I agree that it's bad form to just grab someones wheel and take a free ride but bdop made a good point here.

I have said it in the "on your left" threads many times. I have a very deep voice.

This past Sunday I was out for a ride and on my return route got myself into a pretty good head wind. I pushed as hard as I could as I saw it as a training oppurtunity. When I turned off that street I ended up behind another cyclist. He was not going terribly fast (maybe 17-18 mph) so I approached but by that time I was cooked. I thought I would try to get on his wheel to recover then continue on. When I spoke up to announce myself this guy was so startled I almost caused him to crash.

I apologized in the most polite way I could and was happy to see that he laughed it off but it could have been bad. He told me that the bass in my voice sound like a roar or like a really big dog was jumping him. I get this ALL THE TIME. I'm not buying a bell so I'm not so sure how to announce myself and not give people a near heart attack.