What is a 'roadie'
 

I always ride on the road and rarely off road. I put in enough miles in the last few years to wear out three sets of tires. I don't race nor do I wear the racer costume. Am I not a road rider/roadie also? What defines a roadie?

Sound like a roadie to me, though I'd imagine they mostly ride road bikes which is why they call themselves roadies.

Not another roadie bashing post.
It's always so insightful to hear about the petty generalizations and stereotypes that divide us all.

To the OP I would ask, "how do you define yourself and why do you care how others define themselves?"

walk it off, Fred.

For me, a roadie is someone whose main bike has drop handlebars, and who normally wears lycra, and clipless pedals/shoes. It's just a visual identity thing.

To be a roadie, you've got to have something that separates you from the Fred that dresses like the Discovery team just to ride on a bike path, but sets you apart from those that like to go out for long road rides at slower paces just for the sheer pleasure of it (ie, tourists). You have to look like you're trying to hide the fact you're in great pain from all your effort. It's a delicate balance.

Most "roadies" I know like to ride in a pack and try to look like the TDF peloton. They also tend to favor a faster pace. It helps if you're competition minded. A good roadie never..I repeat NEVER...acknowledges another cyclist on the road. It's bad form to admit you may be human after all and not totally wrapped up in your training.

:thumb:


Hey my wife has a name for me.........although I can't repeat it on here, it is certainly defining.
So what is a Fred?:rolleyes:

edit: Hey never mind on the Fred question, I did a search and I found it can mean a couple different things..........

I always thought roadies where the dudes who set up equipment and performed errands for rock musicians! I guess they're too busy to take a moment to wave~

IMO, roadie bashing, only if in response to a roadie "woofing" post on the commuter list, is like duct tape or bungie cords; can never have too much. :lol:

Roadies wear the complete costume, roadies ride high end road bikes, roadies don't wave back... but you should always smile and wave at them, they love it.

Posers (poseurs) share all the above qualities except i can drop them, a roadie not so much.

A roadie:
Never uses the MUP.
Rides the best bike available.
Dresses in the latest apparel.
Has a motor vehicle or "SAG" following.
Tends to ride in a pack like Wolves.
Will ride solo but only for training.
Will only communicate with other roadies.
Most are feral so they never obey traffic laws.
Favorite game is Jam Tag. If a Jam harasses a roadie they will catch up to them and spray black paint over a taillight "Tagging" the Jam. Sooner than later a policeman will pull the Jam over.
Favorite food is energy bars.
Favorite performance enhancement solution is testosterone.
When mating the roadie will always select a mate with substantial fame and fortune.

What you wear or not so much how you ride. ie race, etc. Enters into it . Its mostly the style of bike you ride?

AMEN.

Of course you had to go and bring race into the discussion...

^. .. Roadies have to bike racers.? Roadies do not have to be racers, in my book.

I don't bash on roadies, but I do consider them to be a different breed of cyclist from myself, even though I ride long distance (not touring) and ride almost exclusively on the road (don't even own an off-road bike, but sometimes I ride the MUP or do laps at the track).

When I think of "roadie" I think of a very specific practiced skill set. Sprinting, tightly coordinated pacelines, and speeds around 25mph (or more).

I don't have a racer mentality, but I'm still a "roadie." I think the term is reserved for people that ride road bikes, just like the "fixies" ride fixed-gear/single-speed bikes.

There are different "roadie" cultures, but that's a whole other box of worms.

You're a roadie if you hang out with people who call themselves "roadies." The important part about a group of people is that they do something that makes them a group, not that they have things in common.

Does that work for a definition?

But let's start the nasty generalizations, as a roadie I enjoy laughing at them: Sadly many of them are true of so many :(.

Just to split that hair a little finer - OCP vs. Roadie. Discuss...

I usually ride alone and I'm not a lycra-clad racer-boy; I'm a fred. I mostly ride road bikes and do it to stay fit. I think of myself as a 'roadie' not because I'm a member of any group, but because of the type of bike I usually ride.

Why bother with a complicated definition?

"Roadies" move guitar cabs around...
"fixies" are castrated...
"tourists" are the old folks who drive the Nimitz class RV's around...
"commuters" reduce prison sentences...

you put "-ie" on the end and it sounds like road/FG are all pixies...

road bike or fixed gear... the "-ie" words are something that only some lame hipster would spout :p

next thing you know we're all going to be calling everyone else
commutie
freddie
tourie
MTBie

trixies are for kids, silly rabbit. chipcom gets special exemption though.

Looking at it from the outside, I don't think there is a distinct line separating roadies from cyclists who just ride road bicycles on the road, but just as with everything from running to kayaking, there will be a group who see themselves as truly serious and elite. They will see those will all the latest and greatest gear, but who are not in top physical shape, as posers, or poseurs. Even roadies seem unable to agree on the definition of a Fred.

There is even a book out now, on Roadies. I found it entertaining, and learned some things about the Roadie culture. I know I cannot be a true Roadie, with my current job and schedule, because I cannot get enough sleep to recover from the intensity level of training rides needed to be a true Roadie. I also tend to like retro bikes, without the latest/greatest gruppos, and wear looser pants and shorts over my lycra most of the time, so I don't look like a Roadie. A Roadie would be likely to see me as a Fred. For that matter, I am not a commuter, either, but I learn much from reading this part of BF, keeping up to date on commuting issues, finding stuff relevant to my police patrol job. (I may start commuting in cooler weather, if I can build a rig that will discreetly haul all of my equipment back and forth; discretion is an issue, with a shotgun and perhaps a rifle being part of that equipment.)

When I lived by the water, I guess I would have been the sea kayaking equivalent of a Roadie, as I have a very fast boat, three high-end paddles, and had a very low resting pulse of about 40, indicating a quite high level of fitness at the time. (You paddle with your whole body, not just the arms.) Before my knees wore out, I was a serious runner, too. Perhaps, someday, I will have the time to get enough rest to recover from cycling workouts, and can aspire to being a Roadie. If they don't like my choice of pants, though, they might still see me as a Fred. As if I care. :) I want belt loops and pockets.

A roadie is someone who wears funny hats,colorful clothes,and walks like they still own earth shoes.Now that I think of it,that discribes alot of men in West Hollywood too.

A roadie is a person who rides a road bicycle on the road. Simple.

I am a roadie. I'm also a commuter, a cycletourist, and a randonneur.