Mountain Bike Dictionary

The world of mountain biking is full of bike lingo that every rider needs to know to stop you crashing, bailing and wiping out any credibility you have earned. MTB slang has built up over many years but is simple enough to pick up.

While this is meant to be a fun guide to common mountain biking terms, it can also help to keep you safe as you ride. Other riders might point out booters (large jumps), gaps (jumps with holes in the middle) and gnarly sections (you can figure that one out) on trials and tracks.

Let’s begin the bike slang.

MTB Dictionary

1x (or 2x or 3x)

A 1x is a bike with a single chainset at the front. A 2x has two, 3x three etc.

26, 27.5 or 29

These are standard mountain bike wheel sizes. Some riders will describe their bike by its wheel size (a 29-er for example)

All mountain

A type of riding. All-mountain bikes are trail bikes built to ride anything and tackle all mountains.

Airtime

The amount of time you spend in the air while jumping. The bigger the jump, the longer the airtime.

Bail

Bailing is a term for the act of leaping off a bike before you crash. It’s about taking a small hit to avoid a big one. Bailing is about staying safe and can be worn as a badge of honour.

Berm

A berm is a banked corner that you can ride more quickly than a flat one. They’re common on trails and a huge amount of fun to ride. You’ll often find sequences of berms on trails that will test your handling skills.

Bomb

To ride a trail as fast as you can, to ‘bomb’ It down.

Bomb hole

A hole that looks like a crater, or bomb hole.

Boulder garden

A section of trail with rocks, boulders and stones in it.

Bonk

To run out of energy on a trail or a ride. Usually caused by not refuelling enough.

Boooter

A massive jump that will test your riding skills and mountain bike bravery. If you know a booter is coming up, make sure you’re ready.

BSO

Stands for ‘Bike shaped object’ a term for a cheap bike designed to look like a mountain bike. You won’t find any BSOs at Halfords.

Camel bump

Two jumps placed after one another (like the humps on a camel).

Chatter

The sound your bike makes while riding over a trail with lots of loose rocks.

Clean

Riding clean means completing a section of a trail, track or downhill without crashing or taking your feet off the pedals. Aim for clean every time.

Clipless

Weirdly, clipless actually means a rider is using pedals that clip on to their shoes.

Cockpit

The handlebars, gears, grips and brakes are your cockpit on the bike.

Dab

To dab is to lift your foot off a pedal to avoid a crash.

Dialled

When your bike is dialled, it’s perfectly set up and ready to ride. When your bike is dialled, you and it can progress in perfect harmony (that’s the theory, anyway).

Ditch

Ditching is the same as bailing, which means jumping off your bike to avert an even bigger – and more painful – crash.

Dope

Another word for great.

Double

A jump with a gap between the takeoff and landing.

Downhill

The discipline of riding a mountain bike downhill. Sounds easy, but is challenging. Downhill riders are some of the most hardcore mountain bikers around. You’ll be able to spot them at the trails centre wearing full-face helmets and body armour.

Downside

A slope that allows you to pick up speed, downsides often come after jumps. A downside is a good thing.

Drop-off

A steep and sudden drop on a trail.

Dropper post

A seat post that can be raised or lowered by pressing a lever.

Edit

A short film of a rider featured on bike websites or YouTube.

EMTB

EMTB stands for electric mountain bike.

Enduro

A type of mountain biking with lots of downhill sections as well as uphills and technical portions.

Face slappers

Trees, branches and leaves that can slap your face as you ride by. Watch out for face slappers!

Fire road

A section of road wide enough for emergency services to reach you.

Flow

The pure feeling of perfection as you ride without effort or exertion. Flow is the ideal union between rider, bike and trail. You’ll only know the flow when you’ve experienced it.

Full-susser

Another term for a full-suspension mountain bike.

Gap

A jump with a hole in the middle. Gaps can be dangerous unless you’re prepared for them, so riders will often shout them out on trails.

Gassed

Exhausted.

Gnarly

A challenging – but exciting – trail feature. Jumps, gaps, booters and berms can all be gnarly.

Hardtail

A MTB without rear suspension.

Huck

Jumping without thinking. Riding a trail recklessly and without any consideration for the consequences.

Janky

An old, worn-out bike can be described as janky.

JRA

Just riding around, not doing anything stupid.

Kicker

A large jump that gives you large amounts of airtime.

Klunker

An old MTB in poor condition.

Knobbly Tyres

All MTBs run knobbly tyres to grip the surface.

KOM

A Strava warrior who has claimed the King of the Mountains title for a section of a ride.

LBS

Your local bike shop.

Lid

Another term for bike helmet. Never ride without a lid.

Line

The path you take through a corner, trail or ride.

Loam

Loam is a type of loose and dry dirt that’s great for riding on. Your wheels will grip and the flow will be good.

Loose

Riding loose means riding on the edge, at the boundaries of your abilities. Don’t ride loose too often. Can also describe riding on loose gravel which can be more challenging (and dangerous) as the tyres don’t grip as well.

Manual

To lift the front wheel off the floor and balance on the rear wheel. A manual is different to a wheelie.

MTB

Abbreviation for mountain biking.

Northshore

Northshore describes riding over wooden boards and is named after the North Shore area of Vancouver in Canada that made this type of riding popular.

Off camber

A corner where the slope of the corner is facing away from the corner direction.

OTB

A crash that takes you over the handlebars. It’s going to be painful…

Pimp

To upgrade your bike with expensive accessories.

Ponch flat

A flat tyre caused by the tube getting trapped between the rim of the wheel and the tyre.

Pinned

Riding fast. When you pin a trail, you’re tackling it fast.

Powder run

A dry and dusty stretch of trail that can feel like riding over powder.

Pump

Building up speed without pedalling. It’s about using the energy on the trails to propel you forward, pushing the bike down at certain points to speed you up.

Pump track

A section of trail (or sometimes a separate track altogether) that’s designed to be ridden by pumping rather than pedalling.

QOM

The female King of the Mountains on Strava.

Rad

Another word for good.

Rail

Riding a corner so well that it feels like you’re riding on rails.

Roost

A word to describe the dirt kicked up by your tyres as you ride sideways into a corner.

Scrub

A technique and term to tackle jumps borrowed from motocross. When you scrub a jump, you keep low and go fast!

Session

To repeatedly ride the same section until you perfect it.

Shred

To ride a trail or track with passion. When you’re shredding, you’re riding hard.

Sick

Another word for great. A sick trail is a good one.

Singletrack

The most common form of mountain bike trail, it’s called singletrack because it’s only wide enough for one rider at a time.

Sketchy

A difficult section of riding.

Stack

To crash.

Step down

A slight drop on a trail, like a step.

Step up

A section of trail where you need to lift the front wheel then the back wheel.

Stoked

Loving life and living it to the full.

Stomp

To land a run, jump or trick without crashing, bailing or failing.

Switchback

A section of trail that turns back on itself, like a U-turn.

Tabletop

A ramped bit of trail that rises up, plateaus and then drops down.

Technical trail feature

A feature on a trail that poses challenges to the rider that demand skills to navigate.

Tubeless

A mountain bike that has tyres with no inner tubes.

Washout

When your bike’s tyres completely lose traction and slide out from under you.

Wheelie

Lifting the front wheel off the floor.

Whip

A very cool mountain bike trick where you turn the bike sideways in the air after a jump before straightening out before you land.

Wipeout

A spectacular (and hopefully not too painful) crash.

XC

Cross country. A type of mountain biking.

Zone

When you’re in the zone, everything is going well.