Mountain Bike Terminology
MTB = Mountain Bike
Hard Tail = A mtb with no rear suspension.
Full Suspension/Full Squish = A mountain bike with front and rear suspension.
Level Pedals = Keeping your feet horizontal on the pedals to prevent striking objects with a low foot.
Descent = A steep hill.
Drop = A sudden vertical decline in elevation. (Like a dock over the water).
Cornering = Turning your bike (usually with good form.)
Dab = To touch your foot down to the trail (often in challenging areas).
Clean a Trail = To make it through the trail without any dabs/putting your foot down.
Rollers = Similar to a jump but rounded top meant to stay on the ground by pumping.
Pumping = A technique used to push your bike and body up and down to pick up speed on rolling terrain.
Pedal Strike = To strike your pedal into the trail/ground/root/rock.
Shinner = Pedal strike where spikes cut your shin.
Full Face/Half Shell = Helmet that covers whole head and jaw vs top of head only.
Dropper Post = Allows your seat to raise up and down with a touch of a button.
1x = A bike with a single chain ring in the front. Often followed by # sprockets/rings on back.
Ratchet = Making partial rotations with your pedals.
Track Stand = Keeping your bike still without putting your foot down.
Shred = To ride your mtb (often aggressively).
Switchback = A really sharp turn usually close to a 180 degree angle.
Exposure = A cliff like side to a trail.
Skinny = A balance beam type trail structure.
Gnar = Rooty, rocky uneven terrain.
Tech = Any features that aren't a smooth trail or jump.
Flow = Smooth trails that promote you to keep your speed.
XC = Riding Cross Country / Flatter trail riding.
DH = Riding Downhill (usually involves a lift or shuttle to the top and high speed fun going down).
Enduro = A mixture of uphill and downhill.
Off Camber = A trail that is not level.
Berm = A banked turn on a trail.
Shralp = Making a hard turn in a berm that often involves kicking up dirt or burping your tire.
Burp Tire = Make a slight amount of air come out of tire with aggressive riding.
Roost = When back tire kicks up dirt real high when turning.
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MTB JUMPING TERMINOLOGY
Parts of a Jump (Face, Lip, Table, Knuckle, Landing/Lander) = *Diagram below.
Preload = Squishing down your suspension.
Clear a Jump = To not touch the top of a jump.
Case a Jump = To land on the knuckle of the jump.
Overshoot = To land past the landing of a jump or drop.
OTB = Getting projected over the bars.
Dead Sailor = Bad rigid posture while jumping usually causing crash.
Bucked = When you get pushed forward on a jump by sudden upward motion of rear wheel.
Steeze = Getting air with style/tricks.
TRICKS
I won't get into details but some are:
Turn Bar
Table
Whip
360
Flip (forward or back)
1 Hander
Suicide or tuck no hander
1 Footer
Can Can
Superman
Caveman
and much much more!
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