Late 70s the term Fred came out. That was the grey bearded guy with a Bell Helmet and mirror and baggy EuroPro wool jersey. Betty - came along later. That was a long time ago.

People should ride what they want if it makes their cycling better. I especially like handlebar mirrors and bright tail LEDs.

A female Fred is called Doris. Not Betty.

The problem is that the term became conflated with poseur.

^^^^This

Probably so. But really, who cares... Ride your bike!

And stay outta my way

I know! If a man wants to Pose, who am I do deny him the privilege?

What's a female poseur? Posette?

And get off my lawn!

The manufacturer have charged a lot more money for the Bell Biker helmet back in the day. Then it would have been a piece of kit that all the cool kids needed to own and not just the Freds.

Repost - very nice tool...

It's too bad that mirrors got the bad "fred" rap. Certainly early mirrors did not work well, but today since there are so many that do work well, I believe everyone should use one. Help make mirrors "cool" but using one yourself.

I think a true Fred likes the "take a look" mirror mounted to eyeglasses or helmet.

I can assure you, if I were to use a mirror it would definitely not make them look "cool".

I would like to submit this photo for reference for the Fred conversation.



Missing the mirror, otherwise complete-Fred.

Got to take the low hanging fruit...

I would disagree. There is no poser in that picture. An appropriate bike for the weather. In fact the rider looks more able than the bike.

Maybe it's regional, round here, Fred is the dorky utility biker (not the posers, cause posers are posers).

Maybe this guy fits the CA Fred definition better:



(BTW - I love that orange Globe Daily! I won it on the Nation Bike Challenge a few years ago and ride that thing all the time.)

They go by many names.

Freds won't ever die or disappear. I have a bike shop on a large bike path outside of Chicago.... Freds keep the lights on at times.

It's ok.
You don't have to justify your personal Fredness around here.
You should embrace it as opposed to trying to incorrectly remove the whole term.
It is a valid term and fits many people

Fred isn't just a term for a certain type of cyclist.

Fred was a guy. Who rode his bike around the world. He was a bit of a weight weenie, tried to ride across the desert, in Syria maybe, bonked and needed help because he didn't bring enough food - to cut down on weight. Story has it the guy won a race he didn't enter in Italy; lots and lots of miles. The Smithsonian had an exhibit dedicated to him.

I'd rather be thought of as a guy who rides his bike a lot than as a poseur. Not that there's anything wrong with posing...

Freddie's on the corner now...

Here is a song just for this thread....

True. Even in this thread.

I'm happy to be a Fred ... Definitely not the fastest rider, not the most skilled, but I have more fun feeding my Fred habit than anything else I've done for recreation in a long time.

And yes, I know I've helped make a couple of sales months end better than anticipated by the owner of the LBS I frequent. He and his staff may think I'm quite the Fred, maybe say it behind my back, but if so I never saw any sign of it to my face - frankly, Fredness pays off in the level of service I get.

Mirrors though ... meh, they don't do much for me, never found them very practical.

Vive Le Fred!

Fred is not dead. For every Fred that dies, there is an endless sea of Freds waiting to fill the void. It's part of the Fred Continuum.

A mirror is useful to watch those trying to hold the wheel as you ratchet up the pace. Heheheh.