What do people think about wheelsuckers?

germcevoy

If I'm in a group and someone isn't doing a turn then I'd be asking what's up.

If I'm out on my own and joe bloggs is on my wheel then that's another matter. I don't know how the ride or what their reactions are like should I need to brake. I'd do my best to turn the screw and drop them or tell them to do one.

fenix

itboffin wrote:

did a charity ride yesterday with my club and a lot of the local clubs, 40 miles on the front and not one other club took a turn even when politely requested to do some work.

Not a sausage!

Eventually another local club came through and shared the workload, but shame on the hundreds of riders that sat on for potentially the full 91 miles.

Closed roads?

Alex99

itboffin wrote:

did a charity ride yesterday with my club and a lot of the local clubs, 40 miles on the front and not one other club took a turn even when politely requested to do some work.

Not a sausage!

Eventually another local club came through and shared the workload, but shame on the hundreds of riders that sat on for potentially the full 91 miles.

Swinging off and dropping to the back usually works 8)

iPete

Depends what mood I'm in, where, what and how I'm riding. If I'm cruising along and someone decides to wheelsuck without a hello I'll make a game out of upping the pace, dropping it down and generally testing their dedication to holding the wheel.

part time waster

If I'm out on my own and joe bloggs is on my wheel then that's another matter. I don't know how they ride or what their reactions are like should I need to brake.
This seems fair to me.
If im out on a ride on my own then I don`t` want someone hovering , spoiling my head space.
If you are a stealth wheel sucker , you are not always welcome. so kindly either pull up at the side and have a quick chat or over take me. Don't just sit there pi55ing me off.

tootsie323

neeb wrote:

Once had a serious looking mountain biker with all the gear jump on my wheel and stick there for a couple of miles. He didn't take any turns obviously, but he did thank me afterwards. I was quite impressed he managed to hold my wheel actually, his rolling resistance was deafening and I was trying to drop him!

I did pick up a couple of roadies on my MTB last month (probably not you though, my gear is not what I'd refer to as 'serious!') and asked if they'd mind me grabbing a wheel for a while. Had a nice chat before I turned off (and gave my thanks).
I'd feel rude if I wheel sucked without asking, or saying anything. Similarly I'd speak up if I felt I didn't have enough grunt to take the lead for a period and, if necessary, would fall back. This is a bit different from a club ride, I'll acknowledge, but the question of etiquette is much the same.

itboffin

Had a super rare wheel sucker on my ride home last
the fact that I was riding into a block headwind with fully loaded double panniers on a six mile climb ....to the pub meant I turned around and spoke to him, who commented on how windy it was, as I only had two more miles to the pub I offered him a tow which he held for about a mile before the elastic broke.

The beer was good

SME

itboffin wrote:

did a charity ride yesterday with my club and a lot of the local clubs, 40 miles on the front and not one other club took a turn even when politely requested to do some work.

Not a sausage!

Eventually another local club came through and shared the workload, but shame on the hundreds of riders that sat on for potentially the full 91 miles.

91 miles! What charity?

Steve

itboffin

It was the white horse challenge and the charity wateraid, lovely route shame about the damn headwind

okgo

Generally I don't have too many issues with dispatching the would be wheel sucker, but if someone is very insistent or I am really taking it easy I'll just slow down until they are forced to pass.

Did the Liege sportive thing this weekend, and it was a joke, mate and I looked round at one point as we were side by side and there were around 25-30 people behind us, doing nothing. Crazy.

ugo.santalucia

snot... snot keep them away

Garry H

okgo wrote:

Generally I don't have too many issues with dispatching the would be wheel sucker, but if someone is very insistent or I am really taking it easy I'll just slow down until they are forced to pass.

Did the Liege sportive thing this weekend, and it was a joke, mate and I looked round at one point as we were side by side and there were around 25-30 people behind us, doing nothing. Crazy.[/quote]

A little bit like the actual race itself then...

Alex99

okgo wrote:

Generally I don't have too many issues with dispatching the would be wheel sucker, but if someone is very insistent or I am really taking it easy I'll just slow down until they are forced to pass.

Did the Liege sportive thing this weekend, and it was a joke, mate and I looked round at one point as we were side by side and there were around 25-30 people behind us, doing nothing. Crazy.

Did you do anything to get off the front?

okgo

Well any time there was a climb or a slight uphill they all dropped off as most people were awful. I was not interested in sitting on peoples wheels all day, and to be honest the nature of the event meant there were almost no riders going at the pace we wanted to anyway, just was amusing.

itboffin

what gives this thread is jinxed, this morning i'm bashing my brains against a brick wall of wind look around and i have a passenger, that's happened maybe three times in the last nine years.

He did say he was struggling to hold my wheel, would have been nice if he'd come through and taken a turn

neeb

okgo wrote:

Well any time there was a climb or a slight uphill they all dropped off as most people were awful. I was not interested in sitting on peoples wheels all day, and to be honest the nature of the event meant there were almost no riders going at the pace we wanted to anyway, just was amusing.

Sounds like you were in the wrong group. There almost certainly would have been riders going at your ideal pace and faster ahead of you but you missed that group at or near the start. And if they were putting out the same effort that you would be able to sustain and riding properly as a group you would never have seen them again once you missed that boat..

Often these continental sportives have a group (or several groups) at the front who are basically racing full-on, but they deliberately make sure they start right at the front and often put in a big effort just after the neutralised bit to separate themselves from people who don't have racing experience and are likely to be dangerous in a bunch.

cruff

neeb wrote:

okgo wrote:

Well any time there was a climb or a slight uphill they all dropped off as most people were awful. I was not interested in sitting on peoples wheels all day, and to be honest the nature of the event meant there were almost no riders going at the pace we wanted to anyway, just was amusing.

Sounds like you were in the wrong group. There almost certainly would have been riders going at your ideal pace and faster ahead of you but you missed that group at or near the start. And if they were putting out the same effort that you would be able to sustain and riding properly as a group you would never have seen them again once you missed that boat..

Often these continental sportives have a group (or several groups) at the front who are basically racing full-on, but they deliberately make sure they start right at the front and often put in a big effort just after the neutralised bit to separate themselves from people who don't have racing experience and are likely to be dangerous in a bunch.

This

When I did Paris Roubaix, there was some horrendous bunch riding, but I think that's mainly because we were stupid enough to get out well after the early birds and as a result, we're stuck with a lot of people of (ahem) 'varying' experience of riding in a group.

From now on, when I ride in mass participation events I'll make sure I get in the first few groups out

dstev55

itboffin wrote:

what gives this thread is jinxed, this morning i'm bashing my brains against a brick wall of wind look around and i have a passenger, that's happened maybe three times in the last nine years.

He did say he was struggling to hold my wheel, would have been nice if he'd come through and taken a turn

So he said he's struggling to hold your wheel but you still expected him to do a turn - how do you think he would have managed that then?

DavidJB

This thread is gold.

sloppyschleckonds

DavidJB wrote:

This thread is gold.

Alex99

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

DavidJB wrote:

This thread is gold.

Applying to the random stranger getting onto your wheel... I think there is a logic in the caveman brain that goes like this:

1) someone has got on my wheel
2) they have accelerated after I caught them up. They want to race me
3) they need to come through, otherwise it isn't fair

Random rider got on my wheel yesterday towards the end of my ride. I was a little surprised because he didn't say anything and I only knew he was there because of gear noises. He dropped off again after a few minutes anyway. It didn't impact on my ride.

I'd suggest two things:
1) be secure in what you're doing on your own ride... just carry on as you would have
2) if someone doesn't let you know they're there, then there is no onus on you to point out potholes or to check before you blow snot :shock:

dabber

It can sometimes be a friendly experience. A few weeks ago I was riding in France and had done a series of Cat3 and 4 climbs and was riding along a valley to the final one when a French chap came alongside and we spent a few minutes chatting. He then pulled ahead of me and indicated I should get on his wheel. I thanked him and gratefully hooked on and stayed there along the valley and until about halfway up the final climb where I couldn't hold it anymore. As I started to drift off I thanked him and wished him "bon courage" and he called back in a similar way... just a pleasant experience.

me-109

Dabber wrote:

It can sometimes be a friendly experience. A few weeks ago I was riding in France and had done a series of Cat3 and 4 climbs and was riding along a valley to the final one when a French chap came alongside and we spent a few minutes chatting. He then pulled ahead of me and indicated I should get on his wheel. I thanked him and gratefully hooked on and stayed there along the valley and until about halfway up the final climb where I couldn't hold it anymore. As I started to drift off I thanked him and wished him "bon courage" and he called back in a similar way... just a pleasant experience.

What really happened here is that he got past you, pointed at his rear wheel and said 'stay the f*** off this!'. You tucked in, he piled the coals on gradually until he finally dropped you on the climb. You said 'thanks', misunderstanding his comments earlier, to which he replied something unintelligible but unpleasant.

dabber

Me-109 wrote:

Dabber wrote:

It can sometimes be a friendly experience. A few weeks ago I was riding in France and had done a series of Cat3 and 4 climbs and was riding along a valley to the final one when a French chap came alongside and we spent a few minutes chatting. He then pulled ahead of me and indicated I should get on his wheel. I thanked him and gratefully hooked on and stayed there along the valley and until about halfway up the final climb where I couldn't hold it anymore. As I started to drift off I thanked him and wished him "bon courage" and he called back in a similar way... just a pleasant experience.

What really happened here is that he got past you, pointed at his rear wheel and said 'stay the f*** off this!'. You tucked in, he piled the coals on gradually until he finally dropped you on the climb. You said 'thanks', misunderstanding his comments earlier, to which he replied something unintelligible but unpleasant.

:oops: :shock:

okgo

neeb wrote:

okgo wrote:

Well any time there was a climb or a slight uphill they all dropped off as most people were awful. I was not interested in sitting on peoples wheels all day, and to be honest the nature of the event meant there were almost no riders going at the pace we wanted to anyway, just was amusing.

Sounds like you were in the wrong group. There almost certainly would have been riders going at your ideal pace and faster ahead of you but you missed that group at or near the start. And if they were putting out the same effort that you would be able to sustain and riding properly as a group you would never have seen them again once you missed that boat..

Often these continental sportives have a group (or several groups) at the front who are basically racing full-on, but they deliberately make sure they start right at the front and often put in a big effort just after the neutralised bit to separate themselves from people who don't have racing experience and are likely to be dangerous in a bunch.

Not in the wrong group, we didn't want to be in a group.

Set off early doors, were first to Bastogne apparently so there was nobody in-front of us until at least then, there were no groups racing it from what I saw, lots of jokers in race clobber but there are some hilarious photo's of myself and mate side by side with a trail of people happily sitting behind taking water in the face rather than ride at their own pace.

Obviously that is the nature of those events, but just found it amusing how far people would go not to ride in the wind for a single moment.

sloppyschleckonds

Me-109 wrote:

Dabber wrote:

It can sometimes be a friendly experience. A few weeks ago I was riding in France and had done a series of Cat3 and 4 climbs and was riding along a valley to the final one when a French chap came alongside and we spent a few minutes chatting. He then pulled ahead of me and indicated I should get on his wheel. I thanked him and gratefully hooked on and stayed there along the valley and until about halfway up the final climb where I couldn't hold it anymore. As I started to drift off I thanked him and wished him "bon courage" and he called back in a similar way... just a pleasant experience.

What really happened here is that he got past you, pointed at his rear wheel and said 'stay the f*** off this!'. You tucked in, he piled the coals on gradually until he finally dropped you on the climb. You said 'thanks', misunderstanding his comments earlier, to which he replied something unintelligible but unpleasant.

Allez les blerts!

itboffin

dstev55 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

what gives this thread is jinxed, this morning i'm bashing my brains against a brick wall of wind look around and i have a passenger, that's happened maybe three times in the last nine years.

He did say he was struggling to hold my wheel, would have been nice if he'd come through and taken a turn

So he said he's struggling to hold your wheel but you still expected him to do a turn - how do you think he would have managed that then?

he said that as we parted company after a set of traffic lights and towards the end of my ride where i always back right off due to heavy rush hour traffic, so no i didnt know he'd been struggling but he didnt seem to have any problem zipping off, fresh legs eh!

Alex99

okgo wrote:

neeb wrote:

okgo wrote:

Well any time there was a climb or a slight uphill they all dropped off as most people were awful. I was not interested in sitting on peoples wheels all day, and to be honest the nature of the event meant there were almost no riders going at the pace we wanted to anyway, just was amusing.

Sounds like you were in the wrong group. There almost certainly would have been riders going at your ideal pace and faster ahead of you but you missed that group at or near the start. And if they were putting out the same effort that you would be able to sustain and riding properly as a group you would never have seen them again once you missed that boat..

Often these continental sportives have a group (or several groups) at the front who are basically racing full-on, but they deliberately make sure they start right at the front and often put in a big effort just after the neutralised bit to separate themselves from people who don't have racing experience and are likely to be dangerous in a bunch.

Not in the wrong group, we didn't want to be in a group.

Set off early doors, were first to Bastogne apparently so there was nobody in-front of us until at least then, there were no groups racing it from what I saw, lots of jokers in race clobber but there are some hilarious photo's of myself and mate side by side with a trail of people happily sitting behind taking water in the face rather than ride at their own pace.

Obviously that is the nature of those events, but just found it amusing how far people would go not to ride in the wind for a single moment.

You're taking part in a mass start event, in a sport where the primary tactic is to use the slipstream of other riders. I don't understand your surprise or amusement at this :?

iPete

Tactics? It's not a race..

philbar72

Liege is hilarious. if you are even remotely quicker than most they will try to cling to your wheel rather than do any work at all. OKGO was churning along at fair old pace so I'm surprised the train that followed him and his colleague, lasted as long as it did, though the second half would probably have had a fair few nodders from the middle and short length sportive in the way.

It is definitely not a race. but some formidable times were to the fore by the fast folk.