Paceline etiquette
 

I generally find that paceline etiquette is horrible, is there a universal sign to indicate that you want to drop off the front and let the next person in line take a turn?

Also, what should you tell a fellow cyclist that is holding up the group because they won't get out of the lead? I figure that if your speed drops by 2MPH that you are tired and need a break, so I try to pass them and get looks of annoyance...

I use my left hand to tap my hip and pull over to the right while maintaining my speed. I maintain my speed because I am already going slower due to being tired and I do not want to have someone crash into me because I hit my brakes.

In a single line paceline with a clockwise rotation move your right elbow out and back, then peel off to the right and start sliding back.

these are the reasons i rarely ride in pacelines. not everyone is always on the same page. i frequently had problems getting up to the front without the person in the lead speeding up (what the hell?). and sometimes if i do go up front, i look back and 2nd rider allowed a gap of like 10 feet (again, what the hell?). i think a simple hand wave should work, but again, not everyone will understand it.

i've seen this in cycling videos ... seems to be the norm. elbow signal.

The problem is ego. They think it’s a race, and dropping back is a sign of weakness.

:rolleyes:

Around here people tend to peel off to the left, if they peeled off to the right they be on the shoulder or worse, parked cars. The person moving up to lead should also say "clear" to inform the peeler that they can move back now.

2Roadies--BINGO....all over it....there's your answer.

But now here's a tip for you:

Make that fact and others clear BEFORE you ever clip in at the start.
When riding with anyone you have never been with before, I have found there is a lot of excitement in the air and you're thinking about getting going. But if it's three or more riders and you might paceline...it is a GREAT idea to take the time to lay out some basic rules for doing that safely BEFORE you ever start the ride.

I think a paceline is a wonderful thing to practice, and a great way to pick up your average speed because you are faster as a group than solo. Plus, it gives you something to work on and think about as you log the miles.

When riding with people I know, I just open the fingers of my hand, or if we ride alot together, I simply pull off ... they know enough to pull through!

As for someone who's holding up the pace ... go around them. They should get the picture after a few rotations ... or maybe give them a gentle push on the hip with your hand, then ride through.

I wouldn't take my hands of the bars though.

jw

... to signal that you're done pulling. :rolleyes:

jw

John...

Your point about doing nothing at all is the way we do it.
Ride far out on the road enough to allow the drop-back lane to the right.

Take a pull, then just swing right and let the train slowly go by you.
It's really not necessary to have a signal up there.

That's really the way it should work. Most pacelines also have the laed rider taking too long a pull and weaker riders pull for much shorter turns. That's what necessitates all the signals. Pulls of 20 seconds are good. Everyone adheres to that and you expect people to come off at a certain time.

actually we use the elbow on the side you want the guy to come up on. So, If you're pulling off to the left, we flick our right elbow.

Also when we have a group that knows what they are doing, we pull off into the wind, regardless of what side its coming from. So there are times when its to the right, or the left. Unless of course your going to get hit by a truck.

>>I generally find that paceline etiquette is horrible, is there a universal sign to indicate that you want to drop off the front and let the next person in line take a turn?<<

If moving 3' to the left isn't a signal to the rider behind you, flick your right elbow. If that doesn't work simply slow down 2mph (which you sort of should be doing anyway) and let the guy pass you. Then he HAS to take a pull while you slide to the rear.

In my opinion the WORST thing you can do is pull to the left and then accellerate or not fade back, which forces everyone in the paceline to work harder - essentially because you're an idiot. I've been doing this for a long time, and it seems to me that nothing is quite as dopey as some guy who says, in the middle of a group ride 'let's pull off to the RIGHT today'. As if paceline riding isn't fraught with enough peril, now make everyone on the ride remember that we're pulling to the other side today after 10 years of pulling off to the left.

I take that back, the worst thing anyone can do to me on a group ride is start yelling at me about my riding. I just look at them in disbelief and crank up the iPod. Cue obligatory lecture about how 'dangerous' it is to ride in a paceline with an iPod. Somebody shoot me before that post hits the web.

Couldn't have said it better.... For me there are some things that I think everyone should take into consideration:

1: When barrelling down at 35+MPH... Do not slow down and then peel off... Keep going the same speed, signal, peel off slowly and then ease off a little...

2: Stay constant... There are bumps and nooks.. you cannot avoid all of them... Keep the paceline and don't be bobbing back and forth trying to avoid hitting the grain of rice on the road...

Years ago I lady in my local club did Paris-Brest-Paris. She got a coach to get ready and part of her training was paceline riding. Of course you can not practice alone. So several of us 'helped out'. What Smoothie104 describes is exactly what we were taught. BTW the coach had ridden in the TDF and I got the impression this was both what the pros did (at least when they were cooperating) and also what was appropriate for social paceline riding, at least in Europe.

Yep yep yep. Elbow flick.

And if you're on the front while going down a hill, take a shorter pull. Everyone is rolling up your backside.

Hey, I'm not against iPods in the paceline, but you'd better adept at riding safely. If you're a threat, I'm out of there.

IPods? No harm, no foul.

Just don't ride aerobars in a paceline. Some antisocial jerkoff with an attitude problem might just clip your front wheel to teach you a lesson.

As for pulling off, signalling, etc... 2Rodies has it right. If someone doesn't pull off, pass them and push them out of the paceline.

-Z

If you are doing a lot of work and someone is itting on your wheel just peel off...ie roll about a foot or two from you normal line so they are off your wheel then just ease off the pace a bit. If they are still sitting on your wheel I use my left or right arm as if I was playing lawn bowls to give them the message I am waving them through.

It s#1TS me to tears that people are scared of riding in a paceline...Its good fun and you simply have to get used to it if you have any desire of racing one day.

In our races the turns up front are short and sweet basically we roll past the previous leader on there right and as soon as my back wheel gets clearance infront of his or her front wheel we start easing off just a little until the next dude rolls infront of you then you can relax and get sucked along at about 30-35 mph! The worst experience I had was when the second in line clipped wheels with the dude behind him and then a domino effect occured. Lucky I was feeling like mud on that day and was sitting up the back so I had time to zig zag through the mess. This experience would be closely followed by my 50km breakaway with just three cyclists (no rest at all) which soon was reduced to just two cyclists so for about 40km's me and another bloke had to hold off a paceline containing about 20 people with just a 5 minute advantage (we won by 4 and a half minutes won $18 and next week I was with A-grade lol.

Pacelines seem to lead to the worst person problems that can occur in cycling, expecially after a crash. There are still a few people I will not ride with for...

1. Not being vocal
2. Taking too many risks in a paceline
3. Running every stop sign / light
4. Complain about my VC riding while everyone else is getting blown off the road by inconsiderate drivers

I like pacelines but I would rather not be friends with a few people than be dead!

I've seen where often a stronger rider (assumes more experience) tends to pull off sooner that a weaker rider (assumes less experience), because the weaker rider often wants to 'prove' themselves to the group.

In any case, the key is to be predictable and smoooooooooooooooooooooooooooth.




And then there's echelons...

>>Just don't ride aerobars in a paceline.<<

Uhhh - yeah. I have nothing against tri-guys or aerobars, but I DO want everyone to have their hand near the brakes in a 30mph paceline. For obvious reasons. Duh. And some people think iPods are dangerous? Hardly. The only thing I can't hear through my headphones are idle chatter and bs. Warning cries, shouts, screeching tires, car horns, loud voices, etc. - those are all VERY audible. And my iPod isn't going to impact my braking reaction. Aero bars - we regularly have to politely advise a tri guy on our fast group ride on Sunday (more of an informal race) about the dangers of being on aero bars - in any position other than the very front of the long paceline. There it's far less of a threat to everyone, although even then it's a bad idea since bike handling is pretty lame with in the aero bar position.

It's like anything else. If you say 'hey *******, no aero bars' you'll get a negative reaction. If you explain in a NICE, FRIENDLY way why they might not want to ride that way, you generally get immeidate - 'oh, yeah, duh, sorry' compliance. A concept too many road cyclists seem to have trouble grasping.

Thanks for the information! :D

All the guys I've ridden with peel off to the left when traffic is clear. No signals, but everyone knows eachother. Also...shorter pulls = better. Especially for long rides. We generally go for about two to three minutes when we're truckin'.

I generally flick my elbows out and pull off to the left. I've noticed that my group, everyone pulls way too long. I do short pulls so I dont tire as fast. And you'll see me time my pulls when that city sign is coming up so I am in position for the sprint and I'm rested up. My buddy knows when I do this but most of the other people that don't ride with me as much are in for a surprise.

I won't ride in a pace line with you unless I trust you. It's hard to break into my little group, because I make everyone sit through my safety and hand signal lecture before I would ever draft them. Some riders, even some who have ridden for years, do the dumbest things!