Ride On! Top 8 Overseas Shopping Sites For Bike Parts & Everything You Should Know

Calling all cycling lovers! From the outside looking in, cycling looks simple—all you have to do is pedal, right? But it can sometimes come off as intimidating. Don’t worry! From the basics of road cycling to overseas shopping sites where you can get cheaper bike parts, we’ve got you covered. The right bike parts will take your cycling to the next level!

Our editor has compiled 8 best overseas shop recommendations for you to shop for every part of a bicycle online, and ship to Singapore hassle-free with the help of Buyandship! If you’re a beginner, we’ve also included a bike part glossary for you to get to know each bike parts, with key bike maintenance tips to prolong the life of your bike and save money!

Table of Contents:

► What is Road Cycling?
► Glossary for Beginners : Bike Parts
► Top 8 Overseas Shopping Sites to Shop for Bike Parts
► Bike Maintenance Tips Every Biker Should Know

💡 Tips : If you are not sure whether the bike parts and related accessories can be shipped, feel free to send the product link(s) to our live chat or PM us on Facebook/Instagram for validation!

What is Road Cycling?

With the unforgiving hot weather in Singapore, we would spend a lot of time under the air-conditioing. Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve seen a shift in people spending more time on leisure activities like cycling! Anyone who rides a bicycle on paved streets or roads is a form of road cycling – the most popular form of bike racing!

Whether the purpose of cycling is to run errands, commute, exercise, or just to simply tour around the city, cyclists who pedal primarily for recreation and exercise may still ride for one or more of these other reasons!

Glossary for Beginners : Bike Parts

• Bar Ends :  the angled extensions attached to the ends of some flat handlebars and riser handlebars that provide an alternate place to rest your hands
  
  
• Bottom Bracket : the collection of ball bearings and spindle housed within the bottom bracket shell of the frame, which provides the “shaft” mechanism on which the crank arms turn
  
  
• Braze-ons : threaded sockets that may or may not be present on the bike frame that provides a place to attach accessories such as bottle cages, cargo racks, and fenders
  
  
• Cage : the preferred fancy name for a water bottle holder
  
  
• Cassette : the collection of gears that are attached to the rear wheel on most modern bicycles (see “Freewheel”)
  
  
• Chainrings : the gears that are attached to the right-hand crank arm nearer to the front of the bike. A bike with two chainrings is said to have a “double crank;” a bike with three chainrings is said to have a “triple crank”
  
  
• Cog : a single gear on a cassette or freewheel gear cluster, or the single rear gear on a fixed-gear bike
  
  
• Crank Arms : the pedals screw into these; these bolt onto the bottom bracket spindle
  
  
• Cyclocomputer : the preferred fancy word for an electronic speedometer/odometer
  
  
• Derailer : the device that is bolted to the frame that handles the job of moving the chain from one gear to another when you shift gears. The front derailer handles the shifting on your chainrings and is usually controlled by your left-hand shifter. The rear derailer handles the shifting on your cassette or freewheel and is usually controlled by your right-hand shifter
  
  
• Derailer Hanger : a part of the frame where the rear derailleur is attached. It is usually an integrated part of the frame on steel and titanium bikes but is a separate, replaceable piece on aluminum and carbon fiber bikes
  
  
• Drop Bar : the type of handlebar found on road racing bikes, with the half-circle-shaped curved ends that extend below the top, flatter part of the bar
  
  
• Dropouts : the U-shaped notches at the rear of the bike frame, and at the bottom ends of the front fork legs, where the wheels are held in place. So-called because if you loosen the bolts holding a wheel in place, the wheel “drops out”
  
  
• Fixed Gear : “Fixie” for short. It’s a type of bicycle that has a single gear and does not have a freewheel or cassette/freehub mechanism, so you are unable to coast. If the wheels are moving, you have to be pedaling
  
  
• Flat Bar : a handlebar with little or no upward or downward curve; some flat bars will have a slight backward curve, or “sweep”
  
  
• Fork : the two-legged part of the frame that holds the front wheel in place. The steerer tube is a part of the fork that extends up into the frame through the head tube
  
  
• Frame : the main structural part of the bicycle, commonly made of steel, aluminum, titanium, or carbon fiber. Composed of a top tube, head tube, down tube, bottom bracket shell, seat tube, seat stays, and chainstays (see image). A-frame and fork sold as a combination are referred to as a frameset
  
  
• Freehub Body : a part of the hub on most rear wheels, it provides that coasting mechanism that transfers power to your wheel when you are pedaling forward but allows the rear wheel to turn freely when you are pedaling backward or not pedaling at all. The cassette is attached to the freehub body
  
  
• Freewheel : the collection of gears attached to the rear wheel found on most older bicycles and some lower-end modern bicycles. Both the gears and the coasting mechanism are part of the freewheel component, as opposed to cassette gears, where the gears are a solid, non-moving component, and the coasting mechanism is part of the wheel’s hub
  
  
• Headset : the collection of bearings housed within the head tube of the bike frame; it provides smooth steering
  
  
• Hub : the central component of a wheel; inside the hub are the axle and ball bearings
  
  
• Nipple : a small flanged nut that holds a spoke in place on the rim of a wheel. Turning the nipples with a spoke wrench is what allows the tension in the spokes to be adjusted, in order to “true” the wheel, i.e. make sure the wheel is perfectly round.
  
  
• Rim : the outer “hoop” part of a wheel. Usually made of aluminum, although can be made of steel on some older or low-end bikes, or made of carbon fiber on some high-end racing bikes
  
  
• Rim Strip / Rip Tape : a layer of material, usually cloth, plastic, or rubber, that is installed around the outside of a rim (between the rim and inner tube), to prevent the ends of the spokes from puncturing the inner tube
  
  
• Riser Bar : a type of handlebar with a “U” shape in the middle. Some riser bars have a very shallow “U” shape, like on some mountain bikes and most hybrid bikes, but some have a very deep “U” shape, like on some retro-style cruiser bikes
  
  
• Saddle : the fancy word for “seat”
  
  
• Seatpost : the rod that connects the saddle to the frame
  
  
• Seatpost Clamp : the collar located at the top of the seat tube on the frame, which holds the Seatpost at the desired height. Some seatpost clamps have a quick-release lever that allows for easy, tool-free adjustment, while others require a tool to tighten or loosen the clamp
  
  
• Stem : the part that connects the handlebar to the frame. Do not call this the “gooseneck,” unless you want to make it perfectly clear that you are a clueless newbie. Stems come in two varieties, threadless–which clamps to the outside of the fork’s steerer tube, and threaded, which is held in place by an expanding wedge bolt inside the fork’s steerer tube
  
  
• Wheel : the complete assembly of the hub, spokes, nipples, and rim
  
  

Where to Find Bike Parts?

Bike Maintenance Tips Every Biker Should Know

No one is born with comprehensive bicycle mechanic skills – but learning about the basic bike maintenance will dramatically prolong the life of your bike components which in turn will save you money. Don’t forget to bookmark these key tips we’ve compiled for you:

1. Keep Your Bike Clean

A bike that is regularly cleaned will be far easier to maintain. Give it a thorough wash especially after rainy weather with hot soapy water and a sponge, with degreaser applied to the chain. After you rinse-dry the bike, add light lubricant to the gears and chain before wiping off with a cloth.

2. Always Check Your Tires

Here’s an easy, quick procedure before your ride! Check that your tires are not overly worn, and look for cuts or flints, stones, glass in the tread, removing any that could possibly cause a puncture. Squeeze the tyres and make sure they’re pumped up to good pressure.

3. Learn How to Fix a Flat Tube

If you start getting many flats with the same wheel, check your tire and the inside of the rim for sharp objects or protruding spoke. Youtube has tons of good videos in all languages guiding you on how to prepare, glue the patch on and remount the tire. Master this skill and your rides will become more enjoyable, and a lot safer!

4. Make Sure Your Breaks Are Adjusted Correctly

You can do this by tightening the adjusting barrel (if your brakes have one) in the brake lever. Tightening the screw moves the pads closer to the rim. You may also need to unscrew the bolt holding the wire, tighten the wire and then screw the bolt back on. Before tightening the bolt again, twist the adjuster holding the wire and the wire housing to the loosest setting. This way you have more room to adjust the brakes.

It is also important to keep both the pads and the braking surface clean from dirt and oil. Dirty pads wear out themselves and the braking surface substantially faster.

5. Lubricate!

Do you get annoyed when someone rides past you with loud rattling and squeaking sounds coming from the chain and sprockets? That is the sound of metal rubbing against metal, grime and mud because all lubrication has long since worn off. It is not cheap to replace chain and sprockets, so save yourself some money by regularly cleaning and lubricating the drivetrain of your bike!