I always thought a "fred" in cycling was similar to surfing terms like "hodad" "barnie" "kook" . These were the guys who wanted to be surfers and dressed like surfers, hung out at the beach, had a really nice surfboard but either didn't surf at all or really sucked at surfing. In southern California these guys only surfed in the summer (if at all). They drove around with boards on or in their car so everyone could see.
In 7th grade I was just learning to surf and my parents bought me a brand new awesome surf board. I went to the beach and a group of "real" surfers started hassling me about sucking and being a poser and not being able to surf.
Every sub culture has this theme.

you just defined poseur, not Fred

got one of those on my auto SUV forum. he's a mod. has absolutely everything bolted on & just keeps adding more stuff. great guy, but

I don't know man. you might be geeky inside but outside you look pretty legit. maybe add a flag?

Pah--there's no kickstand on that bike.

But he scores major Fred points for that outfit. I wish I could un-see it.

Take another look.

I'm not a fisherman. Can you explain those three things? It seems like the answers would be entertaining and/or informative. I enjoy hobby/sport specific jargon.

Casting live bait is the process of putting a hook through the rather delicate nose of a live anchovy(tuna bait) and then casting it hard enough to get it away from the boat without tearing the hook out of the anchovy's nose.

The tuna shuffle is the act of slowly moving along the rail of a 50'+ boat in unison with 40 other guys as you all follow the anchovies just cast out as the boat gently drifts downwind and the anchovies are slowly pulled away from the boat. Everyone doing it correctly prevents line tangles.

HOT RAIL is what you scream as you chase a freshly hooked tuna up the rail as you go over/under all of the guys doing the tuna shuffle to prevent your line tangling wit theirs.

I won't bother to list the terms that are used when best efforts to do the above fail and the line attached to tuna ends up tangled with a dozen other lines. This is all much more entertaining in real life.

Alright. This immediately put a picture in my mind of chaos meets mayhem meets the Marx Brothers. Thanks.

That is a fairly accurate description if the Marx bros. are in an an aggressive mood and half drunk.

I am a fred and proud of it!
I ride old steel and dress any way I want.
I ride slow and traffic scares me sh--tless.
I ride my road bike in the dirt sometimes.
If I had a walkman I would listen to The Grateful Dead when I ride.
I don't have much money so I fix my own bike.
I don't buy bike jewelry but sometimes I find gems at the swap meet.

I am a Fred

Pffffft !

Was something supposed to change my mind?

my fred checklist:

Schwinn bell with compass
frame pump
spoke reflectors
utility basket on rear rack
bottle holder on headset
cell phone holder
rear view mirror
ride in shorts and tee shirt
will ride on sidewalk
listen to radio

by the way I do find that bikers are friendly folk, had a friendly chat with a guy on a Giant. I often get nods and waves from other bikers.

Today I'm riding down the street and a girl on a bike going past waved at me. They don't do that when I'm just taking a walk.

There was also an attractive girl on a bike, that was unlocking her bike preparing to
go, and I forgot to take a pic. idiot

limited load of unpretentious Freds solves that problem, good times!!!

have a Suunto surveyor's compass that I've carried in the map pocket on a rando bag before (many times), but never really paid it any mind.
I found a really small handlebar 1/4-20 camera mount and put that compass on my upright handlebars.
I love it there and am constantly comparing change in path direction to the wind direction, etc.
Figured out why our E-W bike expressway always feels like it has a headwind in both directions.

These are some of the reasons why I don't like group rides.

Most of all this.

Mr. "- race fit Lycra when you're 40+ pounds overweight + $6K racing road bike" t-boned a lady on an electric bike in an intersection while running a red light.

A poser is someone who spends more time talking about their bikes than they do riding them.

Many examples in this thread.

only a Fred would figure this out

That's not a Fred--that's an alcoholic!

I was thinking stealth Fred.

Fify

If a growler carrier makes me a Fred then sign me up!! Those things are a pain to secure on a bike on the way home from the brewery.

The wine isn't awful, but at $12/bottle, it's a bit overpriced. Shoulda went with the $5/bottle of Blackstone Merlot from Costco.