Bike Culture Acronyms
 

Hey all, as a newcomer to biking and a new reader here, I've found it frustrating to decipher the shorthand. Following is a list of acronyms and jargon that I'm busy figuring out. I'll revise it as folks supplement, clarify or correct my guesses. :) Provided for the benefit of other clueless newbs like me. <3

• A & S - the Advocacy and Safety forum
• AM - (referring to mountain bikes) "All mountain" style, usually full suspension of 5 or more inches, can handle rocks, roots and such of a greater magnitude than XC bikes.
• BB - bottom bracket, the ring at the bottom of the seat post that holds the pedal/crank/chainring axle
• Bent - short for "recumbent," a reclining bike frame geometry
• Bonk - to run out of energy/have a fit of exhaustion on the ride. Bring some bananas next time. B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
• Brifter - combination brake/shifter
• C & V - Classic & Vintage forum where people talk about old bikes ('Cranky & Vintage')
• Cager - person driving a car (often derogatory)
• CF - carbon fiber
• Chainsuck - When the chain gets stuck between the bottom bracket (BB)/chain stay junction and the chain ring. Can happen when pedaling hard or uphill while shifting front derailleur.
• CL - Craigslist, a handy website for getting bike stuff locally
• Clipless - a specially designed pair of pedals/shoes that hold the user's feet firm yet allow hands-free control over exiting the pedals when desired (most of the time!)
• CM - Critical Mass cycling rights movement (mob cycling, often in San Francisco, USA)
• Crit - Criterium race, usually around a short loop with lots of turns
• CX - cyclocross (offroad bike racing(?))
• DFL - dead f'n last (in a race)
• Doored - Someone opens his or her vehicle door as you ride by, causing a wreck
• DNF - did not finish
• Endo(ed) - to go "over the [handle]bars", typically as a result of failing to clear an obstacle or downhill section, smacking into something, or grabbing your front brake too hard and too fast. Dental coverage advisable.
• FD/RD - front derailer/rear derailer, also, derailleur (the things that move the chain onto the gears you select while riding)
• FG Fixed gear bike (see Fixie)
• Fixie - a bike that does not freewheel (i.e., must continuously be pedaled) on the back axle
• FS - Full Suspension (shock absorbers installed for both wheels)
• Fred (classic) - Grumpy utility or touring rider who eschews spandex and can outride many roadies. May be named after a real person.
• Fred (neo) - Corrupted version of the above. A newbie rider who buys an expensive bike and kit and then weaves on the path at 8 kph with his helmet on the back of his head.
• Hardtail - bike with shock in the fork, none in the back end.
• Hybrid - bike blending the ruggedness of a mountain bike with the thinner, lighter styling of a road bike; trades off the strengths of each design for versatility
• ITT - individual time trial (race)
• JAM - Jack-as*ed motorist (also JAC - jackas*ed cyclist), derogatory
• KOPS - Knee Over Pedal Spindle (a measurement to fitting properly on a bike)
• LBS - local bike shop
• Left Hook - an oncoming vehicle turns left across your lane and you hit it
• Left Cross - a vehicle hits you from the left in an intersection
• MTB - mountain bike
• MUP - Multiple-use[r] path
• OCP - Obsessive Compulsive Pose[u]r
• OTB - off the back (of the pack) in a race (i.e., you're going slow compared to the rest)
• OTF - off the front (of the pack)
• P & R - the Politics and Religion forum, fraught with forum drama
• PB - Peanut butter
• PBSF - Planet Bike Superflash, a really bright light set
• QR - quick release, a device that lets you remove wheels, brakes, seatposts, or other components without any tools. Occasionally releases prematurely while riding (dangerous)
• Right Cross - a vehicle hits you from the right as you cross a side street or driveway
• Right Hook - accident condition where a car in your lane turns right without warning and you hit it
• Rigid - no shock or suspension at all.
• Roadie - road bike or one who rides a road bike
• RR - road race
• Sheldon Brown - smart fellow who wrote a lot about bikes, passed away early 2008
• SS - Singlespeed bike, one without derailers and selectable gearings
• Taco(ed) - to bend your wheel into the shape of the aforementioned Mexican delight. Not a good thing. 100% guaranteed to be much less enjoyable than a real Taco.
• TDF - Tour de France, a major road bike race
• TT - time trial race
• TTT - team time trial
• VC - vehicular cycling (integrating safely with motorized traffic on the road)
• WOL - Wide outside lane
• XC - cross country cycling (i.e., off-path [???])
• XC - (referring to mountain bikes) "Cross country" style, usually 4" full suspension race capability, some rocks and roots, no big drops.

Other readers, what have I left out? If this stuff is already in a FAQ somewhere, I can't find it easily. *shrug*

Hop

Greets to BarracksSi, cooker, Roody, StephenH, Siu Blue Wind, Spinnaker, gRedner, kiethM0, Abneycat, and East Hill for helping out.

Larger, non-bikeforums.net lexica:
Dictionary of roadie slang: http://kba.tripod.com/slang.htm
Mountain Bike Slang Dictionary: http://www.isu.edu/~nickbenj/bike/mtbdic.htm

KOPS - Knee Over Pedal Spindle (a measurement to fitting properly on a bike)
FS - Full Suspension
BB - bottom bracket
PBSF - Planet Bike Superflash
SS - Singlespeed
Cager - person driving a car (often derogatory, but not in a fun way like "Fred" is)
Right hook, left hook, right cross, etc. - terms regarding traffic near-misses & collisions
JAM - Jack-***** motorist (also JAC - jack***** cyclist)
CM - Critical Mass (mob cycling, often in San Fran)

And more...

After so many Fred threads!

"Classic Fred": Grumpy utility or touring rider who eschews spandex and can outride many roadies. May be named after a real person.

"Neo Fred": Corrupted version of the above. A newbie rider who buys an expensive bike and kit and then weaves on the path at 8 kph with his helmet on the back of his head.

Hugely admired and lamented.

You forgot C & V--'Classic & Vintage', or 'Cranky & Vintage' as the case may be :) .

East Hill

OCP - Obsessive Compulsive Poser

Please. It's 'poseur'.

TT = time trial (or toilet tissue)
TDF = Tour de France
FG = fixed gear (fixie)
MUP is actually multi-user path. MUT is multi-user trail. (same thing)
VC = vehicular cycling
JAM = jackazz motorist
PB = peanut butter

What is the "CR list"? as mentioned here? In reference to Sheldon Brown passing away

Of course. :p

You can wind up with a lot of place names abbreviated, of interest primarily to people in those areas. Example: WRL = White Rock Lake in Dallas, a popular biking spot. RMNP = Rocky Mountain National Park, etc.

You have BB=bottom bracket defined, but to somebody fairly new to cycling, they have no clue what the bottom bracket is.

CL = Craig's List

Hardtail - bike with shock in the fork, none in the back end.
Rigid - no shock or suspension at all.
CF- carbon fiber
Roadie - road bike or one who rides a road bike
XC - (referring to mountain bikes) Cross country style, usually 4" full suspension race capability, some rocks and roots, no big drops.
AM - (referring to mountain bikes) All mountain style, usually full suspension of 5 or more inches, can handle rocks, roots and such of a greater magnitude than XC bikes.

Hybrid = Both mountain bike and road bike and the bike more than likely purchased by someone who doesn't have a clue and would never think of taking it off of a paved surface.

Next round of updates from spinnaker, Siu Blue Wind, and StephenH incorporated. Thanks guys and gals! spinnaker, thanks for the mention on hybrids. Thank goodness I'd never ride one of those! ;)

Good work.

Various racing terms:

OTB - off the back (of the pack)
OTF - off the front (of the pack)
DFL - dead f'n last
DNF - did not finish
Crit - Criterium race, usually around a short loop with lots of turns
RR - road race
TT - time trial
ITT - individual time trial
TTT - team time trial
CX - cyclocross

Chainsuck - When the chain gets stuck between the bottom bracket/chain stay junction and the chain ring. Can happen when pedaling hard or uphill while shifting front derailleur.

These contain a bit more than acronyms, but at least they're funny:

Dictionary of roadie slang: http://kba.tripod.com/slang.htm
Mountain Bike Slang Dictionary: http://www.isu.edu/~nickbenj/bike/mtbdic.htm

Nice. Next round of updates committed. I really enjoyed the slang dictionaries, keith. :)

Still need "CL" in there.

Bonk: To run out of energy/have a fit of exhaustion on the ride. Bring some Bananas next time. B-A-N-A-N-A-S!
Taco(ed): to bend your wheel into the shape of the aforementioned Mexican delight. Not a good thing. 100% Guaranteed to be much less enjoyable than a real Taco.
Endo(ed): to go "over the bars", typically as a result of failing to clear an obstacle or downhill section, smacking into something, or grabbing your front brake too hard and too fast. Dental coverage advisable.
Clipless: There *are* actually clips, you just don't see them this time around. A specially designed pair of pedals/shoes that hold the users feet firm yet allow hands free control over exiting the pedals when desired (most of the time!)

Nice definitions, Abneycat. Haha!