Mountain biking has its own language. Listen to riders at a trail centre and you’ll hear talk of slackening head angles, running more sag, and sessioning features in the loam. If you’re new to the sport, it sounds like complete gibberish.
Don’t worry. Every experienced rider started exactly where you are now, nodding along whilst secretly having no clue what anyone was on about. This glossary will sort you out. We’ve covered the terms you’ll actually hear and use, explained in plain English without the waffle.
A
A-Line – The harder, more technical route through a section of trail. Usually features a rock garden, drop, or gnarly obstacle. If you’re feeling brave, take the A-line. If you value your collarbone, there’s usually a B-line around it.
Air – Being airborne, as in “getting air” on a jump. Also refers to air suspension (as opposed to coil springs). Context usually makes it obvious which one someone means.
All-Mountain – Older term for what we now call trail or enduro bikes. You’ll still hear it occasionally, usually from riders who’ve been at this for decades.
Apex – The turning point of a corner. The bit where you’ve finished turning in and are about to start accelerating out. Getting the apex right is crucial for carrying speed through corners.
Armour/Armoured – Can refer to protective gear (neck braces, body armour, knee pads), or to sections of trail reinforced with rocks to prevent erosion. “That wash is properly armoured now.”
Attack Position – Your body position when things get serious. Out of the saddle, dropper slammed down, chest low, elbows out, eyes looking ahead. If you’re not in attack position on steep tech, you’re about to learn why you should be.
B
Bail – To abandon a feature or jump mid-attempt, usually to avoid injury. No shame in it. Better to bail than to crash spectacularly.
Berm – A banked corner built into the trail. Lets you carry way more speed through turns than flat corners. Brilliant fun when you get them right, properly humbling when you don’t.
Bite Point – Where your brake lever engages and the brakes actually start working. If your bite point is at the bars, your brakes need bleeding.
Blow Through/Bottom Out – When your suspension compresses completely and hits the end of its travel with a harsh thunk. Usually means you need more air pressure, volume spacers, or to pick better lines.
Boost – A hub standard with wider spacing (110mm front, 148mm rear) that provides stiffer wheels. Most modern bikes use Boost. Older bikes used narrower standards. They’re not compatible, which is annoying when upgrading wheels.
Bottom Bracket (BB) – The bit where your cranks attach to the frame. Also refers to the height of this point off the ground, which affects handling. Lower = more stable but easier to clip pedals on rocks.
Brake Fade – When your brakes lose power due to overheating on long descents. More common on cheaper brakes or if you’re dragging your brakes constantly rather than using proper braking technique.
Bunny Hop – Jumping your bike without a ramp. Front wheel up first, then scoop the back wheel up. Makes you look competent when done well, makes you look silly when done badly.
C
Case – Not clearing a jump properly, so your back wheel clips the landing. Can be harmless or can send you over the bars. Landing short is never ideal.
Cadence – Your pedalling speed, measured in revolutions per minute. Higher cadence (90-100+ RPM) is generally more efficient than grinding away at low cadence, though it feels weird at first.
Cassette – The cluster of gears on your rear wheel. Modern mountain bikes typically run 10-12 speed cassettes with wide gear ranges.
Chain Slap – The noise your chain makes hitting the chainstay when riding rough terrain. Annoying but harmless. A chainstay protector sorts it.
Chain Suck – When your chain refuses to release from the chainring and gets jammed between the frame and crank. Proper frustrating when it happens mid-ride.
Chainstay – The tubes running from the bottom bracket to the rear axle. Shorter chainstays (425-435mm) make bikes more playful. Longer ones (440mm+) add stability and traction.
Chatter – Rocky, loose trail conditions. Often describes the sound and feel of your bike bouncing over rough sections. See also chunder.
Chunder – Proper rough, rocky, loose trail with debris everywhere. More severe than chatter. If a trail is chundery, it’s a mess.
Chunky – Trail with lots of embedded rocks (as opposed to loose surface rocks). Technical and demanding.
Chute – Steep, narrow descending section. Usually quite committing once you’re in it.
Clean – Riding through a tough section without stopping, dabbing, or crashing. “She cleaned that entire rock garden first try!”
Clipped In/Clipless – Pedals where your shoes attach via cleats. Called “clipless” because they replaced old-style toe clips, which confuses everyone. Brilliant once you’re used to them, terrifying at first.
Coil – Coil spring suspension, as opposed to air suspension. Heavier but offers superb small-bump sensitivity and consistent performance. Popular on high-end bikes and with riders who prioritize feel over weight.
Compression (Damping) – The bit of suspension that controls how fast it compresses when you hit something. Too much compression and it feels harsh. Too little and it blows through its travel too easily.
Crank – The arms that connect your pedals to the bottom bracket. Usually 170-175mm long, though shorter cranks are gaining popularity.
D
Dab – Putting a foot down to avoid falling over, usually in a technical section or on a climb. Counts as a fail in trials riding, but most of us dab regularly and aren’t bothered about it.
Dead Sailor – Locking up your body and arms in the air after a jump. Usually ends badly. Stay loose, people.
Derailleur – The mechanism that moves your chain between gears. Front derailleurs are basically extinct on modern mountain bikes. Rear derailleurs do all the work now.
Dialled – When something is perfectly set up or you’ve mastered a section of trail. “My suspension is finally dialled” or “I’ve got that rock garden properly dialled now.”
Direct Mount – A way of attaching components (usually brakes or derailleurs) directly to the frame without an adapter. Stiffer and cleaner looking than older systems.
Doubletrack – Wide trail, often an old road or fire road. Usually connects singletrack sections. Not as exciting to ride but gets you where you need to go.
Down Country – Newer category between XC and trail bikes. Faster and lighter than trail bikes, more capable than XC bikes on descents. The Goldilocks bike for fast riding.
Downslope – The landing surface of a jump. Usually angled downward so you’re not landing on flat ground, which is about as pleasant as it sounds.
Dropper Post – A seatpost you can raise and lower on the fly with a handlebar remote. Absolute game-changer for descending. If you don’t have one, get one. Seriously.
Dual Crown Fork – Suspension fork with two crowns clamping the stanchions, found on downhill bikes. Stiffer and stronger than single-crown forks but heavier and with limited steering range.
E
Enduro – Both a type of bike (150-180mm travel, designed for descending) and a racing format where you pedal between timed downhill stages. Also used more generally to mean aggressive, technical riding.
EMTB – Electric mountain bike. Has a motor that assists your pedalling. Lets you ride further, faster, or with less fitness. Controversial with some traditionalists, brilliant fun according to most people who actually ride them.
F
Flat Pedals – Standard pedals without clips or cleats. Modern flat pedals have pins that grip your shoe soles. Excellent for learning, preferred by many experienced riders for technical terrain or jumping.
Flow – That magical feeling when you’re riding smoothly, carrying speed, and everything just clicks. Also describes trails that have a nice rhythm to them. Everyone wants more flow.
Fork – Your front suspension. Absolutely crucial component on a mountain bike. Don’t cheap out here if you can possibly help it.
G
Gap Jump – A jump with a gap between takeoff and landing. You need to clear the gap or you’ll have a bad time. More commitment required than tabletops.
Geometry – The angles and measurements that define how a bike handles. Head angle, seat angle, reach, stack, wheelbase. Modern geometry has evolved dramatically, making bikes longer, lower, and slacker.
Gnarly – Difficult, technical, rough terrain. “That rock garden was properly gnarly.”
Granny Ring/Granny Gear – The easiest (biggest rear cog) gear, traditionally called this because even your granny could pedal up hills in it. Less commonly used now that most bikes run single chainrings.
Gravel Bike – Drop bar bike designed for unpaved roads and light trails. Popular for bikepacking and mixed-surface riding. Not a mountain bike, but you’ll hear about them.
Grippy – When tyres or trail surface provide good traction. “The trail was wet but still grippy.”
Groupset – The collection of drivetrain components (shifters, derailleurs, cassette, chain, cranks). Usually from the same manufacturer and tier. Shimano Deore or SRAM GX are common groupsets.
H
Hardtail – Mountain bike with front suspension but no rear suspension. Lighter, simpler, cheaper, more efficient, and more demanding than full-suspension bikes. Brilliant for skill development.
Head Angle/Head Tube Angle – The angle of your fork/head tube. Steeper (70-71°) makes bikes turn quickly, better for climbing. Slacker (65-68°) makes bikes more stable at speed and confident on descents. Modern bikes have gotten progressively slacker.
Huck – To jump or drop off something, often with more commitment than skill. “I’m going to huck this drop.”
J
Jump Line – A trail or section made up entirely of jumps in sequence. Flow, rhythm, and commitment required.
K
Kicker – A small or large jump with a steep take-off. Kickers usually involve hang-time in the air. See also booter.
Kit – Your riding outfit. More commonly used in road cycling, but mountain bikers use it too.
Klunker – Old, outdated mountain bike. The original mountain bikes from the 1970s were klunkers.
KOM – King of the Mountain. Strava term for fastest male time on a segment. See also QOM.
L
Ladder Bridge – Elevated trail feature, usually wooden, that gains or loses elevation. Can be sketch-inducing.
LBS – Local Bike Shop. Support them when you can.
Lid – Slang for a helmet. See also half-lid, full-face, and breakaway.
Lift-Served – Bike park trails accessed via chairlift or gondola. Heaven for descenders, questionable value for fitness enthusiasts.
Line – Your chosen path through a section of trail. Good riders read the terrain and pick efficient lines. Poor riders (all of us starting out) just aim for the middle and hope.
Linkage – The mechanical bits connecting the rear shock to the frame on a full-suspension bike. Different designs affect how the suspension behaves.
Lip – The edge of a jump’s takeoff or landing. “Don’t clip the lip on that jump.”
Loam – Soft, organic, grippy dirt. The absolute dream surface for mountain biking. Pacific Northwest and parts of the UK are blessed with loam. The rest of us are jealous.
Lockout – Suspension feature that firms up the fork or shock, reducing suspension movement. Useful for climbing smooth fire roads. Less useful than marketing would have you believe.
M
Manual – Riding on just the rear wheel without pedalling (unlike a wheelie). A useful skill for getting over obstacles and maintaining speed through rough sections.
Modulation – How controllable your brakes are. Good modulation means you can precisely control braking force. Poor modulation is on/off with nothing in between.
Mullet – Bike with 29″ front wheel and 27.5″ rear wheel. Gives you the rollover of 29″ up front with the playfulness of 27.5″ out back. Business in the front, party in the rear, as the saying goes.
N
Noodle – When your arms or legs go weak and wobbly, usually from fatigue or fear. “My arms were completely noodled by the end of that descent.”
O
OTB (Over The Bars) – Going over the handlebars, usually due to braking too hard or hitting something unexpected. Rarely ends well. “I went proper OTB on that root.”
Opposite Lock – Steering into a slide to control it, like drifting a car. Looks brilliant, saves crashes, takes practice.
P
Pepino – Spanish for cucumber. Randomly also used to denote a very nice bike, in some circles.
Pinch Flat/Snake Bite – When you compress your tyre so hard it pinches the inner tube against the rim, creating two small holes (the snake bite). A good reason to run tubeless.
Ply/TPI – Threads per inch in tyre construction. Higher TPI generally means lighter, more supple tyres. Lower TPI means tougher, more durable tyres.
Preload – Initial tension in a spring. More relevant to coil shocks than air shocks. Not the same as air pressure or sag.
Pump – Pushing down and pulling up on the bike to generate speed without pedalling. Absolutely fundamental skill for efficient riding. Also, the thing you inflate tyres with, but context makes that obvious.
Pump Track – A looped track made of rollers and berms designed to be ridden without pedalling. Brilliant for learning to pump and corner. Addictively fun.
Q
Quiver – Your collection of bikes. “What’s in your quiver?” means “What bikes do you own?”
R
Ratchet – Clicking your cranks backwards to reposition your pedals for the next obstacle without moving forward. Essential skill for technical terrain.
Reach – Horizontal distance from the bottom bracket to the head tube. One of the most important geometry measurements. Longer reach = more stable, more stretched out. Modern bikes have much longer reach than older bikes.
Rebound (Damping) – Controls how fast your suspension extends after compressing. Too fast and you’ll bounce. Too slow and it packs down on repeated hits. Getting rebound right is crucial.
Rigid – A bike or fork with no suspension at all. Some riders love the simplicity and connection to the trail. Most riders think they’re mad.
Roost – Kicking up dirt, rocks, or mud as you accelerate or corner hard. Looks dramatic, makes your mates behind you less happy.
Rowdy – Aggressive, rough, challenging riding or terrain. “That descent was properly rowdy.”
S
Sag – How much your suspension compresses under your weight when sitting on the bike. Usually set at 25-30% of total travel. Getting sag right is the foundation of good suspension setup.
Scrub – Pushing the bike down and forward through jumps to reduce airtime and maintain speed. Looks fast, is fast, takes skill.
Seat Angle/Seat Tube Angle – The angle of your seat tube. Steeper angles (74-76°) put you over the pedals for better climbing position. Modern bikes run much steeper seat angles than older bikes.
Send It – To commit fully to a feature or section. “Are you going to send that gap jump?” Usually said right before someone does something they might regret.
Session – Repeatedly riding the same feature or section to dial it in or just because it’s fun. “Let’s session these jumps for a bit.”
Shred – To ride aggressively and skilfully. “That descent was proper shredding.” Also used as a noun: “Let’s go for a shred.”
Single Track – Trail only wide enough for one bike. As opposed to double track (fire roads, etc). Usually the most fun type of trail.
Skid – Locking up your rear wheel and sliding. Looks cool in films, ruins trails and wastes momentum in reality.
Slack – Shallow angle, particularly referring to head angle. Slacker = more stable, more confidence-inspiring on descents. “That bike is super slack at 64°.”
Snake Bite – See Pinch Flat. Called this because the two puncture holes look like a snake bite.
Squish – Suspension travel. “How much squish does your bike have?” Deeply unscientific but everyone knows what you mean.
Stack – Vertical distance from the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube. Higher stack = more upright position.
Stanchions – The upper tubes of your fork that slide into the lowers. Keep them clean and scratch-free for long fork life.
Steep – Sharp angle. Can refer to geometry (steep head angle) or terrain (steep descent). Context is everything.
Stoked – Excited, happy, hyped. “I’m so stoked for this ride.”
Super Boost – Even wider rear hub standard (157mm) found on some enduro and downhill bikes. Provides maximum stiffness but limits wheel compatibility.
Switchback – A tight corner that reverses direction, usually on a climb. Proper technique required to avoid dabbing or walking.
T
Tabletop – A jump with a flat top connecting the takeoff and landing. Safer than gap jumps because you can land on the flat bit if you come up short.
Taco – When a wheel gets bent so badly it looks like a taco. Usually terminal for the wheel. “I totally tacoed my rear wheel on that rock.”
Tech/Technical – Difficult terrain requiring precise bike handling and good line choice. Rocks, roots, tight turns, drops. “That trail is properly technical.”
Tokens – Volume spacers for air suspension. Add them to make suspension more progressive (ramps up more at the end of travel). Remove them for more linear feel.
Trail – Both a type of bike (120-150mm travel, designed for all-around fun) and, well, an actual trail. Context sorts it out.
Travel – Amount of suspension movement, measured in millimetres. More travel = more capability on rough terrain, but also more weight and potentially less efficiency.
Tubeless – Running tyres without inner tubes, using sealant instead. Fewer punctures, better traction, lower pressures. Minor faff to set up but absolutely worth it.
W
Wash Out – When your tyres lose grip in a corner and slide out. Usually followed by hitting the ground.
Wheelbase – Distance between your front and rear axles. Longer wheelbase = more stable, less nimble. Shorter wheelbase = more playful, twitchier at speed.
Wheelie – Riding on the rear wheel whilst pedalling (unlike a manual). Useful for getting up steps or over obstacles. Also just fun.
Whip – Turning the bike sideways in the air. Looks brilliant, serves no practical purpose, everyone wants to learn them.
X
XC (Cross Country) – The lightest, fastest type of mountain biking. Focused on climbing and covering distance efficiently. Also a racing discipline. Think of it as the road cycling of mountain biking.
Y
Yard Sale – A spectacular crash where you and your bike (and sometimes all your gear) end up scattered across the trail like a yard sale. Entertaining for spectators, less so for the rider.
The Bottom Line
Mountain bike slang isn’t meant to be exclusive or confusing. It’s just shorthand that evolved so riders could communicate efficiently about technical topics. Now you’re in on the secret.
Did we miss something? Mountain biking is always evolving, and so is the language around it. If there’s a term you’ve heard that’s not on this list, drop it in the comments below and we’ll add it. Help us make this the most comprehensive MTB slang dictionary out there.
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