Machka 

That's it exactly. Have the courtesy and manners to introduce yourself.



And have the decency to respect the fact that some cyclists want to be left alone.

We ride for different reasons ... fitness, training, to get from point A to point B, challenge and adventure ... and also for stress relief and to get away from people.

Introducing yourself and perhaps asking the question, "Do you mind if we ride together" opens the door for a polite conversation and gives the cyclist who is being imposed upon the chance to say, "No thanks, I've had a tough day and I need to be alone" or to agree to the company.

colnago62

You assume you are a better bike handler than the person riding your wheel. You might end up hooking a match aprinter, who is very comfortable dealing with aggressive moves. They might end up dropping you on the ground or put you into the curb.

krobinson103

I hate that. If I'm feeling fresh I just gradually ramp up the speed. Eventually I'll either run out of gas and just pull over and wait a few minutes to let them out of range or I drop them. Had one guy like that the other day. We passed him dawdling along at about 23kmh. We were doing 27 at the time. Dude locks onto my wheel like glue. So I pushed up to 46kmh. Don't like doing that often as its rather dangerous at that speed but I have the output for it if I want to. Dude hung in for about 2 minutes and dropped off. Waiting for my friends about 7km up the road dude comes into range looking very tired gives me a dirty look and speeds up as he passes.

Honestly, if he had just asked if he could draft I would have been happy. But I have no patience for wanna be racers on my weekend stress relief ride. If you want to glue yourself to my wheel you better be able to keep up.

gregf83 

I think most of the people here who are complaining about un-announced drafters only imagine a scenario that rarely happens. Maybe I'm different than all these solitary riders but I don't mind riding with others and don't mind if they latch on announced or not.

I've had 3 guys latch on in about 6 yrs of riding. One came on as I came around a corner on a final 1 mile section into town where I normally go hard. I noticed him and he provided a little extra motivation. I was going hard and wouldn't have expected him to come around. When we stopped at the light I found out he was the father of one of my son's classmates and we rode together for another 15 min. I didn't consider him to be rude or inconsiderate and really don't feel it an imposition when someone is on my wheel.

One other rider asked to catch a ride for a while and I was happy to pull. I had no idea what kind of rider he was and didn't give him a test to see if he was qualified to sit on my wheel. I don't ride any differently with someone on my wheel or by myself. I try and always keep my vision up and don't swerve or make sudden movements to avoid obstacles. If I do have to point out obstacles it doesn't bother me in the least. It's not like riding a bike is a huge mental strain.

My advice to anyone who doesn't like someone on your wheel would be to simply talk to them, don't spit on them or blow snot rockets, just talk to them. Seems like much ado about nothing...

krobinson103

The thing that bothers me is that they always ride within cm of my wheel. Now if I'm on a bike path and have to stop suddenly there will be a crash because they won't be able to react in time and if I didn't see them yet how do I know to give them some warning? I never draft anyone closely. I hate pacelines, I'd rather sit 3 feet back and use a bit more energy than worry about who is in front and behind and what they are doing.

gregf83 

I rarely ride on MUPs so the density of riders I see is much lower. If I was on a MUP I wouldn't be going hard enough for anyone to want to draft so it's a moot point. I virtually never 'slam' on my brakes so it's not something I spend much time worrying about.

And when you say they 'always ride within cm of your wheel' how often does this happen? I can imagine if you spent a lot of time riding on MUPs that people riding in close proximity might be more common. I know the Stanley park seawall gets packed with cycle tourists in the summer. They probably can't help but ride close to others. That's not really what I'd consider road cycling though.

krobinson103

Riding on the Han cycleway in Seoul at peak times its like a bumper car track. Its not overly safe to maintain more than about 20-25kmh and at that speed being bigger than average (especially compared to Koreans) I get all these kids on hybrids locking onto my wheel and getting a free ride. In terms of frequency every time I ride that path - and I need that path to get to the good rides so at least twice a week. Thing is they ride so close they couldn't stop and there are MANY times when you need to brake fairly quickly as you get kids walking, ipod deaf, dogs, people camping by the path. Its nuts. Anyone even thinking about a paceline there is stupid.

SHBR

I get annoyed when a motorized vehicle such as an e-bike or sometimes a car follows closely, or worse alongside.
I've never been annoyed with another cyclist that follows, although I usually spot them in my mirror, never had a "stealth" encounter as the OP describes.

caloso

Riiiiiiiggggghhhhhhtttttt.

Wooden Tiger

I've never really noticed anyone trying to draft me. Being as I'm pretty slow, I can't imagine why anyone would want to draft me for that reason alone.

I always announce myself before sneaking up on someone, it's the right thing to do as to not startle other riders. There have been instances in the past when people have crawled up on us unannounced, and then nearly cause accidents because we don't know they're back there.

Nachoman

For all you guys that are so paranoid that one day a cyclist might draft you (unannounced), how do you handle tailgaters on your morning commute on the freeway?

kbarch

If the wheel sucker hasn't announced himself, the polite thing to do is to acknowledge him yourself - whether it be a signal, a word, an acceleration or pulling off. I can understand if some people find it irritating or a little creepy sometimes, but no one who wears lycra should be offended or feel threatened. Besides, even if stealth drafting is bad form, being polite is about what WE do to make the other person feel more comfortable. Even if you do feel threatened, it's far more effective to disarm the wheelsucker than to arm yourself further. Suspicion is a heavy armour - who needs the weight?

Machka 

I think they are complete and utter idiots. Tailgating is such an incredibly stupid thing to do.

1) Breaking the law

2) Putting themselves into an at-fault situation in the case of a crash

3) Extremely dangerous


Yeah ... really brilliant.

Wooden Tiger

I have nice, thick, steel, offroad bumpers on my Jeep. How good are your brakes, and how thick is your front bumper?

See where I'm going with this?

localroutes

Riders don't draft behind riders who are not worth drafting behind. Consider it a compliment, but by all means if he is back there for a while ask him to take a pull.

UnfilteredDregs

Seriousness for half a second...

Drafting well requires close cooperation in order to ensure safety.

Everyone involved should be aware.

That's where courtesy kicks in.

big chainring 

Thats reasonable. Unfortunately reasonable behavior is lacking these days.

bikecrate

I don't get drafted much (because I'm slow). The few people who have drafted me have been unpleasant. Due to this I have vowed to be less passive about it in the future and just ask them that I'd rather not have them ride so close and please keep their distance.

BoSoxYacht

I commute by bicycle, so I have been talking about my morning commute. Do you really think some sketchy newb is gonna catch up to me on a training ride?

achoo

I've made ZERO assumptions.

Read this: Straw man - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It's quite apropos to your post.

You've yet to answer why the hell you think you have the right to impose the safety responsibilities incumbent upon the first cyclist in a pace line upon someone you don't know.

achoo

Bingo.

And stealth drafters are either arrogant or clueless when they impose that requirement on a stranger.

Or both.

gregf83 

I think you mis-interpreted colnago's posts. He said drafters didn't bother him. I don't recall him ever saying he drafted or felt he had the right to draft off of someone else. You may have inferred that but it doesn't logically have to follow.

I also don't mind drafters but I would never sit on someone's wheel without asking. Although I must admit I have drafted cars and trucks on occasion without asking permission

wphamilton

That's more fun anyway. But for my drafting, I think they're onto me - lately the cars all hang back to create a gap and then accelerate dropping me.

Sometimes a driver gets behind me and acts like he's drafting, and that does kind of bug me.

Nachoman

Nope. I have total confidence in your ability to drop the hammer, whether in a car or on a bike.

BoSoxYacht

When I give the look, it's just a roll of the eyes before I dial it up to 400 watts.