Dunbar

What are some tips for getting rid of riders latching onto your wheel unannounced? I know it's stupid but it annoys me. Dialing it up doesn't work when they're sitting in your draft saving watts.

ThermionicScott 

Drop 'em.

shadoman

SLam on your brakes. Works every time.

KD5NRH

I still think there's a market for "CAUTION: SPASTIC COLON" jerseys.

Artkansas 

Coast.

caloso

Ask them to take a pull.

Sixty Fiver

I don't like people who latch on to your back wheel without permission... it shows a lack of skills as if I don't know you then you do not know me and who knows... I might brake for kitties... be they real or imagined.

Or maybe I am just getting over a nasty cold and launching rockets...

One option is to slow down and let them pass which is annoying because then you have to slow down or if you have the legs for it, drop them like a bad habit.

Slamming on the brakes could get you a bicycle shaped enema so I avoid that and being inconsiderate does not mean I will do things to endanger another rider or myself.

My daughters are very good at riding in the pocket but they would not draft anyone but me which is good for them on really windy days or when they are tiring or want a break... we know each other really well as we have ridden a great deal since they were very young and I am just waiting for them to return the favour some day.

10 Wheels

Slow down...

GrouchoWretch

Wheel suckers!

hueyhoolihan

today, six riders turn a corner about 100 yds in front of me. they were good. i caught up but really didn't want to pass, make a potential race out of it or anything, so i slowly rode up beside the last guy and told him the truth, "i really don't want to pass. mind if i sit in?" he said no. so i sat in (at the end) for the next four or five miles. turns out we were all going to the same place.

do i get brownie points? or was i an ass?

edit; just realized that's not necessarily an either/or question.

another time, i met a guy on the road and struck up a conversation. turns out he was meeting a "few friends". when we met up. the lead friend took a look at me, then proceeded to lay down a hectic pace for the next few miles.

one by one the leaders friends dropped off. when we got to where we were going i was the last man left (gasping). when the other friends turned up, i got one of them aside (the one i first met) and asked him what was up with the leader and did they like to ride with him. he said, "he's and ass."

it can work both ways...

Six jours

I used to occasionally ask if they minded me camping out on a wheel for a while. Never got told no. Eventually I realized that drafting strangers is not especially good for your health.

When I get unannounced wheel suckers I usually ignore them. If I don't want them there I'll just wave them around. I have lousy sinuses and am forever blowing my nose, so I just explain it to them. I have never yet had anyone argue!

hueyhoolihan

phlegm doesn't fly far.

xenologer

drafting doesnt really work for me from either perspective
Since I stop at lights and whatnot, and the drafter/draftee typically doesn't.

oh hey, thats an idea on how to get rid of a drafter; start obeying traffic laws

Telly

I'm a Clyde which rides at a steady fast pace, so I usually catch a few drafters in my shadow, and to be honest they annoy me since I usually have to be extra careful of potholes, and moron drivers and having someone so close behind just adds to the stress.

Most of the time, I slow my pace a bit and they pass me, but once in a while I warn them to keep their distance, not in the friendliest of tones. It might seem harsh, but it's dangerous enough riding in my area and I don't need the added danger of "getting a bicycle shaped enema" or having another cyclist riding into me (happened a couple of weeks ago when a idiot cyclist tried to squeeze past me and ran into my pannier).

contango 

I usually treat tailgaters in the cycling world the same as I treat them in the driving world. Slow down, be a bit unpredictable so riding so close becomes ever-more stressful, and sooner or later they'll take the hint and either pass or back off. Either way is fine with me.

I may be marginally more tolerant of tailgaters on the bike because I know they can overtake regardless of oncoming traffic, but then cycling also gives me more scope to steer around potholes, vary my speed a bit and generally make riding right on my tail stressful. I'll also try and give a cyclist the benefit of the doubt if they get a bit close and back off simply because I've found myself in a situation where I'm fast enough to match the guy in front but I'm not sure if I'm fast enough to pass convincingly and stay ahead, and since I truly despise the people who sprint past me only to pull in and slow down to the point I end up having to either slow to their pace or pass them back I'll try not to do it to others. I'd rather someone tucked in behind (as long as they aren't too close) than raced past only to find they couldn't sustain the pace.

bigfred 

Just, "dial it up to 400".

contango 

Leave the top 60% in reserve, I like that approach...

cplager

I really like that when you posted this, your post count was 666. Fitting, huh...

Riding in a pace line can be dangerous and I certainly wouldn't want to do it with random people I don't know in an urban setting. When I was learning to drive and was not giving enough space, my father would often request "that I not sod|m|ze" the car in front of us." Sage advice that I wished more father's had given their children.

wahoonc

I used to tow my trailer with my kids in it, it was a rear facing trailer, the kids would throw raisins, M&Ms and peanuts at the wheelsuckers.

Now I ride slow enough no one would want to draft me.

Aaron

Retro Grouch 

"I'm sorry, but it makes me nervous to have you following me so closely."

tiberon

Really what harm does it do to have a wheel sucker other than your to know you may be stronger than whoever? Maybe they need that help. Unless you are racing against them you might just talk to them and possibly make a new riding mate.

hueyhoolihan

this makes sense.

i wonder what those who think otherwise feel about those in line behind them at the grocery store, department store, gas station, movie theatre, ball park, DMV (ahhhh!), coffee shop, strangers they meet on organized rides, driving etc.

do they spit at THEM, and make rude remarks too? jeez.

contango 

The difference is if someone is standing close behind me at the grocery store it isn't going to leave me caught up in an accident if I have to stop suddenly.

If someone is walking so close behind me that they couldn't stop if I did I'd get annoyed if they walked into me. If someone is cycling so close behind me that they couldn't possibly react in time if I changed speed or direction that annoys me more. If someone is driving so close behind me that I'd have a new rear seat passenger if I had to brake hard that annoys me even more.

When I'm out riding if I see something ahead that means I may need to stop suddenly I'll be ready to stop. I really don't need the hassle of having some idiot so close behind me that I end up with the choice between running into something in front of me or having said idiot running into the back of me. It's even worse when the idiot behind doesn't stop for red traffic lights and ends up taking evasive action when I do something really unpredictable, like stopping at a red traffic light, and somehow thinks it's my fault he had to swerve.

TampaRaleigh

Take a very sloppy sip from your water bottle.

furballi

I practice conservation of momentum...stay off the front brake as much as possible by timing the light when riding in the city. Nominal speed is 17-18 mph without traffic. My riding technique and speed do not attract many drafters. And I don't mind the few that tag along for the ride. Might even ask the rider to tuck-in or switch position if he/she is a competent cyclist.