Unfriendly Cyclists?
Comments
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Another quick n00b question - how close do you actually have to be to draft?0
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Gambatte wrote:Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Actually drafting someone increases their efficiency too,
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However that matters little as they will be saving a total of around 30% of their effort.
Trust me, I’m an engineer??
(Sorry Jac. Its Friday?!! )
Ok so I'll admit to maybe getting a little overexcited about this kind of thingmisterben
Another quick n00b question - how close do you actually have to be to draft?
About 30cms front wheel to rear wheel gap you will be getting a decent draft, further back than that and you are really not getting much at all, especially below 20mph or so. I wouldn't really ride closer than that if I don't know the rider in front.
The best way to find out is to try it.
When I am commuting I generally only draft for just long enough until I can overtake safely, and I sit in a very poor aerodynamic position. I sit about 30cm off their rear wheel, but also out to their right so that I get a reasonable view forwards. It allows me to catch some of their spoil, but most importantly for me, I can see ahead of them.Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0 -
Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Ok so I'll admit to maybe getting a little overexcited about this kind of thing
I know what you mean...
trust me, I'm an Engineer! 0 -
tricitybendix wrote:Some people don't like other people sitting on their back wheel. I find it pretty annoying.
Me too
Although I usually just stop and let the offender pass0 -
adifiddler wrote:Some people dont know about drafting, they just think you are some idiot trying to intimidate them.
It's a new concept to me I must admit.
doesn't change things for me though - I don;t want anyone riding that close behind me. It's happened a few times - I do the same as when someone tailgates me in a car - I slow down, hope they either back off or pass.0 -
Thats a perfectly reasonable thing to do - slipstreaming only works when both parties agree to it.
There are areas on my commute where I don't mind someone drafting me, but there are other areas where I do mind. Although, I never seem to hang onto drafters very long because of my approach to traffic lights and junctions.Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0 -
Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Although, I never seem to hang onto drafters very long because of my approach to traffic lights and junctions.
What you stop! :shock:
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theres the "half draft" i'm quite fond of...about a bike length behind
a decent posistion....certainly if theres a headwind...less so if not
but easily able to swerve around them if we make different filtering decisions or whateverWe're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Porgy wrote:Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Although, I never seem to hang onto drafters very long because of my approach to traffic lights and junctions.
What you stop! :shock:
Haha yes, that combined with my habit or rarely going to the front. I prefer to sit 1 or 2 cars back, fully taking the lane, and cross the junction that way. I just find it safer and less hassle on most of the junctions I cross.
Some of them I go right to the front for safety, and in those cases I've only met one other cyclist who kept with me as I sprint from the lights.
Has anyone else noticed how many numptys forget to downshift as they approach traffic lights, and then pull away at 0.5mph in 21st gear!!! :shock: Crazy I tells ye!Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0 -
i often forget...its even probaly 50 - 50, but if you have time to properly stop ou can change up by lifting the back wheel off the floor and pushing the pedals round in one fluid motion
or i just push softly for one stroke and change upWe're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
Don't you mean down? Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0 -
It's hilarious when someone on a road bike comes up to the lights to sit in front of me and forgets to change down, they always look put out as I spin past them as they're grinding away in a high gear and I sometimes hear lots of clicking behind me as they do frantic gear changes. They usually overtake me again, I'm not fast, but it's funny to pass them initially on my sit-up-and-beg 3-speed. I might only have 3 gears but I use them properly!0
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if you ride fixed in a relatively big gear then you have no choice but to grind away from the lights.
having said that, no-one drafts me, i'm either too damn fast or way too slow, depending on a number of factors. 0 -
Peejay! Long time no see!
Fixies and ss are obviously an exception 8)
Thats partly why I love riding my roadbike - STI levers mean I can brake and downshift at the same time. I can see that being very difficult indeed with gripshift (if not impossible), but still a quick twist of the wrist just before braking shouldn't be too hard. Rapidfire shifters you can downshift and brake, certainly changing the rear anyway.
Its just a pet peeve of mine, i allways look at peoples chainsets if they are in front of me to check how they will start so i don't get surprised and maybe plough into the back of them. That would be muchos unsmooth 8)Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0 -
My bike was temporarily fixed gear for a couple of weeks recently. I felt like a proper charlie struggling to move forward at lights.
They're working now.0 -
Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Gambatte wrote:Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Actually drafting someone increases their efficiency too,
.
Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah, Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah,
Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah,
Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah, Blah, blah blah, blah blah, blah,
.
However that matters little as they will be saving a total of around 30% of their effort.
Trust me, I’m an engineer??
(Sorry Jac. Its Friday?!! )
Ok so I'll admit to maybe getting a little overexcited about this kind of thingmisterben
Another quick n00b question - how close do you actually have to be to draft?
About 30cms front wheel to rear wheel gap you will be getting a decent draft, further back than that and you are really not getting much at all, especially below 20mph or so. I wouldn't really ride closer than that if I don't know the rider in front.
The best way to find out is to try it.
When I am commuting I generally only draft for just long enough until I can overtake safely, and I sit in a very poor aerodynamic position. I sit about 30cm off their rear wheel, but also out to their right so that I get a reasonable view forwards. It allows me to catch some of their spoil, but most importantly for me, I can see ahead of them.
On the group ride I did yesterday, I paid attention to my drafting distances. My 30cm extimation was totally wrong!! Normal draft distance seems to be more like 1m or so behind the rider in front. But in my haed now it looks like the 30cm I originally said!
The 30cm approximation is true when I'm riding in an offest position so that I can still see.Sweat saves blood.
Erwin Rommel0 -
When speedskating we get a bit closer than 1m. If I'm close and trust the person in front to be steady, I can almost rest my chin on their ass. No big wheels to get in the way so you can get much closer, though you do have to control the timing of your strides to match. Clacking skates is not good if you don't want to crash.0
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Oh yes!!! Especially when it's a pretty girl, but really any well-toned cyclist or skater buns are a pleasure to behold.0
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It happened to me for the first time last week on the commute to work. I caught up to this bloke who seemed to be struggling along on his Trek with his paniers on. I passed him, said "good morning" which he ignored and just powered on. 1/2 a mile later as we turned a corner the sun was on our backs and I noticed his shadow on the road. I turned round and he was almost touching my wheel. This guy was sruggling at less than half the speed I was doing and then all of a sudden he was sponging off me. I carried on as normal but he just kept on my wheel all the way to work, not once offering to do the work. We arrived at the lights outside work, he pulled alongside me and ignored me. Ignorant git!!
I saw him on the ride home and waited to a decent downhill and just buzzed him at about 30mph. Never saw him again!!0 -
Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Peejay! Long time no see!
Fixies and ss are obviously an exception 8)
Thats partly why I love riding my roadbike - STI levers mean I can brake and downshift at the same time. I can see that being very difficult indeed with gripshift (if not impossible), but still a quick twist of the wrist just before braking shouldn't be too hard. Rapidfire shifters you can downshift and brake, certainly changing the rear anyway.
Its just a pet peeve of mine, i allways look at peoples chainsets if they are in front of me to check how they will start so i don't get surprised and maybe plough into the back of them. That would be muchos unsmooth 8)
ridden with the shifter on the downtube? got to plan ahead more than i used to on the mountain bike (which ironicly is now singlespeed)My signature was stolen by a moose
that will be all
trying to get GT James banned since tuesday0 -
Eish! I'm still so programmed from years of riding with downtube shifters that I sometimes accidentally reach down to change gears! :shock:David
Engineered Bicycles0 -
Jacomus-rides-Gen wrote:Has anyone else noticed how many numptys forget to downshift as they approach traffic lights, and then pull away at 0.5mph in 21st gear!!! :shock: Crazy I tells ye!
Nah, I'm too busy laughing at the numbtys clicking all the way through their gears as the stumble through the lights, rather than actually using their legs!0 -
Ditto with standing up and honking away from the lights. Why?0
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Guilty on both counts (standing up moving off, and often having too high a gear, the two things being related, in my case).
I ride with downtube shifters, and sometimes I just can't anticipate lights changing/buses stopping/cars turning left in front of me in time - changing down seems to involve me going to the lowest gear and coming back up too, which slows me somewhat. The unwilling to change gears are on the list for the local bike shop to look at, in any case
Apologies to anyone in the Manchester area I've annoyed recently...0 -
tricitybendix wrote:Some people don't like other people sitting on their back wheel. I find it pretty annoying.
Got to admit I don't.
When i make a manoeuvre I don't need to see some tit blocking my line of view.
If they are on my back wheel it normally means they are too fast anyway and im no match for them which has been rare recently.
Has anyone else noticed how many numptys forget to downshift as they approach traffic lights, and then pull away at 0.5mph in 21st gear!!! Shocked Crazy I tells ye!
That's me but normally I pull away faster than another cyclist who is in low gear.I dont normally change gears pulling away from the lights otherwise I'd wear the gear cable away in a week/month.
Guess that makes me a numpty.0
