When preparing for a bicycle tour in a new place, especially a foreign place, it is good to check on the vocabulary. I mean, it is good to learn some words that may deem as very useful like the words for ‘water’ or ‘toilet’. Personally I prefer the learning by doing process - directly from the locals. However I know people that prefer to learn in their preparation. And I do not find this bad, in fact very smart, since I’m certain that learning essential words is not the only thing one can have a reason to talk to local people. So here is something I’ve compiled and is focused on Macedonian language. Perhaps in future I may increase it with some other languages if requested.

 To start first, just to inform people that do not already know that the European Economic and Social Committee has published a very useful lexicon that you can use when you go bicycle touring - The European Cycling Lexicon. Though it contains all EU languages, including Arab, Russian, Japanese and Chinese it fails to refer to all European languages. But then again there are pictures that may help you communicate your need.

 In any case, I think that if you have decided to take a bicycle tour in the Balkans you deserve to have some more languages up your sleeve. For example Macedonian language if you do decide to have Macedonia as your main destination.

 The Macedonian language is not that abundant in special bicycle terms for every single thing there is out there. But Macedonians do try to keep up with the ever expanding bicycle related word list. Sometimes this is confusing since many people are not sure how things are called, or even worse - what that particular word means in relation to bicycles. So sometimes there are more than one term that are referred to the same bicycle related thing. This is something like dialects. The more people you ask, the more one may get confused. That is why I’ve included all of these versions here. Other situation is when several English terms may have one same Macedonian term, be advised that it is merely circumstantial to the context of the sentence where it is used that defines if it is one or the other bicycle related thing. For you, this means that even if you use the right word, people still may do not know what you are talking about.

 In many cases English terms or German terms have been domesticated. And at times these terms are used more than the Macedonian ones, even if there is one. So you could try also to say the bicycle related thing in English and hope for the best. A general indicator is the age of the person you are talking to. The older people know more German terms and Macedonian terms. While the younger people use English terms more. Knowing this, you really need not to continue reading and learning Macedonian terms.

 If you insist in learning some Macedonian words, know the following. You will not find expressions here, only words. Because I think that a person that does not know the language will not find use in expressions since then the other person may answer something very long that you will not understand. From my experience one single word, a noun, leads to the right explanation that you need. Just imagine the moment when you are in a public place and you really need to go… you do not just walk around and tell stories, you just say ‘toilet’ and everything is revealed to you.

 The words here are provided in the following concept: English - Macedonian in Cyrillic letters / Macedonian with Latin letters. The words are organized in four groups for convenience when browsing: general bicycle related terms; bicycle parts and details; bicycle accessories and tools; and other essential words. And just for the sake of laughs, sometimes I’ve included some trivia in the explanation of the word.

General bicycle related terms
alloy - легура / legura
aluminium - алуминиум / aluminium
bicycle - велосипед / velosiped (formal noun)
          - точак / tochak (informal noun)
bicycle repair man - точкар / tochkar
carbon - kарбон / karbon
diameter - диаметар / diametar
lenght - должина / dolzhina
mechanic - механичар / mehanichar
mountain bike - планински велосипед / planinski velosiped
number - број / broj
pressure - притисок / pritisok
repair - поправка / popravka
recumbent bicycle - лежипед / lezhiped (I am not able to say that this is official term, but it is used here and there)
road - пат / pat
       - друм / drum (less often used, archaic even)
road bike - друмски велосипед / drumski velosiped
service - сервис / servis
size - големина / golemina
steel - челик / chelik
tandem - тандем / tandem
width - ширина / shirina


Bicycle parts and details
axle - осовина / osovina
back - позади / pozadi
balls - кугли / kugli
bar ends - рачки / rachki (though using the same noun as levers it does have different contaxtual meaning)
bearing - лагер / lager
bell - ѕвонче / dzvonche
bolt - завртка / zavrtka (formal noun, though rarely used)
      - штраф / shtraf (comes from German language and is more often used)
bottom bracket - средна осовина / sredna osovina (there is a lack of a specific word for this)
brake - кочница / kochnica
cable - сајла / sajla
cable housing - кошуљица / koshuljica
caliper brake - потковица кочница / potkovica kochnica
                  - клешта кочница / kleshta kochnica
cassette - касета / kaseta
chain - ланец / lanec
coaster brake - контра / kontra
cog - ѕвезда / dzvezda
cone - конус / konus
crank - курбла / kurbla
crank set - погон / pogon
             - пренос / prenos (regardles of the fact that the upper term is correct, some people use this term instead)
crown - круна / kruna
cup - шоља / sholja
      - лежиште / lezhishte
derailer - менувач / menuvach
derailer hanger - ушка / ushka
disc - диск / disk
drivetrain - пренос / prenos
             - погон / pogon
             - погонски состав / pogonski sostav
drum brake - бубањ кочница / bubanj kochnica
dynamo - динамо / dinamo (used to be a famous football club from Yugoslavia, now Croatia)
elastomer - еластомер / elastomer (example of international terms, or pure lack of own words for these things)
eyelet - окце / okce
fender - калник / kalnik
         - браник / branik (more often used than the other word, though not really correct in the terms of the meaning)
flat tyre - дупната гума / dupnata guma
fork - виљушка / viljushka
frame - рам / ram
         - рамк / ramka
front - напред / napred
gear - брзина / brzina
handlebar - гидан / gidan
handlebar grip - рачка / rachka
hub - главина / glavina
hydraulic - хидраулични / hidraulichni
kickstand - штендер / shtender
             - ногарка / nogarka
lever - рачка / rachka
light - светло / svetlo
lug - муф / muf
nut - навртка / navrtka (formal noun, though rarely used)
      - мутер / muter (comes from German language and is more often used)
mudguard - калник / kalnik
              - браник / branik (more often used than the other word, though not really correct in the terms of the meaning)
pedal - педала / pedala
puncture - дупната гума / dupnata guma
rim - бандаж / bandazh
     - обрач / obrach
saddle - седло / sedlo
screw - see bolt
seat - седиште / sedishte
seat post - колче / kolche
speed - брзина / brzina
spokes - жици / zhici (not a correct term, but used verry often)
          - шпици / shpici
sprockets - верижници / verizhnici (this is the technically correct term, but no one uses it)
             - ѕвезди / dzvezdi (much more used than the appropriate one)
stem - стем / stem (total lack of local word)
suspension - амортизер / amortizer
tape - трака / traka
top tube - кадро / kadro
             - шипка / shipka
thread - навој / navoj
tubeless - тубелес / tubeles
tyre - гума / guma
valve - ѕивана / dzivana
washer - шајбна / shajbna
wheel - тркало / trkalo

Accessories & tools
allen wrench - инбус / inbus
bell - ѕвонче / dzvonche
bidon - бидон / bidon
bungee cords - пајаци / pajaci
grease - маст / mast
helmet - кацига / kaciga
lock - катанец / katanec (much more used than the other)
      - клучалка / kluchalka
oil - уље / ulje
panniers - бисаѓи / bisagji
pliers - клешта / kleshta
pump - пумпа / pumpa
spaner - see wrench
tool - алат / alat
water bottle - бидон / bidon
welding - заварување / zavaruvanje
wrench - клуч / kluch

Other essential words
bank - банка / banka
bed - кревет / krevet
beer - пиво / pivo
breakfast - доручек / doruchek
camp - камп / kamp
chocolate - чоколадо / chokolado
dinner - вечера / vechera
doctor - доктор / doctor
exchange - менувачница / menuvachnica
food - храна / hrana
juice - сок / sok
hallo - здраво / zdravo
hotel - хотел / hotel
hunger - глад / glad
lunch - ручек / ruchek
market - пазар / pazar
meat - месо / meso
money - пари / pari
liquor - ракија / rakija
paper - хартија / hartija
police - полиција / policija
post - пошта / poshta
shop - продавница / prodavnica
tent - шатор / shator
thank you - фала / fala
toilet - тоалет / toalet
town - град / grad
vegetables - зеленчук / zelenchuk
village - село / selo
water - вода / voda
where - каде / kade

For compiling this dictionary I had my inspiration from the Sheldon Brown’s Glossary, and The European Cycling Lexicon. Though it was my own experience that decided which words to include and which not to. If you have a comment or would like me something to change or add, please, do contact me.