What Is A RUB To Bikers? (And Should You Care About Being One?)

For better or worse, we've gotten really good at assigning labels to our fellow humans to define who they are. Perhaps it's the slow collective decay of society's moral fiber over time, or maybe it's always been ingrained in our DNA. Just look at the labels we gave each other all the way back in high school. Whatever the case, we plaster "either-or labels" on each other as flippantly as our favorite comedian tosses out laugh-out-loud jokes.

Bikers are no different. You could either be a patch-wearing member of an MC, part of an extreme outlaw motorcycle gang, or someone who simply enjoys the culture and camaraderie that comes with owning a bike. But even within that context, though, you might be referred to as a RUB, or a SQUID.

According to biker parlance, RUB (sometimes referred to as Rubbies) stands for "Rich Urban Bikers." It's an acronym typically applied to middle-aged, wealthy individuals who purchase an expensive Harley-Davidson and spend just as much money outfitting themselves with high-priced Harley-branded gear as they do equipping the bike with flashy gear. SQUIDs, meanwhile, are "Stupid Quick Underdressed Imminently Dead" bikers. RUBs are said to only be interested in applying a superficial layer of biker badness to their dreary suburban lifestyle and care more about the appearance of owning a hog than they do about the true spirit and freedom associated with the motorcycle culture. SQUIDs are often perceived as riders who see themselves as indestructible, ignore the rules of the road, and lack basic politeness towards others.

The SQUID acronym can also be interpreted as "Speeding Quickly Until I Die" and "Stupidly Quick, Underdressed, Ignorant, and Dangerous." Some even attribute it to the shortening of the phrase "squirrelly kid," referring to someone who engages in reckless behavior on a bike. Squiddy Harley riders typically view themselves as the "real bikers" and frequently exhibit bullying behavior towards RUBs and anyone else they don't perceive to be "real." Sounds a lot like high school, now, doesn't it?

RUB became part of mainstream pop culture in 1988 when Geraldo Rivera interviewed Malcolm Forbes (the multimillionaire publisher of Forbes Magazine) on his talk show. Forbes was 48 when he first started riding, and it became so all-consuming that at the time of the interview, he had about 75 motorcycles scattered around the world. Rivera pointed out other middle-class business types who'd been bitten by the riding bug, including a lawyer, dentist, restaurant owner, carpenter, go-go dancer, and hospital technician. Interestingly enough, several of what appeared to be legitimate vest-wearing (referred to as a cut) bikers in the audience seemed genuinely fine with RUBs.

Today, RUBs are far more accepted as a whole. SQUIDS not so much since they' can be a.   danger to everyone. Ultimately, who you are, how much money you make, or where you came from doesn't matter, because everyone can enjoy the air whipping through their hair (in states without a helmet law) and the spirit of the open road as they (lawfully) see fit.