Filipino cyclists have their own words for the road, the bike and each other. Here are the ones we have found in print, grouped by subject. The last section says where each group comes from.
The word pedalan
Pedalan is the name of this site. In Kapampangan as people here use it, the word means pedaling. The first event listed on the site, Pedalan with the Tour Legends, carries the name with permission.
We give that meaning as local usage. We have not found the word in a dictionary. Kapampangan does build many words with the ending -an, and pedalan has that shape. If you can point us to a printed source, please get in touch.
On the road
- padyak: a stamp of the feet, and by extension pedaling or cycling. In everyday talk it can also mean a pedicab.
- padyakan: cycling, or a ride. A 2026 news post from Pampanga begins “Hindi nagpahuli sa padyakan”.
- siklista: cyclist, from the Spanish ciclista.
- ahon: an ascent, a climb.
- lusong: the opposite of ahon, a descent.
- remate: a sprint finish.
- takbo: pace.
- sikad: a pedal stroke, or cadence.
- laspag: exhausted.
- budol: being talked into riding longer and farther than you meant to.
- jempoy: a cyclist who is rude and inconsiderate to traffic, people on foot and other riders.
Parts of the bike
- batalya: frame.
- tinidor: fork.
- manibela: handlebar.
- upuan: saddle.
- gulong: tire or wheel.
- rayos: spokes.
- interior: inner tube.
- exterior: tire.
- pito: valve.
- boha or bowa: hubs.
- kadena: chain.
- plato: chainring.
- platito: small chainring.
- braso: crank.
- pidal: pedal.
- kambyo: shift lever.
- changer: front derailleur.
- roller: rear derailleur.
- salida: freewheel.
- preno: brake.
- tapalodo: fender.
In the workshop
- lagitik: ticking or creaking sounds, often from faulty bearings or unwanted friction.
- tono: literally “tune”. Adjusting and maintaining the derailleurs and shifters.
- kabyos: out of alignment. Said of a dropped chain, or of gears that shift on their own.
- bengkong: warped or crooked, most often of a wheel whose spokes need tensioning.
Words from the old tours
- lap: a stage of a tour. The founder of the Tour of Luzon, Geruncio Lacuesta, wrote that the first Tour had 5 laps.
- bikathon: an endurance cycling event, as in the Sunday Times Magazine headline of November 26, 1967, “The Bikathon: A Classic Test of Endurance”.
- Siklistang Angeleño: a cyclist of Angeles City. It was the title of the city’s 2024 tribute to its riders.
For the races behind these words, see our short history of the Philippine tours.
Where these words come from
Padyak, siklista, ahon and lusong are in Wiktionary. Budol, jempoy, the workshop words and eight of the parts (batalya, tinidor, rayos, pito, boha, plato, kambyo and tapalodo) come from a glossary published by the bike maker Bambike.
Remate, takbo, sikad, laspag and the rest of the parts come from a 2016 thread on the Pinoy MTBiker forum, where riders listed the terms they use. It is a riders’ list, not a dictionary, so usage may vary.
If we have missed a word you use, or have one wrong, please tell us.