Bicycle Mechanics - Cycle terminology

Hi, i'm new here, i will shortly be getting a Saracen hazard bike, this will be my most expensive bike i've had and admitedly i fell for all the technical jargon, i wanted a full suspension bike which this is, but all the terms that come with it i cannot understand, i wondered if anyone can explain what these things are, if they do make the bike any good or if its just fancy names to sell the bike, firstly it has front and rear disk breaks, my old bike had v brakes, are disk breaks any better? it has a custom alloy freeride frame, i think alloy means that its lightweight? but what is a "freeride" frame? it has 24 SRAM gears, what are SRAM gears? MRX rotatioal shifters ( i guess this is the thing i use to change the gears?) it has aheadsetsteam with riser bars and this is the most jargon bit, what the heck are upside down triple clamp suspension forks with 100mm zoom thru 20mm axle? hope someone can help!

are disk breaks any better?
disk brakes generally have advantages over V brakes in that they are more powerful, work better in bad weather and don´t wear out your wheel rims- they have the disadvantage
of being heavier than V brakes- sometimes quite a lot heavier


what is a "freeride" frame?
freerideing is a branch of mountain biking.

it has 24 SRAM gears, what are SRAM gears? MRX rotatioal shifters
SRAM is the name of the manufacturer. They make among other things gear components like cassettes and shifters. The are a popular alternative to Shimano

what the heck are upside down triple clamp suspension forks with 100mm zoom thru 20mm axle? hope someone can help- never heard of them- sounds a bit gimmicky to me

You're not buying this from Argos are you?
Triple clamp forks are just that. Essentially, the legs extend, and join the sterer tube above the headset. 100mm is the length of travel. I think "upside down" means the actual suspension is at the bottom of the forks, but i'm not sure on this one.
Discs are generally better in wet weather, but cable discs are comprable (in dry conditions) to well set up Vs.
Aheadset is the type of headset, pretty standard i think. Riser bars are bars which rise. I read somewhere that they can bend easier than flat ones, but give you better control over steering. Im not sure how much of a personal preference this is though.
Cheers

Hi, i'm new here, i will shortly be getting a Saracen hazard bike, this will be my most expensive bike i've had and admitedly i fell for all the technical jargon, i wanted a full suspension bike which this is, but all the terms that come with it i cannot understand, i wondered if anyone can explain what these things are, if they do make the bike any good or if its just fancy names to sell the bike,

The Saracen Hazard is an entry level freeride/downhill bike. Most of the components are functionally okay but not of the highest quality. As such, the manufacturer does try to gloss them up a little in their description. Whether or not they make the bike good depends on how you intend to use them.



firstly it has front and rear disk breaks, my old bike had v brakes, are disk breaks any better?

High quality disc brakes are great if you ride in a lot of wet muddy conditions or you're doing a lot of downhill riding. There are other advantages to them as well such as the fact that they don't wear down your rims and you don't loase braking ability if your rims go out of true. On the downside, many low quality disc brakes are heavy, don't stop as well as good V-brakes and are difficult to keep adjusted properly (even some high-end discs are hard to get and keep adjusted). Not everyone needs discs but many manufacurers spec them anyways to spice up the bike. Most freeride and downhill bikes will however come with discs because for that type of riding, they're advantagous.



it has a custom alloy freeride frame, i think alloy means that its lightweight? but what is a "freeride" frame?

"Custom alloy" just means that it's some form of aluminum alloy. Some manufacturers use "tweaked" aluminum alloys that trace amounts of alloying elements such as zirconium or others to enhance specific attributes that are important to their design criteria. "Freeride" is a broad categorisation of style of mountain biking with a definition that is contentious at best. For the most part it's meant to describe any type of riding that incorporates a little of other disciplines of mountain biking such as cross-country, downhill and some stunts and jumps all in one. Most frames labelled as "freeride" are generally beefier than cross country or race frames and weight isn't as much a concern as durability. The geometries are also a little more lax as freeriders are less concerned about speed. The problem with the term freeride is that it means so many different things to so many different people. It's like the term musical classification of alternative.



it has 24 SRAM gears, what are SRAM gears?

SRAM is a company that makes bicycle components. They make derailleurs, shifters, cassettes (gears), and chains among other things.



MRX rotatioal shifters ( i guess this is the thing i use to change the gears?)

These are twist-style shifters meaning that you actuate shifting by twisting a grip in a rotational manner like a motorcycle throttle.



it has aheadsetsteam with riser bars

AHeadSet is a type of threadless headset system that instead of using a threaded steerer tube and a nut to secure it, uses a free floating headset that is held in place by compression from the stem. Here is a good webpage that describes the differences between a threaded and threadless headset. (http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_headtypes.shtml)

Riser bars are simply handlebars with a stepped-up section where the grips are. They were originally meant to offer a more upright riding position in contrast to a flat/straight bar given the same angle of stem. However, the same position can be achieved with a straight bar by changing the angle of them stem. Many people like them because they do come a bit wider.

http://www.eastonbike.com/images/product_pages/bars_2top/handlebars_r1_c1.gif



and this is the most jargon bit, what the heck are upside down triple clamp suspension forks with 100mm zoom thru 20mm axle? hope someone can help!

Traditional telescopic suspension forks have two general parts: the stanchion and the slider. The slider fits over the stanchions and moves with the wheels. The stanchions are fixed the the steerer and thus the frame. In general, the stanchions are the uppers and the sliders are the lowers. Here is a traditional suspension fork.

http://www.sram.com/_media/images/common/rockshox/largerimages/pike-team.jpg

An upside down fork reverses this concept with the sliders fixed the the steerer and the stanchions fixed to the wheel.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/mod/submit/images/1232-4.jpg

The primary advantage of inverted or upside down forks is that they're stiffer.

A clamp is simply the part which secures both fork legs together. A triple-clamp fork has three of them although technically it's two crowns and the axle which because it's a solid thru-axle is considered a clamp.

Now of course this leads us to what exactly is a thru-axle. A traditional axle is mounted only within the confines of the hub. The axle does not extend into the fork. The hub body to which the spokes are attached revolves around this axle. The axle itself is hollow and is normally secured to the dropouts in the fork by means of a nut or quick-release skewer. In a thru-axle system, the axle extends all the way into fork dropouts. This is a mu ch stronger system and also helps to provide added torsional rigidity to the lowers of the fork suspension system.

On the normal suspension there is a bridge across the top of the wheel between the two halves of the slider. This keeps the two halves of the suspension moving up and down together. Since there is nothing to keep the two sides of the upside down suspension moving together, except the axle, you have to use a much stiffer axle, but it doesnt do such a good job of keeping the two sides in unison as the bridge. The upside down suspension will have an advantage in lower unsprung weight.

Thank you all for your very helpfull replies, I wish they would explain these terms as clearly as done here. I imagine the manufacturers asume the buyer will allready know what it all means, unfoirtunatkey for me, i know nothing at all about bikes! I enjoy cycling and after my apollo guru got stolen that was the only way i enjoyed getting exercise, so then i decided i want to spend a bit more on a more decent bike, i liked the look of the hazard, not really to fond of the colour, i wish it was all black with gold, or a very dark mettalic blue, anyway it looked good to me, the technical jargon did its trick and made me think it sounds good so i'll have it!!! i like that it is alloy frame, i think it will be lighter than my guru, i read soime peoples opinions on the hazard and sadly most are not good, but its the best looking bike that i can afford, and the most expensive bike ive had, so even though in a pro's eyes it might be considered a "toy" thats one comment i saw about it! i will probably feel like king of the road on it! Oh, it also has something called a Swingarm, i typed this in google and it seems something thats accociated with motorcycles, what does it do, on a cycle? finnaly, any suggestions what it the best way to secure my bike, whats the besty cycle locks, and are there any alarms for bikes? thansk again fir the help

Nah, not from argos, some mail order catalogue, ive since discovered i could get it much cheaper, but its easier for me to pay in installments

Have you looked around at other bikes too? You mentioned that you'd use it on road for exercise, in which case it may be advantagous to look at some hard-tales (ie, just suspension forks). These may be cheaper (or higher quality for the same price whichever way you look at it), and could be better suited for what you want to do. Just a thought.
The swingarm is the part at the rear of the bike frame that the rear wheel is conencted to. It swings relative to the rest of the frame due to the suspension.
As for locks, Kryptonite make good U locks (non-flexible U (or D) shaped piece of metal). I use a flexible lock, as these are easier to carry around, and can fit round oddly shaped things too. I would have said U locks were a bit stronger, though not sure on this one. I've never had a bike stolen before.
Cheers

Thanks, i think i will get a flexible lock as one thing i did find is that these new odd shaped bikes are useless for attaching things like lock, pumps, water bottles n stuff, with a flexible chain i can just wrap it round the frame, although im tempted to have 2 locks ofr it, i can always carry a more secure d lock in my backpack, i want to make it as secure as possible becasue having a bike stolen is not fun, it was locked up with a d lock, locked to my other cheapy non susspension bike, it wasnt actually locked to anything, they were just locked together, but i assumed they were safe in my shed, cheeky buggers just walked of with them both and they left my completely unlocked racer, obviously not there style! ill stick with the full suspensicon as i do occasionly of road it (we have some woods nearby i like to bike in there sometimes), besides it almost like off road riding here anyway with all the pot holes in the roads! plus they look cooler, and im a sucker for things that look good!, as im paying £300+ which for me is a lot of money for a bike, i want as many special parts as possible!

as im paying £300+ which for me is a lot of money for a bike, i want as many special parts as possible!

If I were you, I would definitely learn more about bikes and decide what you want to use the bike for mainly, before buying one. I made the mistake of buying a cool looking $300 mountain bike with front suspension and knobby tires a year ago--before I knew a lot about bikes. It was great for riding on mud and grass, but what I mainly wanted was to ride on roads and hard-packed trail.

My hybrid bike which I got for $20 used and then upgraded is vastly more comfortable, faster, and funner to ride on the road. Suspension and thick tires with big treads do look cool, but the fact is that a light rigid frame with thin tires will be more comfortable, much faster, and smoother on the road.

Maybe you should go for a hybrid bike if you want a mix of road riding and light trail riding. There are some really nice models in your price range.