Drafting by Gumbies

number31 said:

Only to teach him a lesson. He thought that he was actually doing 32-35kmph on his own and he needed to learn. When following fellow cyclists I know I won't pass without compromising my pace I always ride at least 2 bike lengths back and to the side a little.

George I ride to UWA at 8am on weds and 10am on mon. Just missed the cycling breakfast this morning (was a bit late to int marketing lecture)

Today I was meeting my GF at the pool, then lunch, she took her car at 9:30 so I rode her ladies Giant Upland To UWA at 8:00.

Well, this has to be the fun ride of the year, I fitted the 650c training wheels off my Try bike and an 8 speed MTB cassette, selecting the highest 7 (11-28). I put in my second fastest time, 48min, home to pool! I had a ball passing all the girls on their ladies bikes with this purple and silver $200 bike. A few lycra clad purists on road bikes gave me some off looks though. 😉

If someone is drafting so what! I ride for my benefit. Ride at what ever pace you feel is right for you. If the drafter dosn't want to talk to that's OK but still call out hazards it just common courtesy. If it bugs you that much just put in a couple of accelerations and up the pace until you loss the drafter. To me it sounds like your ego has been hurt that you could not drop the gumbie.
Not trying to give you hard time but just relax.🙂

DJA said:

If someone is drafting so what! I ride for my benefit. Ride at what ever pace you feel is right for you. If the drafter dosn't want to talk to that's OK but still call out hazards it just common courtesy. If it bugs you that much just put in a couple of accelerations and up the pace until you loss the drafter. To me it sounds like your ego has been hurt that you could not drop the gumbie.
Not trying to give you hard time but just relax.🙂

Nah see i've had to put in some big efforts on my bike to get to places quickly after work. When you are pedalling along at 40km/h and need to take a right hand turn only to find that you can't because two people are drafting you poorly (eg you cannot indicate, brake and hook into the turn) it affects safety. If you are drafting someone you do not know, make sure they know you are at least there so they don't take a corner or perform a manuaver that puts the drafter at risk of an accident.

If it is common courtesy to call out hazards, it should be common courtesy to ask to take a wheel, and also pull your weight in the lead.

parawolf said:

Nah see i've had to put in some big efforts on my bike to get to places quickly after work. When you are pedalling along at 40km/h and need to take a right hand turn only to find that you can't because two people are drafting you poorly (eg you cannot indicate, brake and hook into the turn) it affects safety. If you are drafting someone you do not know, make sure they know you are at least there so they don't take a corner or perform a manuaver that puts the drafter at risk of an accident.

Very good point totally agree the draftee should let you know that their there. But you should also prepare for you corners and stops well before. Its not just other cyclist you have to worry about, cars can be worse.

If it is common courtesy to call out hazards, it should be common courtesy to ask to take a wheel, and also pull your weight in the lead.

Yes your right it is common courtesy but I think there are two points that need to be remember here.
1. When commuting always leave home with enough time to cover the distance without assistance.
2. The draftee may be naive to cycling and not know cycling etiquette of the elbow flick and sharing the load or they could be at their limit and all they can do is just hold on. You can always slow down and talk to them to see if they are open to taking turns.

Either way when you commute never rely on help of others but always be gracious when its offered.

When commuting I have rarely found other cyclists that are riding at my pace or are going the same way for long enough to worry about. But when I have, I always chat to them. Sometimes they work with me and other time I lead all the way and that's OK with me as it will only make me stronger for when I race.🙂

number31 said:

Riding to uni this morning some ... (with thongs on) thought it would be a good idea to draft off my back wheel ..... (for all those in Perth).

We all assumed the thong wearer had them on his/her feet. What if it was a she and she had them/it on her lower body? See: http://www.cyclingforums.com/t315962.html
Drafting may then take on a whole new meaning.. 🙄

Were those thongs SPD or Look??

fatboy61 said:

Were those thongs SPD or Look??

You jest - but you can buy spd sandals
harriscyclery.netitemdetails.cfmOpen ↗

fatboy61 said:

Were those thongs SPD or Look??

I think they were there to provide substantial air flow to the lower feet region. Or maybe it was just because he was a bit of a bogan.

number31 said:

I think they were there to provide substantial air flow to the lower feet region. Or maybe it was just because he was a bit of a bogan.

Well better that he was on a bike than in some boganmobile with his bogan mates with BoganFM cranking out and throwing bogan beer-bottles at you 😄
Sound like the guy was just plain clueless, which is still not a crime in this country.

Maybe he was just going to TAFE. 😄

fatboy61 said:

Well better that he was on a bike than in some boganmobile with his bogan mates with BoganFM cranking out and throwing bogan beer-bottles at you 😄
Sound like the guy was just plain clueless, which is still not a crime in this country.

sounds like you have had some experience with the suburban natives that roam around in their rusty chariots.

number31 said:

sounds like you have had some experience with the suburban natives that roam around in their rusty chariots.

Yeah, guess so. Everyone who rides the roads has a story to tell, don't they? And it is Clipsal 500 weekend (aka [censored] weekend) here - i don't even feel all that safe in my car.

🙁

I find this thread and the attitude really annoying!!!!

SHOULDN"T WE ALL BE HELPING EACHOTHER OUT!!!??!??!

Fair enough for us to get on here and flame car drivers, 4x4's, pedestrians and dogs on bike paths etc etc but we are all cyclists!!!

When someone grabs onto your back wheel and just sits there what is the problem?

Do they slow you down?
Do they have no right to sit there?
Are they hurting you?
Are they taking up your personal space?

You should feel proud that you have been chosen by someone to do the hard work for them. You should be proud that all your hard work has mean that you are happy to pull while they aren't as fit as you and need a draft.

If you were riding in a bunch and always working and there were others who were not and then sprinting off that may be annoying but if you are just going for a ride and then someone latches on - WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL??

One day, you may be hurting and just wanting to get home and then decide to grab a wheel. Won't you appreciate it if the guy turns around and says g'day, rather than burning off on you???

nitrous said:

I find this thread and the attitude really annoying!!!!

SHOULDN"T WE ALL BE HELPING EACHOTHER OUT!!!??!??!

Fair enough for us to get on here and flame car drivers, 4x4's, pedestrians and dogs on bike paths etc etc but we are all cyclists!!!

When someone grabs onto your back wheel and just sits there what is the problem?

Do they slow you down?
Do they have no right to sit there?
Are they hurting you?
Are they taking up your personal space?

You should feel proud that you have been chosen by someone to do the hard work for them. You should be proud that all your hard work has mean that you are happy to pull while they aren't as fit as you and need a draft.

If you were riding in a bunch and always working and there were others who were not and then sprinting off that may be annoying but if you are just going for a ride and then someone latches on - WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL??

One day, you may be hurting and just wanting to get home and then decide to grab a wheel. Won't you appreciate it if the guy turns around and says g'day, rather than burning off on you???

...Agreed...

nitrous said:

One day, you may be hurting and just wanting to get home and then decide to grab a wheel. Won't you appreciate it if the guy turns around and says g'day, rather than burning off on you???

I'd ask first. Besides the places that people have drafted me have been on twisting and turning path which as the lead person if I had to stop suddenly i'd end up with a pile up behind me because they never have visability, and the potential for a ped, or wayward cyclist the other way is high.

The few times it has happened, i've had to make 90 degree turn offs the path and found people within centimetres of the rear wheel that i didn't know were there. If I had made the turn more agressively or as a bad cyclist didn't signal, this person/people would have ended up my backside at 40km/h in a potentially multi-cyclist accident. Curse words and insurance details would be swapped at that point.

It's really simple common sense to me, if you are going to pick up a wheel, ask for it, and then the draftee can communicate when he is turning off far more effectively if required - and for their own safety, knows you are there.

A drafter MUST make their presence known for the sake of safety. If they sneak up and silently fall into your draft, then YES they are taking up your personal space and endangering the both of you. Get real.

jur said:

A drafter MUST make their presence known for the sake of safety. If they sneak up and silently fall into your draft, then YES they are taking up your personal space and endangering the both of you. Get real.

Fully agree. But, the message conveyed in the original post was that the author knew that the "gumbie" was on his wheel the whole time.

You certainly know when someone is behind you (at least you shoud, if you are not listening to your iPod). We don't all ride single speed, fixed wheel silent machines. Any rider who values his safety and isn't hearing impared would have enough information available to him to let him know that someone was within 5 metres of his back wheel.

What you do and how you behave once you know they are behind you is what this conversation is about.

nitrous said:

Fully agree. But, the message conveyed in the original post was that the author knew that the "gumbie" was on his wheel the whole time.

You certainly know when someone is behind you (at least you shoud, if you are not listening to your iPod). We don't all ride single speed, fixed wheel silent machines. Any rider who values his safety and isn't hearing impared would have enough information available to him to let him know that someone was within 5 metres of his back wheel.

What you do and how you behave once you know they are behind you is what this conversation is about.

In traffic, or at a pace with the wind in your ears,you will find it difficult to hear a road bike close behind you. Mountain bike tyres, well that is a different story.

Yeah the wind past my ears makes hearing essentially optional for me. My wife has endless problems conducting a conversation with me if we're riding together, And we're not going that fast either.

A few times I have been siletly drafted I noticed the guy shadow since I was riding away from the sun.

nitrous said:

One day, you may be hurting and just wanting to get home and then decide to grab a wheel. Won't you appreciate it if the guy turns around and says g'day, rather than burning off on you???

One day??? happens to me more and more as I get older and slower. I still manage to either ride alongside and say hi or take a token turn at the front.
Nitrous, you make some very good points; (two wheels good, four wheels bad) however if someone is too fatigued to even acknowledge the guy in front doing all the work then maybe they should pull over, because they are a danger to themselves and those around them. Drafting is just another term for tailgaiting, after all.
Hey, I'm pleased you can have a complete stranger pull up behind you, wheelsuck for 10 or 20 k's without even having the decency to speak or return a greeting, and not get even mildly annoyed about it. Good for you. However I would respectfully suggest that you are in the minority.