Over-used words in the bicycle industry.
 

1. "Comp"
:) I've been cycling a looooong time, and I still have no idea what this word is meant to refer to. At one time I thought it was meant to refer to a frame with carbon fiber added to it, but....it's not. I'm beginning to think it is cycling's version of the word "postmodern," a word so semantically loaded and context-intensive that it has literally lost all meaning it may have once had.

Feel free to add your own, I know there are a ton of them.

"Stiff, yet compliant."

Comp is short for " I would like the Pro model but my wife controls the checkbook"

Team is another one of those words

wow. look at the 'team comp' model!


Torsion. You gotta control the torsion you know............

Perhaps....

COMParable to the nicer stuff?

"Tuned"

"Pro"

"Technical" in reference to bicycle clothing

I always assumed that "Comp" was short for "Competition." Silly me.

"Light Weight"

"Alloy" (almost every metal used in a bicycle is an alloy of steel, titanium or aluminum, but alloy by itself almost always means aluminum alloy)

"Aero"

"Vintage" when being applied to 5 year old equipment.

"? speed" when used to reference things like brake calipers that don't know speeds.

That's too easy.

Composite?

As in carbon fiber is made up of carbon fibers held together with resin of some sort.

No. Also too simple.

Lance

Armstrong

Lance Armstrong

:D

I'm dumb. Who or what is Lance Armstrong?

COMP = complex, as in "I've got a complex about getting the lightest bits but can't afford them, so while I ride I stress out."

"Responsive". An adjective used to describe a very expensive bike when there are no objective measurements to distinguish is from another bike that is half the cost.

"Flex": good or bad? Depends on where. "Torsional" "flex" in the frame may lead to
"ghost shifting". Rotational "flex" causes wheels to not "spin up nicely". "Flex" in stays
may lead to "compliance", especially if you have a "noodly" titanium frame. Carbon frames
may also be "compliant", but a lack of "responsiveness" or "road feel" gives them a rep
for having a "dead" or "wooden" feel. A "lugged steel frame" refers to the process of
"lugging" it up a steep hill. "Aero tucks" are provided to riders after races, to relieve
the pain from long hours on the edge of their saddles.

:lol: Good stuff.

Hmmm, when I hear "comp", I think of freebies...

Actually, "alloy" refers to a mixture of two or more metals such that the mixture is homogenous.
"Composite" refers to the use of two or more materials in such a manner that they remain discrete. Aluminum which contains flakes of aluminum oxide, for example, is a metal metrix composite material.

thats not a bicycle industry specific buzzword.. in the outdoor world its a legit term used to refer to functional clothing (wicking, breathability, anti-snagging, quick-drying, uv-protecting, etc) vs those designed and cut only for fashion

standard clothing: old navy fleece sweater
technical clothing: REI fleece w/ armpit zippers, fleece type that repel light rain, protection patch on upper zip area, wear-resistant patch on elbow, etc

I am relieved to hear that you guys are just as baffled as I am about "comp."

'ergo'

'anatomic design' in referring to saddles, grips, bike shorts, gloves, helmets, etc.

'comp' is less then 'pro', which is less than 'campy', which is code word for 'damn the price'

Seems like everything is "Lightweight" these days. Every 40 pound bike I see at K-Mart is "lightweight tubing", "lightweight aluminum frame", "lightweight etc".. more like lightweight on quality.

I'll go with "comp" meaning "compromise". Notice that a "Comp" model seems always to be between the lower-end "Sport" model and the high-end "Pro" model.

"Women's Specific" when it's just the same old thing but in pink or light blue or other pastel color, and nothing "women's specific" about it. The '04 Specialized Women's Specific "Jett" saddle is just a Specialized Avatar 155 in a different color. Bugs the sh*t out of me.

_________ designed.

_________ can be any of the following:

clinically (who are they?)
aerospace (sure it is, and I'm Buck Rogers)
performance (I could say similar about a botllecap)

"Aerospace quality alloy" or "Aerospace aluminum".

I've worked in the aerospace industry for many years in a technical area of expertise, and I don't have the first damn clue what the above phrases mean.