Getting on your bike - Australian

[Aushiker]

IT'S all about the legs. Shaved legs. If you want to be taken seriously as a bike rider, start with a Wilkinson Sword.

Add a full lycra outfit and specialised sunglasses, shoes, helmet and even cycling socks. Oh, and you might need a bike. Preferably expensive.

Mock if you will, but ignore the look and you risk the ultimate cycling insult: you will be referred to as a "Hubbard". Worse still, nobody will want to ride with you. You will be deemed uncool and, more important, unsafe.

There is no other recreational sport that demands such strict adherence to convention. And in no other nation is this code adhered to as strongly as Australia.

More in the Australian.

The hardcopy in the paper has more material and the photo has graphics but you get the drift from the online article I would suggest.

Andrew

[Jean]

Yeah - cyclofascism is alive and well. Obviously another well researched and considered piece from the fourth estate!

[kirky92au]

IT'S all about the ZINC.Zinc all over your face. If you want to be taken seriously as a cricketer, start with Zinc Sunscreen.

Add a full white outfit and specialised sunglasses, shoes, helmet and even a DP. Oh, and you might need a bat. Preferably expensive.

Mock if you will, but ignore the look and you risk the ultimate cricketing insult: you will be referred to as a "Pom". Worse still, nobody will want to play with you. You will be deemed uncool and, more important, called butterfingers.

There is no other recreational sport that demands such strict adherence to convention. And in no other nation is this code adhered to as strongly as Australia.

[RonK]

A "Hubbard"? What is a "Hubbard"?

[Sprocket]

I had no idea either - but apparently:

An uncool, slow, unfashionable, annoying, awkward or stupid cyclist. Often identified by wearing a helmet that is more than 15 years old, poor judgement on the road or by the ridiculous cargo they carry on their bike. In a racing context hubbards are identified by having unshaved legs, riding a Giant or by an inability go round a corner with the peleton without causing a crash. Recumbent cyclists are automatically hubbards

Guess I'm a hubbard....

[Oxford]

OMGosh, you call yourself a cyclist and you do not know what a hubbard is. You should be so ashamed of yourself.

Damn hubbards, ruining this sport.

[il padrone]

IT'S all about the legs. Shaved legs. If you want to be taken seriously as a bike rider, start with a Wilkinson Sword.

Add a full lycra outfit and specialised sunglasses, shoes, helmet and even cycling socks. Oh, and you might need a bike. Preferably expensive.

Mock if you will, but ignore the look and you risk the ultimate cycling insult: you will be referred to as a "Hubbard". Worse still, nobody will want to ride with you. You will be deemed uncool and, more important, unsafe.

There is no other recreational sport that demands such strict adherence to convention. And in no other nation is this code adhered to as strongly as Australia.

More in the Australian.

The hardcopy in the paper has more material and the photo has graphics but you get the drift from the online article I would suggest.

Greatest load of cobblers I've ever read. Been cycling for over 35 years - touring, Audax, MTB and general road recreational stuff. Virtually none of my cycling mates shave their legs, neither do I. Some of the ladies might, but I don't dare ask such questions

Never been called a 'hubbard', and I really can't see what the 'unsafe' bit is all about

[westab]

OMGosh, you call yourself a cyclist and you do not know what a hubbard is. You should be so ashamed of yourself.

Damn hubbards, ruining this sport.

Thanks for clearing that up - now I can be a cyclist that I know what a hubbard is.

Yes I know I am a hubbard and this hubbard is now heading home on his 21 y.o. entry level Repco proudly wearing hairy legs with a full riding kit purchased by his wife and kids from aldi for his last birthday. WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO see if you can catch me - have a good weekend all.

[gorilla monsoon]

Hubbard here as well. I think there needs to be a ride group called "Hubbards".

Also, I have a word to describe the author of that story: "Plonker". No need to look it up in the Urban Dictionary.

[Nobody]

What happened to "Fred"? I've spent all this time trying to be a Fred and now "Hubbard" is the next big thing. This fashion thing is getting harder...

[rogan]

First heard the term 20+ years ago, from a Qld roadie. I assume it's a term of Qld extraction. I also assume, without knowing, that the reference is to Old Mother Hubbard.

[RonK]

First heard the term 20+ years ago, from a Qld roadie. I assume it's a term of Qld extraction. I also assume, without knowing, that the reference is to Old Mother Hubbard.

I've been cycling and competing in Queensland for more than 20 years, and have never heard the term hubbard.

Gunbie - now that's another matter...

[high_tea]

I've heard it a few times. I understood it to be slang for the fashionable but inept rider. Y'know, people who do exactly what the article recommends doing to avoid being called a hubbard. Full disclosure: I have unshaved legs and a beard.

PS I thought it was a reference to L Ron, not Old Mother. I you get people on a bad day they might think it had to do with Old Dan, but that's just them being rude.

[RonK]

Naw, I think it's some new, hipster expression.

[il padrone]

Coming back to my comment.... whatever is 'unsafe' about cycling with unshaven legs ???

[Pravda]

Fred is where it's at.
Seem like it's taking a very broad brushed approach to "cycling" when they really mean weekend warrior road riders.

[Uncle Just]

Hubbards, clubbers etc have been around for decades as a derisive term for try hards or originally those that didn't or wouldn't follow the unwritten rules about bike setup, how well they rode or what they wore. Even not shaving.
Pete you and the touring fraternity wouldn't rate as anything worth mentioning in the argot of the keepers of the cycling flame. You are invisible to the in crowd surrounding the racing fraternity. You matter not a jot to them and no doubt they matter not a jot to you. So everyone's happy. But we all know cycling is a broad church with some breakaway cults. Exclusivity keeps some people smug and warm, others rely on shared comradeship whatever they ride.

[TDC]

What happened to "Fred"? I've spent all this time trying to be a Fred and now "Hubbard" is the next big thing. This fashion thing is getting harder...

Freddie Hubbard was a great jazz trumpeter. Not sure if he rode a bike much though.

[high_tea]

Coming back to my comment.... whatever is 'unsafe' about cycling with unshaven legs ???

You're not safe from being called a hubbard, it seems. Also, I think your leg hair might get tangled with that of another rider and cause a crash. Roadies call this a "Kafka". Worse still is a leg hair/beard entanglement, known as a "Dostoyevsky". This is thankfully rare. And, like the rest of this post, a figment of my imagination.

[philip]

Naw, I think it's some new, hipster expression.

no it's not, it's been around for ages, used a lot on the roadie scene in Sydney anyway

[il padrone]

I think your leg hair might get tangled with that of another rider and cause a crash. Roadies call this a "Kafka". Worse still is a leg hair/beard entanglement, known as a "Dostoyevsky". This is thankfully rare.

Boomer!

[Mulger bill]

Sod it. Say it loud peoples:

We are Freds and we are PROUD!

IIRC, the correct response to the taunt of "Hubbard" is "Poser".