OK, it's generally accepted here that bicycles have "saddles" not seats. So.......... why do they have seat tubes and seat posts, not saddle tubes and saddle posts? Not that it really matters to me one way or the other but I got to thinking about that the other night and couldn't get it out of my head.

recumbents have seats..

Need something to do? maybe you can find all the names for parts of the bicycle in Klingon..

Saddle

So why do you drive on a parkway and park in a driveway? Why do we scrub down but clean up? There's lots of language that doesn't make any sense.

You ride a bike like you ride a Horse. On a saddle. However your "seat" sits on a saddle on a post to hold up the saddle you sit on. Therefore the supporting part holding up the saddle your seat is sitting on is a seat post and it has to slide into a tube designed to hold the post the holds the saddle that supports your seat.

Sounded good when I was making that up.

Yeah, the parkway/driveway thing came to mind and there is a LOT of the English language that doesn't make sense.

So, your "seated" on the saddle but, if it's a bad saddle and you can' afford a new one are you "saddled" with it..........?

Maybe I should just "saddle up" and ride and quit thinking so much.

Be careful what you suggest, I may just do that. Better yet, Gaelic! Klingon would be too easy.

Ooh! Forgot one, "saddle stays", but for some reason that one actually sounds proper.......

If you try to make logical sense out of bicycle dimensions and nomenclature, you are doomed to suffer a lot of sleepless nights.

These days most dimensions are metric but steer tubes and chain pitch are still given in inches. Tire sizes is one that I used have some fun with but some spoil sports are slooooowly clearing that one up. My pet peeve is the common use of the word "alloy" to mean "aluminum".

Why do we clip into clipless pedals? (And yes I know the history of the terms. But it still sounds silly.)

+1

Is pure aluminum ever used for bike frames?

My point exactly. While there is such a thing as "pure aluminum" I doubt that any metal is used in an un-alloyed state in any product. How can aluminum claim the title "alloy" to the exclusion of all other metals?

So "alloy" is the correct term for an aluminum bike. And a steel bike. Why the peeve?

Because you've taken a perfectly good word and changed it's meaning. Without the "aluminum" "steel" or "titanium" modifier the word "alloy" is meaningless. It definitely does not mean "aluminum" except to people who don't know what they're talking about.

Here's one definition from Google:

"a metal made by combining two or more metallic elements, esp. to give greater strength or resistance to corrosion."

So if a bike frame is made from two or more metallic elements combined into another metal, then calling that bike frame "alloy" isn't changing the definition in any way.

Is a Mexican an American?

Certainly. And fruits are vegetables.

The problem isn't that they call a bike made from two metals "alloy", the problem is that they use the word "alloy" to refer exclusively to bikes made with aluminum. People say things like "I prefer alloy bikes to steel bikes." or "I don't have any alloy bikes because I prefer steel bikes." This last sentence is incoherent using your definition of alloy.

I see. That's dumb.

Every language has quirks and inconsistencies. Often, though, there are historical reasons which are not obvious.
A parkway runs through parkland.
You drive on a driveway to reach the house. Originally they would have been longer. I would guess that a century or two ago, most houses would have been either right on the street (in an urban setting) or else far back (think a manor house set in the midst of its grounds).

Nah, just having some fun.




If you stop and think about it most Mexicans or Latin Americans would qualify as "Native Americans" as they are descended from the indigenous peoples who were here before the Europeans arrived. Many of the Southwestern tribes recognized by the US Government ranged far into what is now modern Mexico and a good portion of the Southwest US was once part of Mexico.

Now, where'd I put my Gaelic-English dictionary? I have to get started on that.

and so is an Argentine or Chilean, even on Isla Tierra Del Fuego ..

This one was very misleading to me. Early on in my return to biking I kept hearing people talk about alloy this and alloy that and I kept thinking "alloy of what?"

I think the whole thing is a part of what I've been calling 'exclusionary jargon'. Useful jargon is used in trades and professions to convey useful information as briefly as possible. Exclusionary jargon separates insiders from all them others. Makes for lots of smiles in certain bike shops when it's repeated to other employees.

Since it has to do with riding I'm inclined to say the object is the saddle and the rider's action is described as their seat; meaning having a good or bad "seat" similar to the equestrian notion. The seat post is called such because it relates to supporting that rider action...It happens to be the point of attachment for the saddle in the process.