cervelo-van

So, it took me a year since I started riding (July 2008) to hear the term Fred which I had to Google. Ouch. If you are over 50, own 2 fancy carbon bikes but ride them lots, do centuries and charity rides, does that remove the Fred designation?

stapfam

Only if you are OCP enough to wear the red shorts with your 50+ jersey

DiabloScott

A lot of people - including the FredCast guy - like to think that Fred means somebody who likes the latest techie bike stuff... GPS, Di2, powertaps, etc.

But Fred simply means a dork or a geek on a bike... doesn't matter how much of that stuff you have or don't have but it does sort of imply that you act as though you're a better or more serious rider than you really are.

So to not be a Fred - don't act like one, don't look like one, and it doesn't much matter what you ride (within reason).

Hermes

There are several definitions of Fred. Another is the biker who is very good but chooses to ride "whatever" and dress "whatever" and shows up at A rides and even races kicking the club riders' butts. I have not seen this to be true. The elite cat 1,2 guys that show up at club A rides kick everyones' butts and they look like pros doing it. Any of these so called Freds are blown off the back.

As far has having great equipment and clothes that function and fit to reduce aero drag, it will benefit weaker riders the most. That is due to the limited power that beginners / recreational riders produce. The better equipment and clothes reduces weight, rolling resistance and aero drag which is a greater percentage of their power. For advanced riders producing more power the percentage benefit is less.

However, your post about average speed was very Fredelicious.

xtrajack

I am with the OP, been riding again almost a year before I had heard the term Fred. I have no issues being called a Fred (much nicer than some of the other things I have been called)
BTW what is OCP?

Hermes

Obsessive Compulsive Poseur. Someone who must have everything match. A slight variation is just a Poseur who has all the right clothes and equipment but no power.

BengeBoy 

I believe it's Obsessive Compulsive Poser (or Poseur, to give it a faux French spin).

OCP = bar tape matches seat color matches sock color matches jersey matches gloves matches water bottles.

Sometimes implies that the rider spends more time detailing his bike and kit than he/she does actually riding.

Widsith

I've never been called a Fred (at least, not where I could hear it), but wouldn't care if I were. I ride in street clothes on an '80s-vintage Univega road bike and if that makes me look Freddish, so be it. My riding is for my own pleasure, not for making a fashion statement or trying to impress anyone.

Hermes

If anyone is bothered by this thread here is a solution.



Courtesy of Pcad.

BluesDawg

You are not a Fred. But it sounds like you may be well down the road toward OCP.

My concept of Fred has nothing to do with being fast or slow and is definitely not about being geeked out about the latest teckie stuff.

Someone who pretends to be a better rider than he is is a poseur, not a Fred. A poseur who rides the latest tricked out bike while wearing all the right color coordinated bike clothes is an obsessive compulsive poseur (OCP).

A Fred is a clueless dweeb on a bike. The kind of guy who thinks the Huffy he rides with polyester slacks, construction boots, a button up shirt and a BMX helmet will make him fit right in with the A group. It's not that he doesn't care that he looks like a misfit. He doesn't know it.

DnvrFox

A true Fred never knows he is a Fred. The term has several meanings, but the most common is an individual who rides - likely fairly well, wearing whatever - generally not OCP, riding whatever, and, just maybe, riding better than a whole lot of other people, and totally oblivious to the "standards" of the rest of the bicycle world.

So, if you think you are a Fred, you aren't. However, one can also be Fred-like.

cyclinfool

From all the definitions people have suggested here I have to say - STOP IT!

I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK!!!

DnvrFox

https://www.bicyclesource.com/bicycling_glossary


fred 1) n. a person who spends a lot of money on his bike and clothing, but still can't ride. "What a fred -- too much Lycra and titanium and not enough skill." Synonym for poser. Occasionally called a "barney".

2) n. a person who has a mishmash of old gear, does't care at all about technology or fashion, didn't race or follow racing, etc. Often identified by chainring marks on white calf socks. 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. This term is from road touring and, according to popular myth, "Fred" was a well-known grumpy old touring rider, who really was named Fred.

John E

Help! My middle name is [Al]fred. I had enough trouble w/ Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Newman when I was a pre-teen.

I guess I often dress like a Fred, with a big klunky Giro Xen helmet, a t-shirt, expedition shorts, and either BMX or mountain biking shoes. One of the club regulars looked quite surprised when I wore one of my few real jerseys a couple of weeks ago.

I have always believed that the saying, "the clothes make the man," is backward.

Retro Grouch 

Hey! This is 50+. Most of us, having lived this long, have figured out that there's no way we can please everybody else so we just do whatever makes ourselves happy. Don't worry about the "Fred" and "Poseur" designations.

cccorlew

Nope. You are a Fred.
As JFK said in his famous speech
"Today, we are all Freds!"


Actually, your self description is perfect description of a Fred.

BluesDawg

I think you almost nailed it except for the part about being likely to be a good rider. Might be, might not be. Doesn't matter.

BikeWNC

Cycling is full of wanna be pros and fashion police. It's a shame really. Who cares? I remember some called Floyd Landis a Fred for having his stem flipped up. Come on? Really? Why must people always typecast others? LOL. If you want the deep rim carbon wheels, get them. Don't worry what anyone else thinks. They're probably envious because they can't afford them. Perhaps they're the Freds of the labor market? There I go with the stereotypes again.

cyclinfool

Landis was a doper not a Fred - Don't denegrate us Freds!

Don't take that the wrong way though - IMHO because of his rotten hip the drugs probably leveled the field so I give him full credit for what he accomplished.
But justice prevailed.

The Weak Link

My saddle is black but everything else is red.

However, the "Plus 50" won't get you very many poseur points, which is one reason why I like it.

I compensate my wearing a bright red do-rag.

djnzlab1

HI,
I don't wash my bike every day its older birght yellow bike 2001 cad 4 and its my best bike My older bike is a Pinkish 1986 Ironman.., My chain is a little dirty ..And I have a leather seat for comfort
I may have a smudge on my left calve when I dismount, I do wear suspender under my Jersey with a undershirt to wick moisture and I usally wear a skull cap for the same reason.
and none of my bike parts make sense, Atlas Helmet.
Old fart Jersey, black pants, I like the butt butter.
And I usally wear a mirror on my helmet.
and I have at least 2 blinky light one on my helmet and on on the seat. And Good blinky white light on the bars aimed at oncoming.
I have a cadance speed ometer and a heart rate monitor that tells me I am slacker..
And I ride average 32mile per day , for a guy pushin 59.
I hope I am not a Fred. but I may be a poser trying to look like a Fred who
may think he's better than he is. is that a Fred ???
Doug

cccorlew

Helmet mirror= Fred.
i don't make the rules, I just report.

DiabloScott

Yup, that's one of the absolutes.

djnzlab1

Argghhh Now I know the truth,
I feel so Freddie.
Doug

BluesDawg

If you think you might be a Fred, you aren't.