Plain gauge means the tubing has the same wall thickness the entire length of the tube. It is different from butted tubing which has thicker walls on the ends for strength and thinner walls in the middle of the tube for weight reduction. Hi-Tensile steel is a material used on mostly entry level bikes. It is different from Chromoly alloys found on higher end bikes that are often branded Reynolds, Columbus, Tange, or might just say something like "Chro-Mo." I'm not a metallurgist but a believe chromoly is stronger which allows for less material to be used and reduces the weight.

Stays are the tubes that hold the back wheel on.


This means the crank is held together without a cotter pin. It is most likely a square-tapered three piece crank which is easier to work on and find replacements. The front freewheel does make it so you can shift while coasting, but it will make it harder to change your crankset because most cranks don't have a built in freewheel. If you don't plan to work on it it doesn't really matter.

The derailleurs are the mechanical devices that shift your gears. SunTour is the manufacturer and Seven is the component level. Basically T-Mar is saying they're decent parts.

As for the brakes, Dia-Compe and Shimano are manufacturers and 730/Z series are model names. Sidepull brakes have the cable attached on one side and have one pivot point as opposed to center pull brakes that have a cable attached on both sides that V's into the main brake cable. They have two pivot points for greater stopping force (supposedly). Your brakes should be fine but you may want to get new pads. Safety levers are the horizontal brake levers that you can pull while riding upright.

I think that pretty much covers it, but somebody may have to come along and correct my misinformation. There are many people here that know more than I do.