Am I a FRED?
 

I figure this is the PERFECT group to ask :lol:

- My bike is a Motobecane Fantom CX cyclocross (from BD, price: $570). My only upgrades have been the saddle and some KoolStop brake pads. I don't expect to upgrade anything else unless it breaks.
- To the frame, I've attached a pump and water bottle cage.
- To the seatpost, I've attached a pack and lock
- To the frame, I've also attached a blinky light. Unless I'm riding where it will be 100% (or almost) bright and sunny, the blinky light will be on. I'd rather you think me a Fred than get run over in a shady section of road.
- To the handlebars, I've attached a MirrCycle STI mirror. It's not pretty, but I like to know when a big ass Hummer is coming up behind me.
- To the handlebars, I've also attached a computer (and accordingly, the speed sensor to the fork and magnet to a spoke)
- I wear spandex, mostly pro team stuff (not the real stuff, but Chinese sweatshop knock-offs).
- My helmet is an Atmos. It was a Giro Transfer until recently; I found a brand-new Atmos on craigslist for $50.
- My sustainable flat speed is 18.3 mph (based on 27 minutes for an 8.25 mile loop I do laps on - check my math, please).
- I spin up hills at 6-9 mph
- Regarding my speeds, note that I'm 45 years old and am not trying to prove anything to anyone. I passed someone on the flat last night on the way to a couple of fairly steep hills. We talked for a few seconds. He was obviously younger than me. When we hit the hills, I could see him catching up to me via my mirror; it didn't bother me at all.
- I acknowledge most other cyclists. I ignore those riding in jeans, without helmets, etc., unless I'm forced to say something (in which case I do it politely): "you're riding on the wrong side of the road, my friend" came up just last night.
- I ride in a rural area, so I sometimes blow through stop signs (if no vehicles are around, it's obvious, so I don't stop). Otherwise, I obey the rules of the road. I stop, signal my intentions, give vehicles room when it's safe for me, take the lane when it's safe for me, etc.

So, I figure my doo-dads and pro cycling outfits are more likely to brand me as a Fred then my cycling behavior. Your opinion? FRED or NO FRED? Kind of like "am i hot or not", I guess :p

Don't ask the question unless you know what the answer will be.

Epic thread.

Lots of Fred potential here. And that is not a bad thing.

Get really strong on your bike but don't develop any group riding skills and you will have it down. Then you will be actually dangerous in a fast group ride. That is a bad thing if you insist on doing them.

Not fred or anti-fred, but confusing.

^Fred-fail on the chinee knockoffs... I suggest you ride in jean shorts and a dayglo yellow t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off to up your fredness quotient. :)

Do you shave your legs? Fred or non-Fred rests solely on the answer to this question.

sure...

In the labeling heirarchy, that usually lands one as a poseur, not a fred.

Just ride!

TLTR
If you feel the need to ask, wear your badge. They'll know.

The default answer is yes. However, your initial description is o'erladen with complex details, so the final answer is pending. 10 more pages of comments and responses might clear things up.

And the point of this thread was?

Yep.

:popcorn

Man, that's a lot of typing!

Are you able to pull off spandex?

By the classic definition, you don't have enough miles in your legs to be a Fred, but you've certainly got potential.

You've managed to incorporate quite a few of the common thread topics into one post. Well done.

I think you may be hors categorie.

Just what we need, more freds. Welcome!

You're conflicted
Fred: mirror, lock, seat pack if it's bigger than 2 tubes & levers

Poseur: team kit, new helmet

Neutral: blinkie (but fred if it's on during the day), computer, pump

Listen. Outside of the few hundred riders that actually make a half decent living riding their bike, we're all freds to someone.

If you have to ask......













....then it really doesn't matter anyway.


Beyond that, most people (even in this thread, no doubt) don't even know what a Fred really is.

Not just anyone can be a Fred. There are procedures and protocols that must be followed. Without order there is chaos.
Did you pass all of the online Fred courseware and pass the final exam? Do you have a certificate? Do you have sandals?