A bicycle pedal is the part of a bicycle that the rider pushes with their foot to propel the bicycle. It provides the connection between the cyclist's foot or shoe and the crank allowing the leg to turn the bottom bracket spindle and propel the bicycle's wheels. Pedals usually consist of a spindle that threads into the end of the crank and a body, on which the foot rests or is attached, that is free to rotate on bearings with respect to the spindle. Pedals were initially attached to cranks connecting directly to the driven (usually front) wheel. The safety bicycle, as it is known today, came into being when the pedals were attached to a crank driving a sprocket that transmitted power to the driven wheel by means of a roller chain. The bottom bracket on a bicycle connects the crankset to the bicycle and allows the crankset to rotate freely. It is not a bracket as such. It contains a spindle that the crankset attaches to, and the bearings that allow the spindle and cranks to rotate. The chainrings and pedals attach to the cranks. The bottom bracket fits inside the bottom bracket shell, which connects the seat tube, down tube and chain stays as part of the bicycle frame. There is some disagreement as to whether the word axle or spindle should be used in particular contexts. The distinction is based on whether the axle/spindle is stationary, as that in a hub, or rotates, as that in a bottom bracket.[1] Sheldon Brown uses axle once and sp ndle four times in his bottom bracket glossary entry.[2] This article uses spindle throughout for consistency. An old American term for bottom bracket is hanger. This is usually used in connection with Ashtabula cranks, alternately termed one-piece cranks. An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside the hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type is referred to as a spindle. On cars and trucks, several senses of the word "Tandem axle" co-occur in casual usage, referring to the shaft itself, its housing, or simply any transverse pair of wheels. The shaft itself rotates with the wheel, being either bolted or splined in fixed relation to it, and is called an "axle" or "axle shaft". However, it is equally true that the surrounding housing (typically a casting) is also called an "axle" (or "axle housing"). An even broader (somewhat figurative) sense of the word refers to every transverse pair of wheels, whether they are connected to each other or not. Thus even transverse pairs of wheels in an independent suspension are usually called "an axle".