cradduck

I am still getting used commuting on a fixed gear and having to face a headwind for all but the last of my 11 mile ride home has presented some new challenges.

Over the past couple of days I have been accepting the headwind challenge and I look back I notice roadies practically sniffing my ass they are riding so close behind me. I imagine they just want some relief from the wind for a little while which is cool with me, but as of yet I haven't heard a single "thank you" or "Hey, do you want to draft for a while?" or anything...if I am lucky I get a "on your left" after they have followed me for a couple miles, got their breath back, and then proceeded to drop me.

Any words of wisdom on this?

PhattTyre

Fart more.

EivlEvo

Are you serious?!?!?! As a roaide... any roadie that is drafting off of you for that long and then passes and says NOTHING should get a stick in the spokes.

If it happens again and they're drafting and you look back and they continue to draft and you look back again and they still continue... just move off to the side. If the guy still pulls ur wheel slow down. Once he passes you pick his wheel and when he does the shake and break stick with him.

Thats 100% rude. Please note... this isn't ur average roadie (wait yes it is... I hate roadies) These are the guys that go and post about how they pass people like theyre standing still on the road.

Anyone drafting someone they don't know on the road is as fred as they get. Kill them.

wroomwroomoops

I don't think a Fred would draft anyone - a Fred pretty much minds his own business and is oblivious to the aerodynamics of drafting.

zelah

i was riding to work today and there was a little pack ahead of me, the last two somehow bonked into each other, i blame wheel sucking

EivlEvo

Correct about freds not knowing about drafting... Im saying these are the racing freds.

m4bandit

FAIL.

mander

Check it out, the other guy started a thread too.

https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/164740-road-etiquette.html

deadforkinglast

That is, as the kids say these days, wack. Drafting can be dangerous if one person doesn't know it's happening, so this tool is putting both of you at risk. I would guess he's either inexperienced and doesn't know about proper etiquette, or he's just an experienced *******.

Next time you see one of these guys riding your ass, move to the side and fall back. Try to fall into place drafting him. If you can develop a mutually beneficial relationship here, then you can both save energy and you can probably travel faster than you would have otherwise.

I have this problem at Crissy Field in San Francisco all the time.

MrCjolsen

I'd be leery about drafting behind a fixed gear, especially if I didn't know the skill level of the rider. When I was starting out, I'd occasionally forget which bike I was on, and stand up and try to coast, causing a very abrupt reduction in speed.

jdms mvp

u should turn around and ***** slap him

imthewalrus

Poop while riding. The cycling equivalent of James Bond oil slicks.

barba

I wouldn't draft someone I didn't trust or know that they were not a squirrel. The danger is to the drafting rider, if it makes you feel any better. If you touch wheels, it is the guy in the rear that is going down.

SinVoz

thats funny

EivlEvo

Meh... from MTB racing to Road racing to just rec riding... I feel that on that list... roadies are the genre that will most often supply the jerks.

EivlEvo

This also appears to be reaffirmed by the thread that they've all started talking about how its fine and those guys were dicks.

wroomwroomoops

We're all brothers and sisters.

pinkrobe

Pull a Crazy Ivan - do a random swerve, then count to 7 and do another one. If somebody's on your tail after that, they probably want to date you.

darksiderising

I ****ing love how people beotch so much about road bikers. Seriously shut the **** up.

~Stuart~

drafting is lame you dont make your self known.


i have been drafted before (by random people) i got creeped out and dropped them, later i realized what they were doing.

EivlEvo

Maybe road bikers shouldn't be such pricks?

Im a road biker way more than anything else. Im involved... I do tons of races... I train all winter. Im that guy. When push comes to shove... most of the roadies I know are just all full of themselves.

Anyways... this is a pointless argument wroom is right... were all friends. I shouldn't be hating... I should be making attempts at changing it?

Ex Pres 

To drop a drafter just pick up your speed. (Intervals) If they keep up and then pass you you're the Fred. Get faster.

akaio

Ive never drafted someone I didnt know, but if I was going to be behind them for any more than needed (such as staying behind till its clear to pass) then I would probably ask if I could catch a draft. If someone drafted me I would get a little creeped out, give then 10 min then tell them to pull.

EivlEvo

THANK you

+5

operator

If someone is drafting you, it means you aren't riding fast enough.