In a state of moderate injury coupled with intense boredom I have compiled this glossary of bike related terms. I am sure we have all been in a bike shop in China and not known what a certain part is called or how to ask for that something that we need, choosing instead to point, repeating "na ge na ge" until the message is conveyed.
Well, I hope this will help. I wrote it myself from scratch so please excuse inevitable errors and feel free to continue to add terms as necessary. I looked around online and was unable to find anything as thorough so perhaps our thread might work its way to containing the definitive English/Chinese bike glossary.
The thought of including pinyin was daunting so I have used #'s for tones. I hope this will make the lives of touring cyclists passing through Kunming easier and aid those that frequent ever sprouting bike shops.
Bike types
Bicycle (General) – 自行车、单车 – zi4 xing2 che1, dan1 che1
Mountain Bike – 山地车 – shan1 di4 che1
Touring Bike – 旅行车,长途车 – lv3 xing2 che1, chang2 tu2 che1
Road Bike – 公路车 – gong1 lu4 che1
Cyclocross Bike – 野越公路车 – ye4 yue4 gong1 lu4 che1
Tandem Bike – 双人车 – shuang1 ren2 che1
Folding Bike – 折叠车 – zhe2 die2 che1
Fixed Gear - 死飞车 – si3 fei1 che1
Recumbent Bike – 卧车 – wo4 che1
Material Types
Steel – 钢 – gang1
Aluminium – 铝 - lv3
Carbon – 碳 – tan4
Titanium – 钛 – tai4
Frame
Frame – 车架 – che1 jia4
Head tube –前管 – qian2 guan3
Top tube –上管 – shang4 guan3
Down tube –下管 – xia4 guan3
Seat tube –座管 – zuo4 guan3
Seat stay –立管 – li4 guan3
Chain stay –后叉 – hou4 cha1
Bottom Bracket -中轴 – zhong1 zhou2
Bottom bracket shell -中轴壳 – zhong1 zhou2 qiao4
Gears and Drive Chain
Transmission (general term) - 变速器 – bian4 su4 qi4
Chain – 链条 – lian4 tiao2
Front derailleur –前拨 – qian2 bo1
Chain rings – 牙盘 – ya2 pan2
Chain ring bolts – 压盘螺丝 – ya2 pan2 luo2 si1
Crank arm – 曲柄 – qu1 bing3
Cassette –飞轮 – fei1 lun2
Jockey wheel -齿轮 – chi1 lun2
Rear derailleur – 后拨 – hou4 bo1
Barrel adjuster - 调整管 - tiao2 zheng3 guan3
Chain guide/bash guard - 导链器,护链器 – dao3 lian4 qi4, h4u lian4 qi4
Cable (general usage) - 操纵线 or just 线 – cao1 zong4 xian4 – xian4
Brakes
Brake (general term) – 刹车 – sha1 che1
V- Brakes – V刹 – V sha1
Disc Brakes – 碟刹 – die2 sha1
Hydraulic brakes – 油刹 – you2 sha1
Brake lever – 刹把 – sha1 ba3
Front brake – 前刹 – qian2 sha1
Rear brake – 后刹 – hou4 sha1
Brake pad (v brake pad)– 刹皮 – sha1 pi2
Rotor –碟刹盘 – die2 sha1 pan2
Disc brake pad – 刹片 – sha1 pian4
Brake fluid (hydraulic) -刹车油 – sha1 che1 you2
Suspension
Fork – 前叉 - qian2 cha1
Shock –后避震器 – hou4 bi4 zhen4 qi4
Travel – 行程 – xing2 cheng2
Lockout -锁死 – suo3 si3
Oil seal – 油封 – you2 feng1
Dust seal - 灰封 – hui1 feng1
Spring – 弹簧 – tan2 huang2
Shock pump - 避震气筒 – bi4 zhen4 qi4 tong3
Fork oil - 减震油 – jian3 zhen4 you2
Wheels
Wheel (general term) – 轮子 – lun2 zi
Rim – 轮圈 – lun2 quan1
Spoke – 辐条 – fu2 tiao2
Nipple –辐条铜头 – fu2 tiao2 tong2 tou2
Hub – 花鼓 – hua1 gu3
Tyre – 外胎 – wai4 tai1
Tube – 内胎 – nei4 tai1
Bearing –钢珠 – gang1 zhu1
Valve – 气嘴 – qi1 zui3
Quick Release -快拆 – kuai4 chai1
Cockpit and contact points
Stem –把立 – ba3 li4
Head set -前头碗组 – qian2 tou2 wan3 zu3
Bars –手把 – shou3 ba3
Grips –握把 – wo4 ba3
Saddle –座垫 – zuo4 dian4
Seatpost –座管 – zuo4 guan3
Pedals – 踏板 – ta4 ban3
Cleat – 锁片 – suo3 pian2
Toe clips –趾夹 – zhi1 jia1
Tools and Repair
Tool (general term) – 工具 gong1 ju4
Fix – 修 – xiu1
Adjust- 调 – tiao2
Screwdriver – 螺丝刀 – luo2 si1 dao1
Chain tool – 链条工具 – lian1 tiao2 gong1 ju4
Patch – 补胎 – bu3 tai1
Pump – 气筒 – qi1 tong3
Grease – 油 – you2
Lubricate – 加油 – jia1 you2
Tight – 紧 – jin3
Loose – 松 – song1
Dry – 干 – gan1
Crack –裂 – lie4
Worn out –磨损 – mo2 sun3
Replace – 换新 – huan4 xin1
Remove –除掉 – chu2 diao4
Accessories
Rack – 货架 – huo4 jia4
Lock – 锁 – suo3
Light – 灯 – deng1
Mudguard –挡泥板 – dang3 ni2 ban3
Bike computer –计速表 – ji4 su4 biao3
Bell -铃 – ling2
Reflector -反光片 – fan3 guang1 pian4
