bab2000

I learned about drafting on bikes over thirty years ago on my first century. I am a bigger guy, (6'4" 225# then), and rode a Schwinn Continental with original steel rims, a sturdy ride.

Had no idea about calling out hazards, (pot holes, road cracks, loose gravel), I would just pedal over them or through them.

Those drafting me, were not always able to do the same. And was reminded on my responsibilities as the line leader at the completion of that first century.

Get yourself a good old steel bike and ride over those obstacles, after following you through a minefield once or twice, they may decide you are not the best option for a draft.

Rex G

Some thoughts: I have noticed that people in cars tend to do the same things mentioned here, even though I bet less than 1% of motorists understand drafting. Herd instinct.

If on a street, a group is always more visible to others than one lone cyclist, so safety just might be increased a bit.

Road rage is probably more likely to be directed at a lone individual.

Assaults and such crimes are more likely to be directed at a lone individual; bullying is included here, so a group gets lets attention from bad guys.

And, for those who do not welcome attention from the badge guys, in my opinion, many negative encounters with police officers happen because the officer is really a bully with a badge, or someone who is still trying to adjust to his authority. (Some never learn.) As with the above thought on bad guys, there is safety in numbers. (I say this as someone who wears a badge, BTW.)

So, OK, drop the drafters, or, use them to your advantage.

CaptainTandem

Pull up; take a break. Let em ride by. Then resume riding. Who cares.

DataJunkie

Y'all are lame. Have fun with it.

chipcom 

Somebody gets it.

If you don't want someone to latch on to your wheel as you pass, swing wide and attack until you have a good gap between you, then resume your pace (which should have been faster than the other feller in the first place). Then he/she is either gonna remain dropped, or work their butt off to close the gap to catch your wheel. If they do manage to bridge and then refuse to work with you, simply sit up and let them go on their merry way, or attack and again and drop them for good.

BroadSTPhilly

To the OP: Quite whing slowpoke. If you can't convincingly drop them then they get to draft you. I don't have this problem because I am so freaking aero that I don't suck up any wind resistance. Also to that Guy with the rivendell who said that drafting shows weakness, that's a little scary man. This isn't mortal combat

caloso

The most satisfying thing is simply to ride them off your wheel. If you don't have the legs for that, just slow down a bit and say "Hey, why don't you work for a while?"

girljen

By the time I get done laughing about how silly it must look for Mr. Carbon Fiber Serious Roadie to be drafting off of a dorky commuter in a construction vest, I have slowed down enough for the drafter to pass me.

Bike4More

On a recent road ride I was barely caught by an older dude on a road bike. I was riding in the drops at or above 20mph. He caught me and in a panting breath said " Hey, Hows it going?!?!? " I glanced back and said "Just fine" just as he began to draft me he over lapped and bumped my rear wheel.

I instantly faced forward and sprinted for the next 5 minutes at 25 plus mph.

Not cool man, not cool at all.


I don't draft in order to get more out of my training rides.

darkfinger

I don`t mind at all if someone hops on my wheel. It means I`m going fast enough to make it worth their while to catch a break at a higher speed. Besides if I pull 100% and am about to blow up, I`ll just pull over to the left and say ``your turn``. If they don`t want to make a go of it or are too slow then once I have my breath back I`ll hammer until they are a small speck behind me.

I totally don`t see what the big deal is. In the immortal words of PCad: HTFU you weenies.

tjspiel

If I hit the brakes to avoid some hazard (or for any reason at all) without knowing somebody's inches away from my rear tire that could ruin both of our day's. Unless you're on a group ride you don't draft without announcing you're presence, period.

I don't pass somebody unless I'm cruising faster than they are. Yes, I may give a little extra as I'm going by (like I would in a car) to complete the pass quicker, but I don't do it out of ego. No one should interpret that as permission to draft. They're free to pass me back if they like, I'm not going to make a race out if it.

murphstahoe

I welcome any and all to draft my wheel. When I see someone up ahead and it takes me a while to catch them, I acknowledge them, slow a bit, and work into a rhythm, and verify whether or not they have taken my wheel. If so, I try to maintain a rhythm that will allow them to draft. Most riders that can ride on commute routes around the Bay Area at 20 MPH+ on the flats are reasonable bike handlers and generally if someone gets on my wheel I get a big thank you when they turn or when we get a red light. Sometimes they are strong enough to pull through.

The dynamic is admittedly much different in a place like the San Francisco BA than in Fort Wayne Indiana. Any point on Foothill Expressway from Los Altos to Palo Alto probably has a bike throughput of several hundred riders per hour.

Exception: I will not draft or pull anyone with aerobars.

stevo

yup; the old psycological boost just to pass. Same phenom happens amongst the cagers: "phhhhew (wipe sweat off brow), I passed that slowpoke; nowsicanrelaxxxxxxxxxxxx'

surely you dont expect me to adjust MY pace just because you cant maintain your own?

ItsJustMe

Meh, whatever. I don't WANT them in front of me trying to be "nice" and it doesn't hurt anything for them to be behind me. As long as they know what they're doing, and can live with me not holding a constant speed, I don't really care.
It's more a safety issue than anything else, IMHO. Luckily I hardly ever see anyone else on my rides, and when I do, often as not it's the U of M team and they drop me like I'm standing still.

noteon 

Another is that I might not know how to deal with someone drafting.

InTheRain

After reading the posts, I had check and make sure I was in the commuting forum. I can't think of a time when I have drafted, or had someone draft me, on my commute. The commute is mostly on an MUP that is barely used. I've caught up with other lone commuters and ridden side-by-side for a mile or two and had a good chat and then continued past them. If they wanted to suck on my back wheel, I guess that would be fine with me... but I'd probably slow down and ride side-by-side again to chat. If you are getting so stressed about someone drafting you on your commute, maybe you should just get back in the car and arrive at work/home just as stressed and pissed as you are being drafted... at least that way you aren't expending your precious energy that others are "freeloading" off of you. Go race... there will always be someone faster... you can be the freeloader.

tjspiel

Right.

The commuting forum is really a melting pot of cycling cultures and this is one of many situations where the cultures can clash.

Roadies are comfortable with pace lines and someone on their wheel but they don't feel any obligation to acknowledge the existence fellow cyclists heading the other direction. A non-roadie will wave to every cyclist they encounter but is made uncomfortable by one sitting too close behind him. I'll leave the difference in clothing and leg hair for other threads.

As for me, just because I can keep a 20+ mph pace doesn't mean I've had any group riding experience, - I haven't. I do triathlons. In triathlons drafting is usually a no-no. Further, for the most part my commute is one of the few times of the day where I can be alone with my thoughts. Other cyclists whizzing by don't bother me, but one on my wheel is violating my space. I'm not on a group ride, I'm going home.

tjspiel

I'm not worried about somebody getting a free ride. I'm worried about safety and my personal space. A friend of mine just bought a new road bike and the next day ended up in the Emergency Room because she had bumped the rear tire of her friends bike and crashed. She was going over 20 mph.

I'm sure it's reasonably safe when the people involved know what they're doing. Or even if they don't know what they're doing if at least the draftee knows that drafter is there and they both accept the risks involved, that is OK.

What's not OK (IMHO) is if while COMMUTING, someone latches on to the rear wheel of another cyclist without their knowledge or consent.

If you're on a group ride, consent is implied. In my mind it is not while commuting.

drjava

Just this morning I was rolling down the MUP at a relaxed pace, the legs not warmed up yet. Another guy in full kit (and a backpack, so must be a commuter) passes me at a reasonable pace. I stepped it up a notch but stayed 15 or 20 feet back out of his draft. He kept looking behind either to see if I was drafting or if he thought he was dropping me. Instead he was slowing down. I stayed back my distance.

At a light that changes with the touch of the button, he paused looking to cross on red, I pulled up hit the button and kept going, putting him behind me. I pulled a good pace, pedaled through the corners (which I have to on a fixed) and he stayed with me, at a safe distance.

I let him lead after the next light, again staying back. At the next light, a long one, he crossed on the red and never saw him again.

Moral of this story? After reading about how y'all hate drafters, I tried to use him to set an inspiring pace, but stayed out of his comfort zone. I was feeling pretty good, because this guy used to just leave in the dust.

Usually on the MUP, I like a more relaxed pace and opt for side by side chatting if the situation presents itself.

CB HI

So, if you maintain the cruising speed that caught the cyclist you passed, then you are not the type of cyclist I speak of. So no problem.
Besides, as noted in several post, the guy drafting is the one responsible for staying safe and is the one that will get hurt if he screws up.

May I recommend a mirror to ease your concern with someone sneaking up on you.

girljen

YES!! I am just now getting back into cycling for the first time since I was a kid. I don't know what to do when someone is on my wheel. If it weren't for these forums, I wouldn't know what someone was talking about when he or she offered to 'pull', or why people have decided to stick themselves right behind me when I'm just slowpokin' my way home.

So, yeah, it makes me nervous. I keep up my usual (slow!) pace, stay far to the left, and breathe a sigh of relief when I finally get passed.

ActionJeans

Drop em'. Solved.

maximan1

Fart

Sixty Fiver

I was crossing our biggest bridge one afternoon and putting the hammer down since there were no peds or other cyclists (a rare occasion) and upon leaving the bridge a roadie pulled alongside, told me that was awesome, and thanked me for the pull.

My odometer was reading 55 kmh for my maximum speed (the bridge is a km across with a slight descent) so I had to give props to the guy for actually being able to stick to the back wheel of my touring bike.



It's actually a rare thing for anyone to pass me while I am riding / commuting and I have never had anyone else try and draft me... and I hate drafting people I do not know and trust.

vrkelley

I'm the wheel sucker. If a rider passes me and then cuts in 1' in front of me, I suck his wheel the rest of the way. he deserves it. that's the price he pays for passing and leaving no room. Would you do that in a car? Pass, and then cut in?

Some guys HAVE to be first no matter what. They pay if they pass me.


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