I am Schwinn's (what?)

June 21, 2008 9:52 PM

What do you call this part of a bike? (Photo inside)

Here's a photo I took today at a bike repair clinic. (Other views are in the set as well.) I notice that a lot of bikes from days gone by have a similar decorative embellishment connected to the top tube, sort of resembling a motorcycle gas tank. I'm writing captions for the photos, and want to call attention to the vents in the (whatever it's called). So... does it have a name?

posted by Fuzzy Skinner to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

I think it's just called a "tank."
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:26 PM on June 21

Or bicycle tank.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:26 PM on June 21

Yup, I've always thought of it as a tank. Now that cruisers are sort of coming back into style, expect to see more of them.
posted by the dief at 10:36 PM on June 21

Like the earlier posters, Wikipedia's Cruiser bicycle article refers to it as a "decorative tank."
posted by RichardP at 10:41 PM on June 21

Vintage Schwinn collectors also call it "tank."
posted by hydrophonic at 10:48 PM on June 21

Thanks all. I was thinking of it as "faux tank" so I guess I wasn't far off! You're all best answer!

I think I'll refer to it as "decorative tank" in my captions, though. That seems to make sense.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 10:53 PM on June 21

In that article, decorative is just an adjective to "tank" and not a part of the actual name of the bicycle part.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 11:09 PM on June 21

In that article, decorative is just an adjective to "tank" and not a part of the actual name of the bicycle part.

Yep, understood. But I think it's more understandable to the average reader. Not that more than a dozen people will ever read my captions, but still.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 11:17 PM on June 21

Some 'tanks' held batteries for headlamps.
posted by Gungho at 5:06 AM on June 22