The Glossary: U-Z

Welcome friends to section U-Z of The Glossary.

--U--

Ultramarathon: A type of bike race that involves extreme long distances and endurance.

Upshift: To move the derailleur mechanism to place the chain to a larger chainring on the crank or cog.

Upstroke: The part of the pedal motion when the foot is returning from the lowest pedal stroke to the highest point.

USCF: Acronym for United States Cycling Federation, the governing body for amateur road bike racing.

--V--

Valve stem: Located on the innertube where inflation of the tire occurs. There are two types; Schrader (car-type) and Presta (european-type) stems.

Velodrome: Not Thunderdome. A special stadium designed for track (single-speed) bike racing.

V-Brake: A very powerful brake system that mounts similar to a cantilever brake, but instead of a central cable pulling the brake calipers together, it uses part of the brake housing to initiate the closing of the caliper (housing is locked to one caliper arm, while the brake cable attaches to the other caliper arm. When the brake lever is activated, the opposite forces of the cable, pull the brake calipers together.).

--W--

Washer: A round, flat piece of metal with a hole in the middle used normally as a shim or divider between a bolt and the item it is attached to. Helps to facility a sturdy mounting platform for the item attached to the bicycle. A speciality washer called a lock-washer prevents the nuts/bolts from loosening during movement.

Washout: Loss of traction during a turn.

Water Bottle: A container, made of soft plastic used for hydration. Early water bottles were made of glass.

Water Bottle Cage: An aluminum, plastic or carbon fiber device used to hold a water bottle on a bicycle frame.

Wheelset: The front and rear wheels of your bike as a set.

Wheel sucker: A rider who drafts behind another rider but doesn't take their turn at the front to break the wind.

--X thru Z--

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End of section U-Z.

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