Originally Posted by
big chainring
This drafting thing is really a sticky subject on this forum. With some experience you can pick out riders who are steady wheels. All these rules and etiquette crap will be second nature. The above quote is what I do instantaneously when I ride in a group. Body type, riding position, pedaling smoothness, gear selection, I see it and determine who are the good wheels to follow and who to distance from.
I used to go in a lot of group rides however when pushing too hard some riders starts to lose a steady wheel and there was 3 major crashes in that group when I was not there.
Nowadays I just ride with friends who have steady wheels