Beachbikes.com Cruisers

The Every-Part-Of-Your-Bike Blog

Ladies and Gentlemen! Get ready to get schooled. If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t know a hub from a chain wheel, you’re in luck. I’ve condensed my years of bike parts knowledge into one handy blog post .. and you had better take notes! There’s a take home quiz when we’re done.

Let’s start at the top with the grips. Grips attach to the end of the handlebars - or wrap around them - and provide a cushion for the rider’s hands.

Handlebars are next. They are what the rider holds to steer the bike, they attach to the handlebar stem, they come in all different shapes and sizes, and are a convenient place to attach a bell or horn.

The handlebar stem - sometimes referred to as the “goose neck” - supports the handlebars and attaches to the fork of the bike. Once the stem is inserted into the steerer tube (the top portion of the fork), it is tightened and held into place internally by a wedge (shown at the bottom of the stem pictured) and bolt.

The fork of the bike is the portion that holds the front wheel and allows the rider to steer and balance the bike. The top portion is the steerer tube and the two pieces that attach to the steerer tube are the blades. The front wheel of the bike attaches to the blades at the drop outs, which are the U-shaped cutouts you can see at the very bottom of the fork pictured above.

The front wheel of the bike attaches to the fork via the dropouts and it turns left and right when the rider turns the handlebars. The wheel is made up of the rim, the spokes and the hub. The rim is the circular hoop of metal that is connected to the hub by many spokes under tension and the hub is the center of the wheel (inside the hub are the axle and ball bearings).The size of cruiser bikes (20”, 24”, 26”) is derived from the diameter of the rim.

The tire is the rubber ring-shaped covering that fits around a wheel rim to protect it and provide a flexible cushion that absorbs shock. Tires come in different widths, diameters, and treads.

The inner tube is an inflatable rubber tube that is inside of the bike tire and retains air pressure in the tire. When a bicycle has a flat tire, it’s most often caused by a slow leak in the inner tube and not by the tire itself.

The rim strip is a layer of material, usually cloth, plastic, or rubber, that is installed around the outside of a rim (between the rim and inner tube), to prevent the ends of the spokes from puncturing the inner tube.

The beach cruiser frame is made up of a series of tubes welded together. The steerer tube of the fork (see fork above) inserts into the head tube of the frame, the crank and pedals attach to the bottom bracket shell of the frame, the seat post and seat attach to the seat tube of the frame, and the rear wheel attaches to the rear dropouts (the U-shaped cutouts seen at the far left of the above cruiser frame).

The seat (or saddle) is what the cyclist sits on. It’s attached to the frame of the bike by the seat post.

The saddle clamp or seat clamp attaches to the underside of the seat. The seat post slides into the seat clamp and the clamp is tightened. The angle of the seat is adjusted by loosening and adjusting the seat clamp.

The seat post slides in to the seat tube of the frame and is held in place by the seat post clamp. The seat attaches to the top of the seat post and is held in place by the saddle clamp.

The seat post clamp is the collar located at the top of the seat tube on the frame, which holds the seat post at the desired height. Some seat post clamps have a quick-release lever that allows for easy, tool-free adjustment, while others (like the one pictured above) require a tool to tighten or loosen the clamp.

The bottom bracket is the collection of ball bearings and spindle housed within the bottom bracket shell of the frame (see frame pictured above), which provides the “shaft” mechanism on which the crank arms turn. The crank arms attach to the two tapered pieces at each end of the cartridge pictured above.

This is a single piece crank. The pedals attach to each end of the crank and it is bolted into the bottom bracket. If the bike has a three-piece crank, the crank arms will look like the ones pictured below.

These crank arms are for bikes with a three-piece crank. The larger end of the arm attaches to the bottom bracket and the smaller end of the arm attaches to the pedal.

The pedals attach to the crank arms. These are what the rider pushes with their feet while they’re riding the bike.

The chainring attaches to the crank arm on the right side of the bike. The bike chain fits onto the chainring and onto the cog on the rear wheel, and as the rider turns the cranks by pedaling, the chainring also turns and propels the rear wheel forward.

The chain wraps around the chainring and around the rear cog which is attached to the rear wheel. As the rider pedals forward, the chainring turns and pulls the chain around it, which in turn turns the rear cog and wheel and propels the bike forward.

The rear cassette or rear gear cluster is attached to the hub of the rear wheel if the bike has an external gear system. If the bike has an internal gear system or is a single speed, it will only have one gear or sprocket attached to the right side of the hub in the rear wheel.

The kickstand is a prop for the bicycle to hold it upright while the bike is parked.

The chain guard attaches to the frame of the bike and covers the chain, protecting the bike rider from getting clothing trapped in the chain.

Fenders attach to the frame of the bike near the dropouts via fender struts (shown attached to the fenders pictured). Fenders protect the rider from dirt and water splashing up from the tires.

This is a coaster brake hub for a rear wheel. A coaster brake on a bike allows the rider to pedal backwards to brake. The brake arm or reaction arm (shown attached to the hub above) attaches to the frame of the bike, usually at the left side chainstay.

Direct pull brakes or V brakes are used on some bikes in addition to or instead of coaster brakes. V brakes attach to the front and rear fork of the bike frame and allow the rider to squeeze a hand lever (attached to the handlebars) to slow the bike down.

The brake lever is attached to the handlebar and connects to the brake of a bike via a brake cable. When the rider squeezes the brake lever toward the handlebar, it causes the brake pads to press on the rim of the wheel and slows the wheel down.

The derailleur is the device that is bolted to the frame and it handles the job of moving the chain from one gear to another when the rider shifts gears. The front derailleur handles the shifting on your chainrings and is usually controlled by the left-hand shifter. The rear derailleur handles the shifting on your cassette or freewheel, and is usually controlled by the right-hand shifter.

The gear shifter attaches to the handlebar of the bike and attached to the hub or the derailleur of the bike via a shifter cable. As the rider changes the shifter, it causes the gears to move into higher and lower gear.

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Other terms that are useful to know:

Crown - The upper part of the front fork where the blades and steerer tube attach.

Headset - The assembly that connects the front fork to the frame of the bike and allows the fork to turn.

Quick-release - This can refer to a wheel or a seat post clamp. A quick-release wheel uses a lever so that the wheel can be removed from the frame of the bike quickly and without using any tools. A quick-release seat post clamp uses a lever so that the seat post (attached to the seat) can be removed from the frame quickly and without using any tools.

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Now that you’re all fully briefed on the different parts of a bike, I’m going to go take a nap. We’ll postpone that take home quiz until further notice, but hopefully you feel confident that you can go in to a bike shop and tell them exactly what it is on the bike that you’re having questions or issues with.

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