Mountain Bike Anatomy

A mountain bike is the one thing you need before you go mountain biking. A mountain bike contains many parts, which will be covered below:

1. Bottom bracket – This attaches the crankset to the body of a bike.

2. Brake cable – This is the cable that connects the brake lever to the brake mechanism.

3. Brake lever – The lever on the handlebar to activate the brakes. The left side is the front brake and the right side is the rear brake.

4. Chain – The circular set of links that transfer power from the chainring to the cogs.

5. Chainring – The toothed rings that attach to the crank to hold the chain.

6. Crank – The lever that extends from the bottom bracket to the pedal, transferring the power to the chainrings.

7. Derailleur – The mechanism for moving the chain from one cog to another.

8. Down tube – The section of the frame extends downward from the stem to the bottom bracket.

9. Front shock – The shock absorber on the front fork.

10. Handlebar – The horizontal bar attached to the stem with handgrips on the end.

11. Headset – The mechanism in front of the frame that connects the front fork to the stem and handlebars.

12. Hub – The center part of the wheel that the spokes are attached to.

13. Idler pulley – The bottom pulley of the rear derailleur that provides spring tension to keep the chain tight.

14. Nipple – A threaded receptacle that holds the end of the spoke to the rim.

15. Pedal – The platform to pedal on; attaches to the crank.

16. Rear shock – The shock absorber for the rear tire on dual-suspension type bikes.

17. Rim – The metal ring that holds the spokes on the inside and the tire to the outside.

18. Saddle – The seat.

19. Seat post – Offers support for the seat.

20. Skewer – The metal rod that goes through the hub, attaching the wheel to the dropouts of the frame.

21. Spindle – The free rotating axle that the crank arms attach to; also a part of the bottom bracket.

22. Spokes – The thick wires that join the hub to the rim.

23. Stem – A piece that attaches the handlebar to the steering tube.

24. Wheel hub – The center of the wheel that the spokes are attached to.