Personally I ride mountain bikes, carbon bikes, TT bikes, touring bikes, commuter bikes, fixie/SS, etc….and I have the associated gear that make sense. I don’t wear my TT spandex when I am out touring and I don’t have bags on my TT bike. Fenders make perfect sense on my commuter, but not on my carbon group ride bike. Funny thing….when I am on a group ride, I am Fred cause my friends know I have fenders, headlights, racks on my commuter bike and when I am touring with friends, I am a Fred because I actually own and use the word “kit” and ride carbon….and pretty much all of them say I am an “old” hipster wanna-be cause I like to ride around on my fixie/SS at 45 yrs old.. I guess the moral to the story is we are all Fred according to someone else. Personally I am cool with whatever you want to ride as long as you’re riding. Saving gas, getting healthy and saving your life, etc….as long as you’re pedaling, it’s all good.
Just don’t be a poser. There is nothing worse that the guy who buys all the gear to play the part but doesn’t put in the saddle time. I have seen “that guy” who should not be wearing spandex rolling around on the $5000 race bike and I have seen the guy with the brand new touring rig with high end bags and electronics who’s idea of a “tour” is 20 miles.