Alloy
 

Why is it common to refer to high end aluminum in the bicycle world as alloy, but high end steel is hardly ever called alloy. Like this question from quora: "Which is better chromoly or alloy?"



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Mounting bolt checkout - alloy on alloy

Why are the gears in back called cogs or sprockets, but the gears up front are chainrings? Why do you put your saddle on the seat post?

It’s just tradition—something common in cycling. Don’t sweat it.

You could cite this oddity in the Bicycle Misnomenclature thread which has been quiet for a long time. :)

Why do we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway?

al·loy
noun
noun: alloy; plural noun: alloys
/ˈaˌloi/

1. a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements, especially to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion.
   "an alloy of nickel, bronze, and zinc"

verb
verb: alloy; 3rd person present: alloys; past tense: alloyed; past participle: alloyed; gerund or present participle: alloying
/ˈaˌloi,əˈloi/

1. mix (metals) to make an alloy.
   "alloying tin with copper to make bronze"

-- I have no idea, and it's annoying. I find it as annoying as pronouncing the "t' in often. I'll start pronouncing the "t" in often when everyone else drops the "t" in soften. <<oops. i mean, when people say the 't' in sof'en... whatever. this is better to argue about than politics....>>>

cheers!

And why do we spell "alot" as one word but "a little" as two?!

Instead of assuming everyone will know that when you say "alloy" you mean "aluminum alloy", it's helful to always describe this material using both words. All steel is an alloy. Although when it includes more than just carbon "steel alloy", implies higher properties than carbon steel.

Why do people call a UAS a drone?

When should you use "awhile" vs "a while"?

They both start with A.

Apparently most of us don't.

Which is correct a while or awhile?
Awhile vs. A While. Awhile is an adverb that means “for a while,” and a while is a two-word noun phrase that means “a period of time.” Typically, a while is found after a preposition (after a while) and with ago/back (a while ago/back). Awhile is found in all other contexts (dance awhile).

The misspelling "alot" became common in the last 20 years or so, I think. Still not an acceptable spelling, as indicated by the Bike Forums spellchecker flagging it as an error. Maybe people have a vague sense that it should look more like the word "allot" (distribute portions or shares).

Spellcheckers can't identify all errors, though. You see people consistently using the spelling "ridding" when they mean "riding," for example.

I allot the wise man his spelling.

"none" is plural.

...if we called these components "aluminum", there would be huge controversy over whether to use the American version, or the UK's "aluminium". There's already the controversy over "tires" versus "tyres". Why can't everyone just get along ?

We don't. "A lot" is two words.

Quick search, first hit:

"Usage experts acknowledge that none is sometimes singular and sometimes plural. They mostly recommend that you treat it as singular when it means not one, or no amount, and plural when it means not any. None of that will get you doughnuts, or coffee. But it's sound advice, nonetheless."

Edit: should have mentioned that I agree that "none" is usually plural. Or, at least, singular "none" sounds vaguely prissy to me, in the same way as contorting sentences needlessly to avoid splitting an infinitive. To needlessly avoid splitting an infinitive, I mean.

James Thurber wrote some great essays on this general topic, citing, among other examples, an argument he had with one of his grade school teachers, who, having explained the proper use of some obscure part of speech that she rendered as "the container for the thing contained," objected to young James's suggestion that there should be another version that referred to "the thinger for the thing contained."

She challenged him to provide an example. He, of course, already had one in mind, from a vaudeville turn he'd recently seen:

Second banana: "What happened to you? You look terrible!"

Comic (disheveled, big lump showing through his fright wig): "Some guy threw tomatoes at me!"

Second banana: "Tomatoes? How could tomatoes do that to you?"

Comic: "They were still in the can!"

It started in the late '30s and early '40s, where you had the Alloy versus the Axles. Alloy won out pretty quickly after the Axles' last major offensive, the Battle of the Tubing Bulge.

I rather like the Brit's using the slang version 'ally'.
Never mind, I'm going for a spin on my Matsu****a.

Expert shmexpert. No copying from Google Answers verbatim, that's "totalement ringard." Nun or nuns, can be both. It also says that you-uns can be singular or plural, but none in Pittsburgh would agree.

Language is a funny thing. People get *****y if you refer to the saddle as a seat, but said saddle is mounted on the seat post.

Think of the saddle as the seat / seatpost interface

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2be02996d3.png

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...79da8e5e82.png

I can see this devolving into a brass vs bronze brazing argument.