drivetrain vs drivechain

[citoyen]

What's your preferred term for the parts of the bike that link your legs to the wheels?

I've always used the term drivetrain, which is defined in Collins as "the parts of a vehicle that are concerned with generating power and transmitting it to the wheels" - for me, this encompasses the chainset, chain, sprockets and derailleurs. And bottom bracket as well, I suppose.

But lately I've heard the term drivechain (or drive chain, if you prefer) being used to describe the same. For me, this would refer to just the chain itself and none of the other moving parts.

It's not something I feel strongly about, I'm just interested in what others think.

[Cudzoziemiec]

For me, drivetrain is everything between and including pedals and rear hub, or the equivalents in other machines (I don't think its use is limited to vehicles), while drive chain (I think I'd write it as two words in most contexts, but possibly as one in a context like this forum) is the chain itself. So unless you have a chain-steered machine, or something like that, drive is superfluous.

[citoyen]

So unless you have a chain-steered machine, or something like that, drive is superfluous.

That's what I thought.

I suppose on tandems there's a distinction between the drive chain and the timing chain though.

I don't normally think of pedals as being part of the drivetrain but I guess they're a pretty vital link in the system! I wouldn't normally think of the hub as distinct from the wheel as a whole either, but I can see why you might.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Good point, well timed!

[Cudzoziemiec]

Although I would include both the timing and drive chains as part of the drivetrain. I'm not sure why the term transmission has never caught on for (bi/tri/etc)cycles. Perhaps because of its common use with cars?

[hubner]

But lately I've heard the term drivechain (or drive chain, if you prefer) being used to describe the same. For me, this would refer to just the chain itself and none of the other moving parts.

Maybe someone misheard "drivetrain" as "drivechain"!

[Kim]

I don't normally think of pedals as being part of the drivetrain but I guess they're a pretty vital link in the system! I wouldn't normally think of the hub as distinct from the wheel as a whole either, but I can see why you might.

Pretty important to consider the hub on its own when it's gears-inna-can.

[citoyen]

Maybe someone misheard "drivetrain" as "drivechain"!

That's what I assumed, and is essentially why I thought it was worth asking the question.

[Greenbank]

Maybe someone is yanking your train?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Once one person starts saying it, everyone will catch on. A train reaction.

[red marley]

It's surely a cycling eggcorn?

(sorry I didn't manage shunt in a link to some train/chain pun in my post)

[mattc]

It's a Moo Point.

[the opinion of a cow, and therefore of little value (c) Friends, about a billion years ago]

Once one person starts saying it, everyone will catch on. A train reaction.

 

[Mr Larrington]

I have never heard the term "drivechain" until now.

I hope most fervently never to hear it again either.

[cycleman]

transmission  .

[zigzag]

i've always considered drivetrain as a chain plus the bits that it moves by engagement, i.e. chainrings, cassette and jockey wheels. certainly would not count the hubs or bb in.

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's surely a cycling eggcorn?

(sorry I didn't manage shunt in a link to some train/chain pun in my post)

From the examples on Wiki:

mating name instead of maiden name[7]

I've never heard that one before but it's very good!

[L CC]

In Training circles they call it a chain, even though there's no chains involved. Maybe your 'friends' are referring to the muscles not the bike?

ObliWiki

[aidan.f]

Sounds rather Transatlantic. Those types who call sprockets cogs. Wear their pants outside their trousers
And can never stand being corrected.

[Kim]

It's surely a cycling eggcorn?

From the examples on Wiki:

Hmm.  Does 'Wiki' as an abbreviation of 'Wikipedia' count as an eggcorn?  I know it's common usage these days, but it tends to suggest that the user is unaware of what 'wiki' means, and are treating it as a sort of brand name.

[citoyen]

Hmm.  Does 'Wiki' as an abbreviation of 'Wikipedia' count as an eggcorn?

No.

I know it's common usage these days, but it tends to suggest that the user is unaware of what 'wiki' means, and are treating it as a sort of brand name.

It's like the ham in hamburger which isn't really ham.

[Pickled Onion]

More like calling all vacuum cleaners hoovers, etc.

[Jakob W]

Except in reverse; the generic term has become the brand...

The only similar example I could come up with was the 'an internet/the Internet' distinction, which is almost totally obsolete these days. (See also 'on the net', which nowadays always means 'on the Internet'.)

[Mr Larrington]

It's like the ham in hamburger which isn't really ham.

In mortal combat I am joined
With monstrous words wherever coined.
"Beefburger" is a term worth hating,
Both fraudulent and infuriating,
Contrived to foster the belief
That only beefburgers are made of beef,
Implying with shoddy flim and flam
That hamburgers are made of ham.

[Exit Stage Left]

Neither. The confusion probably derives from 'Supply Chain' and 'Supply Train'. The latter is military. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_(military)

The correct term is 'Transmission'. 'Powertrain' includes the engine when used for vehicles.

[Cudzoziemiec]

It's surely a cycling eggcorn?

From the examples on Wiki:

Hmm.  Does 'Wiki' as an abbreviation of 'Wikipedia' count as an eggcorn?  I know it's common usage these days, but it tends to suggest that the user is unaware of what 'wiki' means, and are treating it as a sort of brand name.

An eggcorn originates as a mis-hearing. Wiki for Wikipedia is just an abbreviation. If people started calling it Wickedpedia, that might be an eggcorn.