Meet Bluebell!

I’ve taken the big leap and finally got my first road bike!  Her name is Bluebell and she’s a Trek Lexa.   

No more pounding away on my mountain bike trying to keep up with Nick on his road bike and all the ladies with their aero bikes during triathlons :o)  

I’m pretty new to the world of cycling and I didn’t want to drop big $$ on a bike without some baseline knowledge so I needed to begin the process with a little course in bicycle anatomy…

Frame:
 - Top tube:  horizontal or slightly sloping tube that runs from the saddle to the front of the bike.
 - Head tube:  tube on the front of the bike frame that connects the fork to the handlbears.
 - Seat tube:  tube connecting the crank/bottom bracket to the pedals.
 - Downtube:  tube connecting the head tube to the cranks.
 - Seat stays:  tubes connecting the saddle/seatpost/top of seat tube to the rear wheel.
 - Chainstays:  tubes connecting the crank/bottom bracket to the rear wheel.
 - Front fork:  connects the front wheel to the head tube/handlebars.
 - Bottom bracket shell:  holds the all-important bottom bracket - which connects the frame to the cranks.

Handlebars
 - Drop:  distance between the top and bottom of the bars. A smaller hand would appreciate a smaller drop.
 - Width:  distance from one side to the other and usually measured from "center-to-center" of the bar. Typically stock road bikes have a 40 cm bar width, but many women may prefer a 38 or 36-cm bar. If the bar is much wider than your shoulders, you'll have to brace yourself to keep your upper body stable on the bike and this can get uncomfortable.
 - Reach: horizontal distance from the stem to the very front of the bars (aka. how far the bar sticks out from the bicycle). With a short reach, the levers are closer to you.

Materials
 - Steel:  easiest to work with, wide range of characteristics that are fairly easily modified. Modern steel bikes can be made almost as light as any other frame material. A finely-crafted steel bike has a ride quality that other frame materials aspire to.
 - Aluminum:  one of the lightest materials, but often judged to be a harsh ride - especially for smaller riders. To compensate for this, tubes made of aluminum are often oversized. This allow for a thinner-walled tube, with a nicer ride quality, while maintaining strength.  Can be more difficult to weld than steel.
 - Titanium:  lighter than steel and has a slightly better strength/mass ratio. Also has a slightly softer road feel than steel, which makes it a great choice for a bike you're planning on riding long distances. Much more difficult to weld than steel. Not subject to corrosion, so a titanium frame can be a lifetime investment.
 - Carbon:  all bikes we think of as being "carbon fiber" are really carbon fiber impregnated resin. In other words, they’re plastic?! Carbon fiber is an extremely lightweight material, and has superior vibration damping and stiffness, which makes it possible to have a very comfortable bike that is also very efficient at power transfer. Because of the cost involved in making molds, most carbon fiber bikes are stock, not custom.

Toe Overlap
 - Toe-Wheel Overlap:  potential contact between the rider's foot and the front wheel during turning maneuvers, which is more likely on smaller frames. Typically this only happens at very slow speeds, because at higher speeds we never turn the front end very sharply. If there's too much toe overlap, the rider could stall out her front wheel and fall. Although many bikes have some possibility of toe overlap, it's a good idea to avoid too much.

Women-Specific Design
 - Women-Specific Design: Trek's term for their women's specific designs; intentionally designing a bicycle from the ground up to fit female proportions better.

Rims
 - Box-section:  rectangle-shaped rims. Light, accelerate quickly, and provide the most comfort.  
 - Aero-shaped:  triangularly shaped rims.  Stronger, have less wind drag, and are stiffer (less comfortable).

Gearing

 - Crankset:  the part the pedals are attached to.  Comes with 2 (aka “double”) or 3 (aka “triple”) chainrings.

 - Chainrings:  front sprockets, located on the crankset. Larger numbers mean it’s harder to pedal and vice versa.

- Compact:  crankset with 2 chainrings

 - Triple: crankset includes a small inner chainring (aka “granny”) that offers easier hill-climbing gears.

- “Cassette” or “Freewheel”:  the entire cluster of rear gears.  Drives the bike as you pedal.

 - Cogs:  rear sprockets, part of the cassette.  The larger the number, the easier it is to pedal and vice versa.
 - Total gears:  To figure out how many total gears are on a bike, multiply the number of chainrings by the number of cassette cogs. (i.e. with a triple crankset and 10-cog cassette, you have 30 gears)

Component Groups
- Group:  brakes, hubs, chain, cassette, bottom bracket, crank, derailleurs, shifters, and headset.  Different companies (Campagnolo, Shimano, SRAM) offer different levels of components to suit various rider levels from entry-level to pro racer.

Level	Brand	Components	Drivetrain	Comments
entry	Campagnolo	Veloce	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	nice function and finish
enthusiast	Campagnolo	Centaur	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	almost Athena-quality function and finish
serious	Campagnolo	Athena	compact or standard double chainring w/11 cogs	almost Chorus-quality function and finish
race	Campagnolo	Chorus	compact or standard double chainring w/11 cogs	almost Record-quality function and finish
pro	Campagnolo	Record	compact or standard double chainring w/11 cogs	almost Super Record-quality function and finish
pro	Campagnolo	Super Record	compact or standard double chainring w/11 cogs	among the world's lightest components
entry	Shimano	Sora	compact double or triple chainring w/9 cogs	sweet shifting, braking and reliability at a nice price
enthusiast	Shimano	Tiagra	compact double or triple chainring w/9 cogs	nice function and finish, lighter
serious	Shimano	105	compact double or triple chainring w/10 cogs	almost Ultegra-quality function and finish
race	Shimano	Ultegra	compact double or triple chainring w/10 cogs	almost Dura-Ace function and finish
pro	Shimano	Dura-Ace	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	among the world's lightest components
pro	Shimano	Dura-Ace Di2	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	Dura-Ace quality w/revolutionary electronic shifting
enthusiast	SRAM	Apex	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	almost Rival function and finish
serious	SRAM	Rival	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	almost Force function and finish
pro	SRAM	Force	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	almost Red function and finish
pro	SRAM	Red	compact or standard double chainring w/10 cogs	among the world's lightest components