Fred (bicycling) - Word Origin

Word Origin

The roots of the term "Fred" are unclear, though some believe it originated from a touring rider named Fred Birchmore from Athens, GA. In 1934-35, Birchmore rode around the world on a bicycle he named Bucephalus. Birchmore and Bucephalus traveled approximately 25,000 miles. Bucephalus is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In one famous incident while touring in Italy, Birchmore passed a bunch of racers during a race he had crossed paths with by chance. And despite going up hill on his loaded 50 pound non-racing bike, he passed the finish line well ahead of the racers. The cheering crowd at the finish line assumed him to be the winner of the race. In addition to the Birchmore origin idea for "Fred," there also is a vague idea that there was an old grumpy touring rider named Fred (but probably not Birchmore) from which the term derived.

A southern California bicycle store printed and sold "No Freds" t-shirts in the early-to-mid 1980s to local racing cyclists. This t-shirt depicted a hairy-legged, bearded cyclist (with bug-splatted teeth) wearing sunglasses and a Bell "Biker" hard-shell helmet (with rear-view mirror attached). At the time, very few racing cyclists wore sunglasses due to their (then) lack of functionality, and virtually none wore hard-shell helmets until they became mandatory in 1986. Few racing cyclists wore helmets outside of racing events until advances in technology allowed lighter, better ventilated helmets to exist in the market.

There are different theories how the term moved from its first definition of a regular guy on a simple old bike, to the definition of guy who has spent way more on his bike than his riding would merit. There was an article published in the BOB Gazette and Ultra cycling in the mid 1990s by Chris Kostman in which Kostman expresses distaste at the whole use of "Fred" by some arrogant cyclists to put down cyclists who aren't seen as up to their level. Kostman writes:

"To some USCFers, those cyclists who don't race their category or higher are Freds. Likewise, bicycle tourists, commuters and recreational riders are necessarily Freds in the eyes of the egomaniacal Racerheads'of both the club and federation species. And, Fredliness can, of course, also be the result of clothing and equipment choice, like judging a book by its cover."

This was basically the early version of "Fred," although it was clear it was in some cases being used by some just to mean the cyclist wasn't up to a certain level. But, in the article, Kostman turns the term on its head in order to deride its use and point the finger at the very people who use it. He goes on to say he's got no problem with any kind of cyclist, but there are certain behaviors that are inappropriate and shine a bad light on cycling. He decides to call these behaviors "Fred-like" to make the point, and then lists many "Fred-like" things like, "Ceaselessly and vociferously itemizing the weight and cost of your newest titanium parts," "Riding on aero bars while drafting someone," "Wearing Oakleys around town, telling the uninitiated that you train with the national team, are a 'Neo-pro,' or plan to ride in the Tour next July," "And finally, spending your spare hours name-calling other cyclists." It is possible that many missed the point of the article, and eventually there grew an understanding of "Fred" to mean one who has some of the behaviors that Kostman was frustrated with. It may just be that the term is flexible enough to fit whoever a culture of roadies wants to distance themselves from.

There may be some relationship to the fact that amateurish surfers had often been referred to as "Barneys" by their more advanced surfing peers, and "Fred" may have been created to complement this fact. Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, characters from the animated series "The Flintstones" often found themselves engaging (amateurishly) in numerous sports during the series run.