Pacelining - How Long To Pull?
 

I know - the answer is "It depends". So my question is not "how long should one pull", but rather "what are your experiences and preferences"?

E.g. I was recently doing a century in a paceline of 8, and the pull was almost always exactly a mile. That seems a bit long - but what a great 7-mile rest.

I've also been in lines where the leader pulls off after 30 seconds or less, before the previous puller has even joined the back of the line. That seems utterly pointless to me.

Club rides tend to be pretty inconsistent. I've seen stronger riders pull for a long way and weaker riders peel off after a few hundred yards. I've also frequently seen strong riders pull fast for a long time, then get dropped when they try to rejoin the back of the line. That seems just plain stoopid!

What are your thoughts, your experiences, recommendations, or preferences, and under what circumstances?

Generally, I pull for as long as I can sustain the avg speed of the ride, plus/minus 2-3km/h. Some of the stronger guys pull for 3-5 mins, others pull for 30 seconds. No one in the group seems to care as long as the momentum of the group is sustained.

If a guy pulls for too long, bonks and slows us down, we generally let him do so until he pulls off. If he gets dropped as we speed back up, too bad, should have pulled off sooner.....that's our group policy.

it depends. ;)

in my experience, the easier the pace the longer the pull. the smaller the group, the longer the pull. the stronger the rider, the longer the pull.

I'll pull all day long at 16-19. :)

Pulling a mile seems stupid to me. Defeats the purpose of a pull and becomes a contest. That would result in a slower group. Unless you've got a Cat 1 and the rest are Cat 5's.

At our small group ride, I'll pull for 30 seconds or so. Less when the pace increases and I feel that I can't pull longer without blowing up. For me, it's all about working together as a group. Pull for just a bit at very hard effort, then get off and let the next guy work while you rest. This way the pace line doesn't slow down as much.

Sounds almost like a rotating paceline. When done right you spend very little time on the front...basically just until the rider dropping back has cleared your back wheel. A group that is doing this well can sustain a good speed for a long time...riders that are pooped will stay at the back and not cycle through simply letting the rider coming back get in front of them. You will see this a lot in breakaways of pro races.

This isn't pointless. Having a chain gang going through and off, with everyone taking only a very short pull, can maintain a very high speed.

Otherwise, there's no rule. If I'm clearly the strongest rider (rare) I'll pull longest. If there are inexperienced riders in the group who have trouble holding a steady pace, or surge off the front, I'll sometimes sit at the front to restore a bit of order. In general, it fairly quickly becomes clear who is strong/competent and people will pull for the length of time that seems most constructive in that context.

If you're a team or a an experienced group that knows each other, this is the way to do it. However if you are part of a group that doesn't know each other well like a club rider or a bunch of stangers from a century, it's more impromptu and longer in duration

Fast club runs here are almost invariably a rotating paceline, which we call a chaingang. I don't know if it's something to do with differing road habits but single file pacelines are relatively unusual here.

Grasschopper - thanks for that helmet cam video. Fascinating!!

Wow! How long was the group able to maintain that 60 mph (one minute mile) pace?

Learn something every day

Like everyone else said, it depends.

On long tempo rides it is nice to get into a rhythm of 4-5 minute pulls but sometimes if most of the group is exhausted one person may pull for 10-20 minutes or more. On faster (and shorter) club rides I will pull for 3-4 minutes max or if I'm barely hanging on I may rotate off right away; usually i am somewhere in the middle with 1-2 minutes on the front. I have had trouble hooking back onto the group, especially on aggressive club rides, but with some practice and maintaining awareness I can usually keep enough in reserve for that burst of effort.

LOL - you picked up my typo. I've fixed it:

(Not a 7-minute rest :lol:)

I am one of the weaker riders taking shorter turns. The stronger riders seam to appreciate this. This way the group stays together longer.
Also always trying to pull of with enough left to get back onto the line.

Do what the others are doing, modified for how strong you feel at the time. If you're with a group doing 1 mile pulls and you do a 30 second one, they're not all going to realize that they should be doing that and switch. They're going to think that you're weak and are pulling through so you don't disrupt the pace line.

Thanks for the topic! This is something I'd wondered too.

Even though I have three very close friends who got me into cycling I only ever seem to ride with one other person....and even that's rare. We're communicating a lot and I'm always getting great tips for riding in a group, but of course experience is a lot better. :P

This morning I was doing 30 second pulls when the rest of the group was doing 1 or 2 minute pulls. I just wasn't feeling it.

Best pacelines and pulls I've been in have involved pulling off nearly immediately after getting to the front. It makes a smooth, fast ride. No riders have issues jumping off the front if they're too strong, or slowing the group down if they're too slow. You make it up to the front, then rotate right off nearly immediately. Works great.

I can't stand pacelines with long pulls - there's invariably one guy who misjudges his strength and slows everyone down big time. It's a lot less of an issue popping off the front if you're a group with similar ability, as the draft effect will usually keep you honest unless you're intentionally sprinting to make a gap.

I tend to do what the group is doing, so if they're doing longer pulls, I'll do one too, but I def prefer rotating right off. Avg pace will definitely be faster.

It's whatever the group you're riding with agrees on. Before the ride, or when you've gathered as a group and are thinking about riding a paceline, talk to each other. Agree on what you all want to do.

If everyone agrees that you'll do 2 minute pulls, or 1 km pulls, or whatever ... then that's what it is.

If you're new to a group and you're not sure what they have agreed on ... ask them.

Or they show off with too fast a pace and causes a break in the line

anything over a minute is just showing off imo, overall I would figure it would hurt the group if it burns the rider out and you have to slow to keep him with the group.

I learn from better riders. There was a regular paceline workout and they'd say it's either long or short pulls. If it's long maybe 30 seconds. If it's short it's just a constant rotation, up and out. Should be able to do both. I agree that as long as the pace isn't interrupted then it's all good as long as they don't die which hurts the group.

My group ride experience is not as vast as some of you, but pulling 12 miles out of 100 seems like a good ratio. While reading the OP, I thought how cool would this be?

All of my centuries are solo :-\

IMO, the faster the pace, the shorter the pull. In a good structured paceline at 22MPH, maybe 1 minute makes sense. At 25MPH+, a constant rotation makes sense. Endurance riding at 20MPH, all bets are off.

IMO, the key is everyone in a given paceline needs to pull at least some of the time. I can understand "skipping your shift" once in a while if you're dead, but it's irritating to me if there are riders who never, ever take a pull and just hang out in the back for the entire ride. IMO, expectations need to be set up front over the pace and "responsibilities".

for me it depends on who I'm riding with

last week I did 125-130km ride

we started with 5 minute pulls in a group of 3 and on the way back it was obvious people were suffering so I pulled longer.

we probably could have had shorter pulls but when you have a small group I find it easier to have a rhythm with longer pulls

if in a group of 10 the pulls are much shorter and if the average speed is faster.

one tip though is pull off when you want to even if your "time" is up..... for example if you are the wekest climber finish the climb and pull off, don't pull off before/during the climb if your not comfortable you can grab the last persons wheel because you are fading. THat being said if you are pullnig through and know the person pulling off is a weaker climber don't be a jackhole and up the pace.

A great rotating paceline will alternate its rotation based on the wind, so the guys pulling off are blocking the wind for the guys moving forward.

That said, what is often lost about pacelines is that weak riders still help the group. If everyone is taking a 30-sec to one-min. pull and you can only give 5 seconds, you still help the group by providing a body for riders to hide behind in the group. So, keep that in mind.

That pace line is machine. They blow by that group ride.
Impressive

What? What people? Oh, you mean the other two guys in your group of three. How considerate of you. :D

Really does depend (on a number of factors not just individual strength). My preference is definitely a constant rotation so usually sub30 sec pulls. Everyone stays fresh and active like a swarm hellbent on the group goal. The reality is most groups are not evenly distributed in terms of strength/conditioning so something approximating a constant rotation develops with stronger riders taking a longer pull to help the group more. How big a difference is the "depends." The other big factor is knowing and trusting the other riders well enough to keep tight, even and consistent with the line and the traded pulls. Easy for teams but much more difficult for most of us schmoes who ride with ever changing groups...

LOL. One does what one can do for the lesser among us... (big tongue in cheek for those who don't speak sarcasm)