PeteDman

Last night, after my first ride with a local group, one of the guys was complaining that the rider in front of him would stop pedaling and that was throwing him off. I'm pretty sure I was one of the accomplices of his complaint. Mind you this is the same guy that before the ride told me that the pace was 18-20mph, which was really more like 21-25 and I got dropped like a bad habit when they cranked it up at the end to 28-30mph. But did I say anything, NOOOOOO.

Is this guy right? If so, how do you grab someones wheel without having to ride the brakes or stop pedaling in order not to hit the rider in front of you or overlap wheels? Most of the times I needed to stop pedaling was because the rider in front of me would also stop pedaling and I needed to slow a bit. However, I feel I did good when the rider in front of me was pedaling, I didn't need to stop pedaling. I've been riding for only 2 weeks and I've been reading a lot about staying off your brakes while riding in a group. So do you compensate?

Help a Newbie out. Thanks

t595

Stay one foot off the guy's wheel that is ahead of you and the guy behind you is responsible for his own thing.

dave1442397

You will always be slowing down and speeding up to some extent when riding a fast paceline with riders of roughly similar capabilities. If someone slows down a bit at the front, then you'll need to coast or soft pedal a bit, and maybe even sit up and catch some wind if there's more of a slow down.

You need to watch the riders in front of you, try to stay smooth and not grab the brakes, and it's up to the guy behind you to watch what you're doing.

Every now and then you'll be behind someone who can't figure it out. I usually skip a rotation just to get away from them.

bbattle

Yes, it is the same speed that everyone wants, not synchronized pedaling. Riders often have to coast to keep from running into the rider in front of them due to drafting.


I wouldn't pay any attention to this other guy's complaints if that is what was happening.

Now if the riders in front of you slow down, they should say "slowing" and put their left hand out facing down to let others know. If they are slowing down, speeding up, slowing down, speeding up (the dreaded yo-yoing), go around them and mutter something about steady pace.

Group rides often go faster than their advertised pace; the ride leader should be the one to police this.

And expect a sprint finish at the end. Also when coming to a rest stop. or a stop sign. or a climb.

thump55

Soft pedaling is smoother than going to a full coast. Soft pedaling is basically still rotating the pedals, but not pushing.

It is smoother to adjust how hard you push while soft pedaling than it is to completely stop pedaling and then start again.

If you are currently coasting for only 3-5 seconds at a time, then soft pedal.

It just takes practice.

I wouldn't worry about the guy's specific comment about pedaling, he was probably just trying to say that the guy in front of him (you?) weren't smooth. Smooth is the key word. I don't care if the guy in front of me is pedaling or not, as long as he's smooth.

bruce19

Continue pedaling while applying brakes gently. When you stop pedaling or, especially, if you stand, you can cause a chain reaction. Also avoid fixating on the wheel in front of you.Look up the road while also seeing the wheel in front. This will allow you to see any slowing up front before it gets to you.

rm -rf

Coasting is okay if the road starts a slight downhill, or the group really is slowing down.

If the pace is easy and I'm in the draft, I often upshift to my 50-12 high gear, and keep pedaling very lightly at a slow cadence. That's easier for me than faking it by turning the pedals with no resistance at all in my original gear.

When a rider in front of me stops pedaling for no good reason, it makes me look at the rider, and the group in front, to see if they are slowing suddenly or dodging something in the road. That can be a little annoying if it happens a lot. ( Yes, I'm looking at the riders ahead anyway, but in a general "everything is flowing along" mode.)

I've been behind riders that pedal hard for a few revolutions, then coast for a few seconds, and repeat. Don't do that.

kbarch

If you put your mind to it, it's really quite easy to not coast. Soft pedal, upshift, feather your brakes, sit up, whatever; just keep your feet moving. The only time it's really OK to coast in a paceline type group ride is if you are at the back or your group has agreed to disperse in certain situations, like extra-long, fast downhills. Otherwise, it really is disruptive.
Always think about staying in position. If you find your gap growing, don't try to close it all at once. Just concentrate on steadiness and gradually closing the gap, not attacking, but creeping back up. Anticipate when the rider in front will be slowing down and speeding up and do the same when they do, even if it seems a bit premature for your position - i.e., be ready to push before you get to an incline, and be ready to upshift before you get over the crest of a hill.

shelbyfv

I would not want to ride in a paceline with someone who had been cycling only two weeks. Do yourself and others a favor and stay at the back until you get comfortable and more importantly, they get comfortable having you around. The other riders will respect your caution and consideration. They will tell you when it's time to move into the rotation.

rm -rf

Smooth riders Some things to work on for group riding.

Riding a straight path
When solo, I practice riding the white fog line, looking way up the road and riding a straight line. I occasionally rode my old mountain bike on snow covered roads, and the least bit of off balance riding would make the tires start to slide out. On dry roads, it's easy to get in the habit of using a lot of steering adjustments, and not following a straight path.

I try for the feeling of being centered over the bike, and that helps keep it in a straight line.

I've seen riders that turn the front wheel slightly on every pedal stroke. The bike moves left and right a few inches each time. It's not efficient, and it's hard on the following riders.

Closing gaps
If a large gap opens up ahead, I make a game of speeding up gradually so the riders behind can follow easily, and then easing off as I get closer to the rider in front, so that I'm matching speeds just as I arrive. (If I'm pushing at my max just to keep in the group, I'll go as hard as possible to close the gap "right now" and then try to recover in the draft.)

Buffering a choppy rider
I've been behind those riders that let a "big" gap open, then pedal hard to close the gap, and repeat. When that happens, I try to keep a little larger space in front of me, so I can keep a steady speed for the rest of the group while the rider in front yo-yos.


That's true. It's much easier to practice good group riding techniques if you aren't having to put out a max effort just to stay with the group. Find an easier group, one where you can draft or even pull without red lining. Then move up to a faster group later.

Panza

Sometimes to help modulate my speed inside the pace line I choose to relax on the tops and try to function as a kite while lightly spinning the wheels. It sometimes works.

I'm +1 for two weeks is not much time in a group. Most groups ride at a pace they're comfortable with, if you get dropped, hope another group is behind to sweep you up or push harder until you can keep up weeks/months down the road.

Sometimes when newer riders try to join the group, they take the lead and don't know when to rotate. They get fatigued quicker, and can have unpredictable varying speeds. Tell them what theyre doing wrong. More often than not, they don't know they're doing something wrong. I've been lucky to have people guide and tell me during/after the ride when I'm doing something wrong when I was new at it. Don't be afraid to scream and shout in the paceline either. Being vocal can be a good thing. I'm still learning things.

Nachoman

+1 on learning the art of soft pedaling.

Jiggle

One n00b near the front of the paceline will cause a yo-yo for everyone. Learn to locate the source of the problem and have a chat with him.

PeteDman

Thanks guys for the tips. Although I feel comfortable in the middle of the pack, I agree that I should ride in the back for now.

Shuffleman

Lots of good advice has been offered here. The only thing that I can ad is that you can't learn unless you are in the group. Experience is the best way to go and the only way to get that is trial by fire.
I remember my first group ride. I told people it was my first group ride and they were all great about it. I did take the lead when it was my turn. I probably held it too long at times because I did not understand how to get to the back of the line properly. A few times, I burned up a lot of energy trying to catch up. I had to learn to stay shorter on my leads and not let myself fall back on the trip to the end of the line. I do not log the miles that some of the other riders do and because of that I am the weaker of the riders in the group. The B group is way to slow for me. It is the classic tale of a tweener.
Either way, just go for it and push yourself. There is nothing be nervous about, with the exception of falling or taking out a group in the process.
Just get out there and learn as you go. You can't learn if you are not out there doing it. Most riders in the groups are pretty good guys that enjoy you being there. There is always a jerk in every group though. Don't pay them any attention as it can only ruin your ride.

RollCNY

Just my opinion:
People don't mind coasting in a group; they mind inconsistency and lack of predictability. I ride a single speed on group rides, and coast frequently, in many different situations. But I hold my place in line, don't yo-yo, and have never had a word said about it.

ovoleg

when someone says the pace is 18-20mph that doesnt mean you'lll always go that speed lol. That's the average speed and its more as an indicator of how fast the group will be in general.

My group of friends used to advertise the ride as 18-22mph, but we rode balls out on the flats(26+), climbed hard at 14+ mph and deescended like daredevils at 30+ mph. The average speed of the ride would be around 19-20mph usually...

It's called stop signs, waiting for people after climbs, and sometimes coasting.

Lazyass

Tell the guy to stop crying. Nothing wrong with coasting as long as you're keeping the same steady speed. Everyone does it, even the guy who was sniveling. If it was actually throwing him off he needs to just ride solo.

Leinster

This. If he's behind you, he needs to watch your back wheel, not your feet.

And don't listen to anyone who tells you to "just sit at the back." You sound like you're pretty comfortable in the group already. Focus on maintaining the pace and holding the wheel in front of yours. Though soft-pedalling is a useful habit to get into.

merlinextraligh

But the odds are high if you're frequently coasting that you aren't keeping the same steady pace, but are actually dropping speed slightly, then picking it back up repeatedly.

All th above advice about soft pedaling, sitting up to catch more wind, and feathering brakes while still pedaling, are good ways to stay smooth. All of those are more subtle speed adjustments than the on/off of pedal, coast, pedal, coast.

Another one is to try to use a similar gear as the rider in front of you. If you're in the same gear, pedaling the same cadence you'll ride the same speed and be less likely to surge forward or fall back.

woodcraft

The person at the head of the line has responsibility for pace, picking a line, etc.

When you're in the middle, you're the head of the line of everyone behind you.


It's also possible to drift to the side slightly, to catch more wind. This also puts you in a better position if things bunch up ahead.

big chainring 

Here in the flatlands I've often wondered, why not just ride a fixed gear. A lot easier to moderate your peddling/speed with fixed. The groups I ride with would be much smoother and safer if we all were riding on fixed gears. Probably reap more benefits from riding in that manner as well.

Nachoman

I do. But the group I regularly ride with doesn't. I've explained to them many times to simply soft pedal and feather their brakes, and they just look at me like 'what the eff is your problem?'.

Brian Ratliff

It's the same way you keep your speed steady in a car. You learn to anticipate what is happening in front of you and you learn to modulate your pedaling force. The guy is right. The pedal-pedal-coast is high up there on my list of group-ride annoyances. If the guy in front of you stops pedaling, you back off your pedaling force (without stopping), finesse your bike a few inches to the side (so you don't risk bumping wheels), and close up close to his wheel keeping your speed as constant as possible. This works because you learn to anticipate what is going on ahead of you. It requires practice. Until you've got it, don't try to ride like a pro and be three inches off someones wheel and overlap wheels. Back off a bit.

Bike control is a big part of this. In addition to anticipating what's ahead, you have to learn to control your bike on the sub-inch level. First step to this is to learn to ride on top of the white line, even around corners. Rollers are also great for improving fine, sub-inch bike control skills. You also have to learn to not panic. Steer your bike with the minimum of necessary movement. If there's a pothole, missing by half an inch is as good as missing by a mile. So do the guy behind you a favor and miss by half an inch (and maybe call it out if you have time).

Elvo

They do have fix gear group rides called Critical Mass and they are the safest possible rides out there.