Can someone clue me in on this??

One of the Tri Forums I read mentioned this "gesture" but I have never heard of it.

I do lots of club rides, and we do all types of pacelines....single paceline, double paceline, rotating (in a circle) pacelines, even echelons sometimes.

Anyway I am clueless about this "elbow flick" but the tri guys/gals say it's common practice.

I just pull over when my pull is up, or in the case of a circular rotating paceline, when there's room for me to slide over.

The elbow flick is to signal that you are pulling off and the guy behind should pull now. It's not usually needed in a cooperative, team or group setting. More common in races when the guy behind is on a different team and might not want to pull, or the group has the whole road and it's not always clear if you are taking a different line, or pulling off. I find it annoying when people do it on group rides.

On a rotating paceline there's no need for a sign. On one where the pull is long in duration, some signal is usually given - an elbow flick, a finger point, hand on hip, etc.

Aha that explains it.

My group rides are always club rides.

Thanks for the info!

I use the elbow flick to let my wife know it's time for her to make me a samich.

It's still useful on hard charging group rides...

I've seen many people follow the wheel of the person pulling off, a quick elbow flick will clear up any confusion...

I have a new hero, his name is thump55

For more experienced riders 'the flick' is just fingers and moving over. The rider 'flicking' flicks on the side they want the rider in second position to pull through on.

For less experienced riders the elbow gets flicked.

For newbs it involves arm waving, some yelling and the hurling of insults.

Don't forget the hip slap. That is one of the dumbest things I've seen.

I just pull over, if there is any doubt I point with a finger.

Just to clarify a point, it's obvious when you're riding but you flick the elbow/finger/whatever on the side you want the next rider to pull through. So if you're pulling off to the left, you flick the right side.

I see it even in some pro clips. It's like using a turn signal when you're driving and you want to turn. It can never hurt. It sometimes helps.

I understand a race might be different, but in a paceline, I would think the lead guy moving over and slowing should be enough of a signal that he or she is ready for someone else to pull. Hopefully they arent doing an elbow flick and expecting the group to accelerate and pass them.

Otherwise known as a Costanza.

The Seinfeld-o-phobes will get it

Shouldn't be slowing enough for it to be that noticeable. If slowing down that much they are going to be dropped.

On country roads it is common to use the entire lane when pulling, especially when the have pot holes. A lot of times you don't know if the lead rider is avoiding obstacles or giving up the pull.

wut. even I use this on the MUP.

I was once riding with some very strong riders and the guy in front flicked his elbow and was surprised I didn't go in front. I was really really trying but uphill there was no way I could get in front when hanging on was all i was interested in.

The lead guy should slide over very little and the rider pulling through SHOULD NOT accelerate. You don't TAKE the lead, you INHERIT it.

As others have mentioned, with crappy roads the end of a pull can sometimes be confused by some with changing the line of the group. A quick flick can remove any question.

Been there, suffered that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by carpediemracing

Just to clarify a point, it's obvious when you're riding but you flick the elbow/finger/whatever on the side you want the next rider to pull through. So if you're pulling off to the left, you flick the right side.

I see it even in some pro clips. It's like using a turn signal when you're driving and you want to turn. It can never hurt. It sometimes helps.

Thanks for the clarification, because I thought that the flick was on the side that the rider wanted to move to (which is really like a turn signal on a car, opposite of your second sentence). I haven't been on a ride yet where they use it, so I simply didn't know.

If this happens, is it ever okay for the second rider to also move over? That is, for a pair of riders to peel off the front instead of a single? I'd wager "no" because it would throw the group off, but maybe the third rider would handle it...

I agree with that. I wish more people would flick.

If the guy in front wants you to take the lead, then he should ease off and slide back, not wait for you to pull forward.

You stopped short??

We're conditioned to follow the wheel in front of us. Even more so at a fast pace so it's not always clear if the lead rider is pulling off or moving over to avoid an obstacle. In a group where everyone trusts each other there is very little pointing and calling out bumps and holes unless it's a major one or in a bad spot. You follow the wheel in front and the group snakes around stuff. Communication is more subtle and the elbow/wrist/finger flick means one thing: I'm pulling off.

so it was his fault? I'll take that.

the riders in a local club do this. The irony is they appear to think that they are being very safety conscious, ignoring that taking your hands off the bars at that particular moment is not the greatest idea, and that they tend to slow down yo yo'ing the pace line as they do it.