ referred to the sort of pedal to which 'traps and
straps could be attached, as opposed to the rubber block pedals seen
on more mundane bicycles.
>A fender is a fire-guard in the UK or the piece of rope etc. hung
>over the side of a boat to protect it against impact. Don't you use
>the term "Fender Bender" for a collision between vehicles?
In the U.S. the most common usage for "fenders" is for the parts of
an automobile's body that covers the wheels. This is the origin of
"fender bender." I can't recall the British term for the fender on a
"motorcar" at the moment. It is well known that virtually every part
of an automobile has a different name on each side of The Pond. What
gets amusing is that some of the _same_ terms are used to refer to
_different_ parts of cars. Examples that come to mind are "hood" &
"boot" but I believe there are others as well.
>
>Thats all for now. Keep those wheels spinning, in your memories if
>not still on the road. Be lucky
Thanks! I just did the math (maths) last night and I've ridden over 2700 miles in 2004! For me that's a major post-marital record.
Sheldon "Cyclexicographer" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts Bay Colony
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