Originally Posted by domestique
Edit: I have always felt a "Fred" was a rich snoob that had too much money and not enough class or experience to back his 5,000+ bike up.
There was a good article in Mountain Bike Quarterly October 2004 called "I'm Not Fred" by Dan Keoppel and basically sums up a Fred as:
1. A fred has to stay half a wheel in front of everyone
2. throws a fit if someone is 30 seconds late for a group ride
3. never says hello or nods
4. hates getting his shoes wet
etc. basically someone who has the high end kit but doesn't have the etiquette or ability
There does seem to be some conflicting definitions of the classic fred. This is made concrete by the fact that the guy who runs thefredcast.com, in a couple of different podcasts, completely and clearly contradicts himself. Here is the written one on his site in the "about"
Originally Posted by thefredcast.com guy
Several internet dictionaries define a “Fred” as a person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can’t ride. The term is used by “serious” roadies to disparage utility cyclists and touring riders, especially after these totally unfashionable “freds” drop the “serious” roadies on hills because the “serious” guys were really posers.
I have been called a Fred time after time, especially by people who see my high-end Italian road bike and all of my gadgets and gizmos. I have always taken the term as one of endearment and not one of scorn, since I usually ride faster than those who call me a Fred and so it has become a badge of honor.
This whole explanation is confusing in so many ways but is typical of how he describes fredism in other areas of his site/casts.
So it's obvious that the term is getting lost as time goes on. I have always understood the term to be something that is of pure genuine ignorant goofiness, similar to how the OP and Patentcad and others have just describled.
Originally Posted by patentcad
...screams CAR UPPPP!!!!!! on a wide open flat road with 1+ mile of visibility, scaring the living crap out of me to alert me to a vehicle that everyone in the paceline will see a minute before it's anywhere near us? ...
It is, to me, neither sleek, skillful, or cool in any way. But, as mentioned before, the fred is to be cared for and looked after like a little redheaded brother who puts his shirts on backwards and drops his drawers to his ankles to take a leak. Why? ...Because we all have to start somewhere.
Last edited by theshoemaker; 09-19-06 at 02:27 AM.