Slipstreaming road vehicles.

ddraver

Just to annoy keyboard warrior in cheif Secteur, I used to do it when I was in London., except that I'd stay to the side of the bus/car so I could go down the side of them when they stopped. If they pulled in too close to do this then I would drop back.

It's not like they go from 30 to 0 instantly anyway, what tends to happen is that you get closer and close and end up hugging the back of them giving all behind a good laugh. I think this happended once or twice, i was never hurt (they re driving away from you!). As you say, in London you get to know their stops so well that you could do it with your eyes closed and not hit them (now THERE'S a fun game!)

Over here they have two tiers of Mopeds, some are limited to around 35-40kph (no helmet required), and they re great fun to draft - especially when there's a hot girl riding them!

Mark Bom

I do it through a tunnel on my way to work. The tunnel is very narrow for cars and no pedestrians have access to it.

It is a case of be very aware and anticipating any sudden stops, and the slightest flicker of a brake light ahead instantly makes you react.

Great fun, but I don't do it on the open road much. I recently did a ride through the night with a support van. Great drafting it knowing that the driver was aware of us behind it, but quickly learnt to overtake it going downhill....caused a twitch in the saddle area when he had to brake and we were travelling faster than him.

ollyridesfirst

Of course there is risk.....but there is risk in everyday life too. You have to consider if the risk is worth the potential danger....

There's nothing better than drafting a tractor on a country lane - who can beat 10 miles at 25-30 mph with very little effort? I have to be honest, a lot of drivers either don't know you're there or you can see they are a bit nervous, so i don't tend to do it with cars. I do it now and again with the buses on my commute, but i know where all the side roads, stops, lights are etc so i couldn't minimise the risk any more than that without not drafting. If i'm drafting a bus i tend to stay off to the side a bit so at least i can see down one side of it (normally the left side so i can see the pavement too).

If you're so worried about risk, why do you get on a bike at all?

redvee

Real men slipstream then, pull out and keep the speed up and overtake the bus they've been drafting at 35mph

merak

If you're worried about the risks try it behind a laden horse box - they tend to be driven very gingerly.

racingcondor

I'm another Londoner who does it regularly (traffic is so close together that you have to or someone will try to overtake anyway). I do self impose some rules though -

1) I stay back 10-15 feet and to one side so that I have some thinking distance and can go round if necessary,
2) I only do it to vehicles that I can see past. Generally this means I'm on the brakes before the car I'm behind.
3) Back off at junctions / lights and going down hill.

I've had one accident in 6 years of riding in London. Totally my fault (even though the driver in front did panic break on a corner for no good reason) and then it was at very low speed.

What I worry about is how close the vehicle behind me is. I don't want to know what happens to a person sandwiched between 2 cars...

smurfylicious

Had a quick scan through all the posts and no one seems to have mentioned one of the most important reasons that you shouldn't slipstream motorised traffic.

Quite simply, if there is a two inch deep pothole coming up you probably won't see it in time if you're 5 feet behind a bus. How do you think it will feel to slam into a pothole at 30mph with no knowledge of what was coming? :shock:

sheffsimon

smurfylicious wrote:

Had a quick scan through all the posts and no one seems to have mentioned one of the most important reasons that you shouldn't slipstream motorised traffic.

Quite simply, if there is a two inch deep pothole coming up you probably won't see it in time if you're 5 feet behind a bus. How do you think it will feel to slam into a pothole at 30mph with no knowledge of what was coming? :shock:

Quite obviously, we dont give a f*ck

ddraver

smurfylicious wrote:

Had a quick scan through all the posts and no one seems to have mentioned one of the most important reasons that you shouldn't slipstream motorised traffic.

Quite simply, if there is a two inch deep pothole coming up you probably won't see it in time if you're 5 feet behind a bus. How do you think it will feel to slam into a pothole at 30mph with no knowledge of what was coming? :shock:

MTFU then learn to bunny hop!

smurfylicious

ddraver wrote:

smurfylicious wrote:

Had a quick scan through all the posts and no one seems to have mentioned one of the most important reasons that you shouldn't slipstream motorised traffic.

Quite simply, if there is a two inch deep pothole coming up you probably won't see it in time if you're 5 feet behind a bus. How do you think it will feel to slam into a pothole at 30mph with no knowledge of what was coming? :shock:

MTFU then learn to bunny hop!

30 miles per hour is equal to 44 feet per second.

http://www.calculateme.com/Speed/MilesperHour/ToFeetperSecond.htm

It's beyond me how anyone can see a hazard when they're 5 feet behind a bus and have time to react at that speed. Do you think you can react and do a bunny hop in a little over 0.1 seconds?

Ron Stuart

Do me a favour and don't do it, I already pay far too much for bike insurance :roll:

Monty Dog

My formative years as a club cyclist were often spent a few feet from the rear bumper of a bus on the Ayr Road south of Glasgow - we'd be lined up, six abreast about 2 feet off the back and we could get a good draft for a fair few miles particularly after Eaglesham Moor. The buses could barely reach 40 mph and it was easy to hang on. Camper vans during the Tour is another fave, down the Aspin, Tourmalet or if you have huge cajones, the Galibier! Mopeds, JCBs and tractors are regular fair game in these parts.

merak

smurfylicious wrote:

Quite simply, if there is a two inch deep pothole coming up you probably won't see it in time if you're 5 feet behind a bus. How do you think it will feel to slam into a pothole at 30mph with no knowledge of what was coming? :shock:

Just the same as it feels when the dude in front of you in the group shouts "hole!" after he has passed it and your front wheel is just about to drop into it...

Ron Stuart

Monty Dog wrote:

My formative years as a club cyclist were often spent a few feet from the rear bumper of a bus on the Ayr Road south of Glasgow - we'd be lined up, six abreast about 2 feet off the back and we could get a good draft for a fair few miles particularly after Eaglesham Moor. The buses could barely reach 40 mph and it was easy to hang on. Camper vans during the Tour is another fave, down the Aspin, Tourmalet or if you have huge cajones, the Galibier! Mopeds, JCBs and tractors are regular fair game in these parts.

So you'd be a better bike handler than this guy then.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_s ... 642099.stm :shock:

neeb

Monty Dog wrote:

My formative years as a club cyclist were often spent a few feet from the rear bumper of a bus on the Ayr Road south of Glasgow - we'd be lined up, six abreast about 2 feet off the back and we could get a good draft for a fair few miles particularly after Eaglesham Moor. The buses could barely reach 40 mph and it was easy to hang on. Camper vans during the Tour is another fave, down the Aspin, Tourmalet or if you have huge cajones, the Galibier! Mopeds, JCBs and tractors are regular fair game in these parts.

Seem to remember reading something very similar in the book about Robert Millar - you're not another pseudonym of him, I assume?

anto164

I drafted for 2 miles at 36mph behind a lorry the other month. Stayed on its nearside corner, and popped out every 15s or so just to check what's ahead.

Ands

I drafted (well, more like caught up with at 20mph) behind a tractor pulling a big wagon of potatoes the other day.....all good until it went over a pothole and potatoes started raining off the back and all over the road. :shock: Kept my distance after that!

elmsallmissile

Ands wrote:

I drafted (well, more like caught up with at 20mph) behind a tractor pulling a big wagon of potatoes the other day.....all good until it went over a pothole and potatoes started raining off the back and all over the road. :shock: Kept my distance after that!

Good example of why the vehicle in front braking is not the only danger, if they crash you are guaranteed to be involved in their accident.

wyadvd

On a main road or dual carriageway, I draft sometimes, but only if its reasonably safe to be pretty much on the right hand side of the vehicle , where it a is a wide lane(12 ft) that way if the vehicle I am drafting slows down (to turn left for instance) I can just go round it for a bit, then stop if necessary. If its a big vehicle, then its more likely that it can see me too, As I will endeavour to appear in its mirrors.

Monty Dog

I'm afraid I'm not Robert Millar but did ride with a few of his contemporaries in my youth - he was off riding in France before my interest in cycling took off.

Like riding descents at full-gas, you simply don't think about the consequences but about your lines, and position - a good comparison is downhill ski racing, you simply have to 'let go'.

Regarding the need to bunny-hop - I was coming down the Tourmalet once - it was LeTour and the road was only open to race traffic downhill so it was simply a mad "Chinese downhill" where every bike rider sought to get to the bottom the quickest knowing there was no oncoming traffic - it's very easy to exceed 50mph on the Tourmalet when you know there's nothing coming! The road goes through the village of Bareges and on the downhill diverts through a big car park - I was still doing a fair lick when I noticed the foot-wide metal cover to a storm drain was missing very late - the slight hop turned into 'big air' :shock: