What's the general ettiquette? Not being of the roadie persuasion i'm unsure if it's the done thing. It happened to me yesterday & I thought it was slightly rude & dangerous. But it could just be me.

However it did end in a busted head & bit of blood, so I was correct about it being dangerous.

However it did end in a busted head & bit of blood, so I was correct about it being dangerous.

I don't have a problem with it, though it's nice if people ask whether you mind or not. How did the accident happen?

Did you discard a brick at high velocity over your shoulder!?

This comes up periodically, expect a heated debate! I'm not a fan at all, if you're gonna draft, go through and do a turn on the front, or at the very least make your presence known to the other rider, rather than just sitting right behind them silently.

Let them know you're there. I'll admit I do it but I'm also quite wary of people doing it to me.
When I lived in the states my cycling girlfriend used to spit over her shoulder if I didn't do my turn when out cycling. Must have been something she learnt at Colorado Springs.

Rude and dangerous IMO, but I usually get flamed for saying so.

Ended up in blood once for someone 12" off my wheel in traffic once.

I think it depends. If its in say a town that has lots of turns and junctions then its a bit dangerous. If its on a long bit of road, I don't mind, I'm usually going fast enough that people who have no clue how to ride aren't going to be drafting me, so I don't worry about them crashing into me. I may try to burn them off though, just for giggles. However if I was drafting a stranger and a crash happened, I would be fully prepared to take blame for it, if it was my fault.

I either tend to go straight by, and if they then want to sit in then fair enough, or lay off them by 4 or 5 bike lengths and just use them for pacing rather than true drafting.

Anyone that can ride fast enough to do it to me must be bloody good. So I dont have a problem with it. 😉

if i know someone, fine.

if i don't know someone, but have seen them riding ok, and they look like they know what they're doing, fine.

if they're a prick on my commute home trying to get a free ride, it's a no-no, and I will either ride away from them or systematically drop my speed (at which point they usually get aggro and shout at me for doing so).

if they're riding like a prick generally (purely subjective judgement by me), i'll do the above.

If they're a violent little gobshite like some fat little eunoch that tried to tag along my commute and despite repeated requests from me to either back off or go in front of me, got violent when I decided to be very random with my speed – hopefully he's decorating the front of a transit.

what Obi_Twa said…

I agree with cynic al – I will not tolerate anyone sitting that close to me. I want my safe stopping distance in front and behind me.

So – they get told to stop doing it and I will just slow down until they pass – or I'll accelerate away.

I was biking to the dentists once at 9am or so. Looked round to see 3 women from a women-only road club drafting me, I had to slow down to a near-stop to get shot of them.

I drafted my mate until I realised he had a hole in his lycra shorts in perfect alignment with his a hole! not noice 😀

they was checking out your ass guv'ner 🙂

For everyone saying that one would have to be a cycling god to keep up with you, shirley the drafting effect makes it at least a teeny bit easier for a mere mortal to sit on your back wheel?

…You're making that up, surely, hey, Cynic-al?!

I am so aerodynamic that there is no use in drafting me too.

I think a lot of the anxiety that people on this forum have about strangers drafting them stems from them being secretly embarrassed by their bottoms and not wanting a stranger scrutinising it.
Personally I don't care who drafts me.

I passed a fella the other night on the road who I said "evening" to but I got no response. Then he decided to tuck in behind and draft me. So I turned the pace up a little to make the ignorant bugger sweat. It was good for me as I needed a little motivation to get a move on. I don't have a problem with folk drafting me but at least say hello!

If someone asks then I have no issue with it. If they jump on unannounced it's prob coz they are out of breath and hammered it to get there & I'd have an element of respect for that. As for sharing up front, that doesn't bother me. I feel I'm gettting a better work out if I don't draft and if they try to over take to do their turn I can't help but push harder. Equally if I do end up clinging to their wheel then its coz I'm suffering and I'd say thank you.
I was on a recovery ride a few weeks ago and I asked some guy if I could sit behind him as he went past. He replied "if you can, I'll be upping the pace in a minute" in a kind of grumpy fashion. That was it, my fuse was lit. I destroyed him. ;-).

However it did end in a busted head & bit of blood

for the drafter, draftee or both?

Get some jersy/shorts's printed with your local curry houses logo on them?

We were following a roadie in the car the other day, he had a hole so big in the back of his shorts I swear I could see dangleberries when he stood up!

Many years ago I hit the road very hard indeed after another cyclist hit me from behind
I can't really remember the details of exactly what happened but I guess he was drafting me, he just claimed I braked very hard for no reason & he couldn't avoid me
He didn't hang around for too long too explain any further

its like walking right behind someone

while wearing a trenchcoat thats in need of a wash and only serves to cover a rather hairy body thats naked except for a pair of wellies.

its wrong.

BAWWWWWWP

I don't understand why anyone would put their safety in the hands of someone they don't know? I don't want a stranger sitting so close to me that if I brake he hits me.

It's only happened to me a few times I must admit, and never round here actually, used to happen more when I was in Bristol, I found a swift clearing of the nostrils generally got you some space if they refuse to acknowledge you!

Don't you need to get right up close to properly draft? Obviously if a complete stranger tries to ride right up me ringpiece they'll be told to f_k right off with it, sharpish. If it's just riding a few feet behind then I suppose I'm not bothered.

I've had really tired riders ask politely as I've gone bty and I've let them do it.

I'm too stubborn to ask if I can grab a wheel though unless I'm riding in a bunch anyway.

I've had occasional tug-jobs from unknowns on my commute.

I usually introduce myself at the first lights/stop and I'm happy to take a turn at the front.

Compared to almost all commuters I ride fast, so I don't find that many that can either keep it up or who can offer a really good tug anyway.

I suspect a lot of STWers look like this dude.

I'm with Obi; if they can, they're good enough, but I'm more cautious these days, having ended up drafting Victoria Pendleton, 29-30 mph for 2 miles, Chris Newton, left me for dead when he wanted to, and Barry Clarke/Caroline Alexander who said 'get on the back' then beat me and my mates slowly and carefully to within an inch of our miserable lives on the way over to Leeds to watch the cross worlds…

I tend to go past and say hello rather than sit on initially…

I've been drafted a few times now on the cyclepath, and always by someone I've caught up with and passed. It really pisses me off as a) it's just rude to do it without asking (never been asked) and b) its dangerous as there are often people/dogs/cyclists popping out of junctions or across the path and you never know when you have to suddenly slow down. Its mostly the personal space thing – I just want to ride on my own.

I had to brake hard as a woman in a 4×4 pulled out in front of me and this guy ran into the back of me. I don't know how I managed to stay on my bike and avoid the car, he wasn't so lucky though and bounced down the road and into the car. He was pretty beat up but he'll survive another day.

would you drive very close to the car in front or accept someone tailgating you? Why accept it on a bike.

Sniff sniff. The sweet smell of karma there lobby

Bugs me to death on my commute, I don't want to think about having someone sitting on my back wheel when I have split section decisions to make regarding position in busy traffic.

If I'm on the open road I'm not really that bothered if they do their share of the work or pull alongside and ask if they can draft.

And I wouldn't draft, if I can catch someone then I'd rather pass and give them the 'loser' sign as I go.

It annoys me greatly when I'm commuting. Once it ended up with me being rear-ended by the drafter, as they didn't think I would stop for a set of lights that was changing. Plus my bike had disc brakes and his didn't. At least he apologised and paid for the damage.

Nainosliw

I've had occasional tug-jobs from unknowns on my commute.

I usually introduce myself at the first lights/stop and I'm happy to take a turn at the front.

That sounds so wrong, but nice to see politeness still in evidence…….

would you drive very close to the car in front or accept someone tailgating you? Why accept it on a bike.

I think it's important to distinguish between commuters and roadies. RE the former, i appreciate your point, if it's the latter – as several people have said, if someone's fast enough to hold your wheel then they're probably a decent rider anyway. Plus no doubt you'll want someone to return the favour another day when you're on your last legs.