Road Cycling - etiquette question

so i'm a newbie at this road biking thing. is it bad if you come across a small group of ppl (say 2-4 ppl) if you draft behind them? anything else i should be careful about?

melloboy

is it bad if you walk onto a 3 on 3 basketball game without asking? is it bad if you start running right behind a runner on a path? is it bad if you start following a guy walking?

of course it is. common courtesy, guys.

sd

What he's trying to say is ask and take your turn pulling but dont do it at all if your slower or a lot faster. I'd rather not and just pass them,i'm happier a loner.

next question then...at what point does following become drafting...if i'm going the same direction do i just fall back or something?

geez, shaq, cut him some slack...

If you aren't going to pass them, maintain a decent distance..say a few bike lengths at least.

Whatever you do, don't make eye contact. Pretend you don't even see them. Maybe whistle a bit, nonchalant-like. Then pass, pull in front, give them the "Look" and dust them. ;)

If I come up on a group or even an individual and I don't want to speed up or pass then I'll drop back like maybe five bike lengths. If I want a draft then I'll come up alongside or ask from a few bikelengths away. I usually ask, "mind if I sit in?" If they say sure then I'll drop into the draft and announce my presence by saying, "on your wheel" so that they know when and where I'm at. I'll also let them know if I'm willing to take turns pulling or if I'm just too tired and just want to sit back. When in the draft, I make sure to cover my brakes. When leaving the paceline, make sure to tell them thanks for the pull and gradually drop away. Oh and I also think it's pretty rude to sit in for a while and then pass without taking a few turns at the front.

ok :)
thanks for the replies. i usually ride by myself mtn biking and don't encounter groups so i wasn't sure how road biking worked.

melloboy

next question then...at what point does following become drafting...if i'm going the same direction do i just fall back or something?

Following becomes drafting at the point that you begin to benefit from the reduced air resistance.

To be more practical about it, following becomes drafting at the point that you would be unable to keep from riding up on the other rider's wheel were they to hit the brakes suddenly.

Ask if you can sit in. Take a turn at the front. Don't be offended if someone tells you "no." Riding a pace line requires some skill and can be dangerous.

Well i've maintained my speed,been passed and then the guy stays right in front of me and turns around and waves me off. I then of course pick it up and dont see the ass again but that really screws me up.

so i'm a newbie at this road biking thing. is it bad if you come across a small group of ppl (say 2-4 ppl) if you draft behind them? anything else i should be careful about?

melloboy

Remember that scene in "Breaking Away" where the kid rides up to the Italian Pros and they stick a tire pump in his spokes and make him crash?

That's not going to happen...so ask politely if you can ride along...if they say "yes" you might find somebody to ride with...

Do your share of the work. In ten years of riding...I never had a group blow me off if I could hang with them...

Z

When in the draft, I make sure to cover my brakes.

Newbie jargon question -- What do you mean by "cover my brakes"?

Around my parts, if I am riding with someone )or alone) and we (I) pass another rider that's not going much slower, we chat - how's it going, where are you going, etc - and it's almost assumed he/she will grab a wheel. Certainly nothing to get uptight about.

Newbie jargon question -- What do you mean by "cover my brakes"?

If you're in a fast paceline, you want to position your hands on the brake levers. This means riding the hoods or the drops with your fingers positioned to activate the brakes at a moment's notice. Unless you're sporting cyclocross-style aux levers on the tops of the bars, you should stay off them. I have caught myself quite a few times riding the tops in a paceline and realised that it was dangerous practice... especially when riding with a group you're not used and one who's not used to you.

personally i think the politics around drafting are overdone.

i don't ride with folks a lot, but on the occasion when i silently realize someone is on my wheel my first reaction is something like, 'oh? cool!' i don't feel less safe or insulted if they don't say anything and if i just sit up for a minute they pass me if they want or they don't - it all seems to sort itself out without any words spoken at all. in fact sometimes i like that about it because it's like we share _cycling to start with so the sense of comraderie is there without finding out they're a republican or whatever.

for somebody to catch me in the first place means they're probably a bit too fast for me and vice versa, so the whole thing is pretty rare. lastly, the paved paths in DC and northern Virginia are for the less-than-totally-hardcore really because they're too slow for racers to use.

i don't object to the convention of asking to draft, i just don't like the attitude around not doing it as if it meant you were a jerk or something.

If someone just came and started drafting me without saying a word, one of us is getting dropped.

It's tantamount to tailgating. That's how I view it. It's alright if you've asked and you share the work, if not...

I would be honored if somebody ever wanted to draft off me. I'd work my but off.

Drafting should be about common coutesy. In almost every case, simply speaking with the other rider(s) will determine if they are comfortable about you sitting in their draft. If you draft, make sure you have your turn up front.

The guys I dislike are the ones you overtake and they then speed up to catch your wheel, sit there huffing and puffing for 15 minutes, overtake and then immediately turn off without a word of thanks. That really gets up my nose.

You know, it really doesn't bother me if someone wants to suck my wheel. Sure, it'd be nice if they asked but I've got a pretty smooth pedal stroke and don't make sudden movements, so I'm generally a good person to draft behind.

I figure if someone gets too close and rides up my wheel, they're the ones going down, not me, and I wouldn't feel too sorry for them if they did. However, if they were polite and asked if was OK to sit on my wheel, I'd stop to make sure they weren't badly hurt.

personally i think the politics around drafting are overdone.

i don't ride with folks a lot, but on the occasion when i silently realize someone is on my wheel my first reaction is something like, 'oh? cool!' i don't feel less safe or insulted if they don't say anything and if i just sit up for a minute they pass me if they want or they don't - it all seems to sort itself out without any words spoken at all. in fact sometimes i like that about it because it's like we share _cycling to start with so the sense of comraderie is there without finding out they're a republican or whatever.

for somebody to catch me in the first place means they're probably a bit too fast for me and vice versa, so the whole thing is pretty rare. lastly, the paved paths in DC and northern Virginia are for the less-than-totally-hardcore really because they're too slow for racers to use.

i don't object to the convention of asking to draft, i just don't like the attitude around not doing it as if it meant you were a jerk or something.

Well, the people you just jump in and draft may be out doing something specific and your presence may disrupt it. They could be out practicing specific drills.

They could be on a long ride and nursing a weaker rider home. I know from being in a group that is doing a long ride together that getting a couple of strangers in the group makes it very difficult to keep the group together. If one of your people go off the back, there is a good chance that you won't see it.

Most of the time, you are not in this situation. But it is always nice to have someone show a little courtesy and it doesn't cost anything now does it?

a person could easily be riding road for a while as a solo flyer and really not know about this idea of what is courtesy.

when i try to keep up with ppl who are faster than me it's just to feel the challenge - not to benefit by their slipstream - whether i'm close enough or not, whether i speak to them or not.

Okay another dumb noob with a question. When you lot say to take your turn up front, how do you do that? Is it like in the velodromes where the front breaks off then joins the back so you just naturally work your way up the front, or are you supposed to go hell for leather and pass them to get up front then pull them along?

Is it like in the velodromes where the front breaks off then joins the back so you just naturally work your way up the front?Yeah, it's like that.

Im not even close to where Id like to be, but I havent been passed on the road in a long time. I road up on a couple riders last week. I wanted to ride with them, but I didnt know them, so I just passed and dropped them. :) I prefer riding alone, in the hills. The quiet time is nice.

The guys I dislike are the ones you overtake and they then speed up to catch your wheel, sit there huffing and puffing for 15 minutes, overtake and then immediately turn off without a word of thanks. That really gets up my nose.

I agree, but I also think it's kind of funny. Recently, I had been riding for about 25 miles when I saw someone about 1/2 mile ahead. I just rode my pace (5 or 6 mph faster than him). I passed him and said hello. He proceeded to "sprint" past me for about 50 meters and then turned into his driveway. I just laughed. I'd feel like such an idiot if I did that.

By the way, I have never sat on with someone while out riding, nor had anyone sit on behind me. When I'm on a solo ride that just the way I want it. A couple of times per week I do a group ride to let my bike do a little socializing.