BICYCLE MECHANIC LANGUAGES SPREADSHEET

This article will feature a language spreadsheet of bicycle mechanic terms in various languages. It is primarily desisgned for the race mechanic, but is useful for any any bicycle mechanic.

There are a limited number of words a person needs to get along in this environment. It is useful to know your bicycle component terms, but you can always just bring along the part in question. A few adjectives are useful, such as good, bad, and broken. Try to know numbers, but these can simply be written down when necessary. It certainly helps to know a few simple phrases. However, it is best to simply begin discussions in your native tongue. The person you are trying to communicate with may understand, and this can help prevent misunderstanding.

For example, it is useful to know a few things, such as:
Can you help me? In Marseille, France: "Pouvez-vous m'aider?"
I am hungry. In Palma de Mallorca, Spain: "Tengo hambre."
Where is a bicycle store? In Lugnao, Switzerland: "Dove c'è un negozio di biciclette?"

The Bicycle_Mechanic_Languages Version 1.0. is available here as a free download. It contains about 450 terms in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Swedish. There are tabs for part names, numbers, phrases, and instructions for use. English is loaded as the first column, with words in alphabetical order according to English. The user may select the entire table and sort alphabetically by other languages. To do this, look in the menu bar under "Data". Select "Sort" and select the column head desired. Click OK to sort.

NOTE: Please remember this information is only intended to supplement your knowledge of a second language. It provides no pronunciation or syntax.

To download the form as an Excel® file, go to Bicycle_Mechanic_Languages_3.xls (current as of August 1, 2007). You will need a program capable of handling Excel® files. It is recommended to use these Excel® files over the PDF below.

To get a printable PDF, go to Bicycle_Mechanic_Languages_1.pdf. You will not be able to manipulate these files. (NOTE: PDF does not contain Swedish or Portuguese.)

The table will look something like the image below. The complete table is very long, and does not make for clean web page, so I recommend you download the data as the Windows Excel® file.

Be assured that there are errors and omissions in this document. There are some holes for terms in some languages. Feedback from the field is appreciated. However, please be patient and explain clearly why you suggest a change. It is necessary to double check changes, and this is a volunteer project. It will take some time to post new versions. The spreadsheet includes instructions for feedback.

There have been several people involved in the development of this project. Their efforts are appreciated:

Sheldon Brown of Harris Cycle
Miguel Saez Brieba of Zaragoza, Spain
Chris Clinton of promechanics.com
Scott Daubert of Trek®
Francis Kelsell of Mallon Sarl, France
Jean-Pierre Busti of Marseille, France
Dr. Colin Howat III of KU, Lawrence, Kansas
Simone Roncale of Campagnolo®
Vincent Gee of Discovery® Professional Cycling Team
Thomas Flegel, Germany
Luca Cedroni of Vittoria®, Italy
Claudio at FSA Europe
Jon Lindgren and Nick Beaumont- Sweden