Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 75 total)
  • Roadie etiquette question
  • Stu_N
    Full Member

    Say you catch and pass someone on the road, and they sit in on your wheel uninvited for a bit, then refuse to even acknowledge you when you suggest they do a spell when you make it clear they ought to (tried flick of elbow a few times, then going up onto the tops and easing up and then explicitly telling him to go through), are you under any obligation to point things on the road out?

    Like, say, a shrubby branch at the edge of the road…?

    Hypothetically, like…

    Merak
    Full Member

    Good manners if you feel that way inclined. Personally if someone is hanging my wheel and not bothering to do a spell then I aim for potholes and do not give a wave. Sometimes I do just depends what kind of mood Im in or how strong I feel

    paulosoxo
    Free Member

    If you're racing, then it's tactics, if you're not, then just enjoy the ride.

    wombat
    Full Member

    Swerve suddenly a few times as though you're avoiding a pothole until they stop copying then they'll hit the next real pothole when you swerve to avoid it 😉

    simondbarnes
    Full Member

    I wouldn't even notice if someone sat on my wheel so I'd just carry on riding normally.

    kiwi_stu
    Free Member

    Every ride is a race. You say you catch and pass them, so why can you not drop them from your wheel ? Lift your game mate… and rip their legs… before dropping them (or blowing them up) is the only roadie etiquette you should remember. Plus stop this gay elbow flicking at once.

    DavidB
    Free Member

    Brake hard

    They won't be inclined to follow your wheel after a nose full of your arse.

    Junkyard
    Free Member

    i literally come to a stop and just look at them till they get bored and cycle off. Last time they caught me and then sat there for 10 miles ….. if they speak and say they are tired /long run where you going etc then I let them sit.

    sockpuppet
    Full Member

    if you caught them and *are* faster than them, gradually turn up the pace til you drop them. then smile smugly.

    or you could just get on with your life and stop letting it bother you.

    oh, and

    Plus stop this gay elbow flicking at once.

    +1

    all this 'brake hard in front of them' and 'aim for pot holes' chuntering isn't really the sort of atmosphere i'd like to see between cyclists, after all they're not slowing you down, why not live and let live. or just say 'i'd rather you didn't do that'

    oh that's right – people don't like to actually speak to people they don't know, do they?

    stratobiker
    Free Member

    Jesus!!! Someone is on your wheel, it's not a race, and you wish them harm????!!!!???

    Maybe when you're 12 years old, but…..c'mon…. 🙂

    RepacK
    Free Member

    Depends on my mood..If Im chilling then I might slow down & try & have a bit of a chat. If Ive had a bad day & Im feeling punchy & Id try rip their legs off! Sometimes though that tactic misfires really quite spectacularly but its good for a laugh.. 😈

    paulosoxo
    Free Member

    meanwhile on another forum

    some bloke pulled his arse out today to get past me, then blew up in front of me, I just sat on his wheel for a few miles, laughing at him as he tiredly weaved about on the road

    /meanwhile on another forum

    jonb
    Free Member

    I don't know, I've never met anyone who could hold my wheel after being overtaken 🙄

    MTB-Idle
    Free Member

    I'm with stratobiker, I think you are confusing commuting/out for a fun ride with a professional race.

    Relax, get real.

    If you were in a car would you obey the rules of the road or act like an arse just because someone overtook you or got too close?

    Hang on, don't answer that, I don't wanna know.

    As someone once said, this place is full of bulls running around looking for a red rag…

    nostoc
    Free Member

    Blow snot over them.

    No, actually what RepacK says

    Stu_N
    Full Member

    Was just riding home from work. Not racing anyone, not going harder or easier than I normally do. Just riding at my own not-quite-comfortable pace .

    I just think it's incredibly rude not to do a turn, not even speak to the person who you are sitting two feet behind.

    And frankly I don't want someone I know nothing about sitting a foot behind me, especially when that someone who doesn't even acknowledge my existence. It just doesn't feel safe.

    oldgit
    Free Member

    Just let them sit there, you da boss.

    druidh
    Free Member

    Doesn't bother me – I just cycle at the pace I want to cycle at. I don't see what effect it has if someone is behind me.

    twinklydave
    Full Member

    you might be doing more of the work, but you're getting more of the benefit – you'll be the uber fit one in the end, so let them hide in your shadow 🙂

    and if you're really that bothered about them being there, go up some hills and make them suffer! 😈

    RoterStern
    Free Member

    If it bothers you that much stop pedalling until they pass and then sit on their wheel. Simple really.

    mingsta
    Free Member

    Just let them sit there, you da boss.

    +1 aint that the truth baby!!!

    But seriously, outside of a race/competitive ride it really ain't no thang unless you let it bother you.

    Definitely don't do anything dangerous like braking hard or swerving, life's too short for that kind of lark.

    Some people don't like the thought of an unknown rider drafting them for safety reasons. If thats the case, then just politely state that and ask them not to do it, we're all human beings capable of conversing with each other, right?

    Stu_N
    Full Member

    I almost did coast to a halt at one point and tell him to go through but he didn't even look at me. And he just stared straight ahead when we were stopped at some lights when I said hello, alright or whatever (which was about a mile after I picked up the wheelsucker – hoping a little banter might help).

    I don't mind sharing the work with someone on the way home (there's a bloke I see on the top road infrequently and we usually work together for a similar distance until he turns off), just someone who shows no engagement riding feet behind me for 15-20 mins is a bit freaky.

    Agree shouldn't do anything dangerous like braking or swerving but frankly I didn't feel I had any obligation to highlight the branch and I think he clipped it – he didn't seem to sit in after that anyway

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    after all they're not slowing you down,

    I though they were, because slipstreaming is not "free energy", the following rider is pinching energy from the leader.

    But I was wrong, from wikipedia: "In addition, the leading object will be able to move faster than it could independently because the rear object reduces the effect of the low-pressure region on the leading object."

    Thank them!

    Haribo
    Free Member

    never mind that you missed out on cooked in the dark burgers n sausages.

    mmmmmm blue cheese guacamole – dont think Fi was as impressed though

    Owen

    myheadsashed
    Full Member

    Parp ooo sorry didn't realise you were there 😉

    druidh
    Free Member

    Back up a minute…….. blue cheese guacamole?????

    colnagokid
    Full Member

    the OP's question should be "commuter etiquette" not "roadie"

    mingsta
    Free Member

    Also bear in mind that as unbelievable as it may sound…some people just see cycling as a mode of transport and may not versed in the lore of roadie etiquette. Maybe not the case if your wheelsucker was on a 5K rig and dressed head to toe in team kit…

    aracer
    Free Member

    And frankly I don't want someone I know nothing about sitting a foot behind me, especially when that someone who doesn't even acknowledge my existence. It just doesn't feel safe.

    I don't really get that one. If they hit your back wheel with their front wheel it won't be you who falls off.

    Haribo
    Free Member

    oh yes colnago – google nigella (tits) lawson's recipe tiz the dogs.

    Stu_N
    Full Member

    Yeah, both on road bikes. He in team kit.

    Wouldn't have made Beecraigs after work Owen, sounds like a good one. Too busy ripping it up on the tarmac. 😆

    I don't really get that one. If they hit your back wheel with their front wheel it won't be you who falls off.

    I'm not sure I'd like to put that one to the test…

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    I agree with aracer. And I'm hoping that half the replies are trolls, because otherwise it's a pretty sad indictment of stw cyclists.

    zaskar
    Free Member

    Would not bother me. But I have been asked for tow when one commuter was knackered. So I towed him to his home and carried on riding-him asking while I was training was a nice gesture but I've had more silent riders get towed and I'm not that fast anymore.

    I've had a roadie sit on my tail for 4 miles of fast sprinting -I couldn't shake him and I laughed "Want to take your turn on your carbon bike?"

    Instead he pulled up parallel and we chatted as we rode fast for the next ten miles. Nice chap. He beat me on the hill but it was my 72mile of the day and I was dead.

    I reckon your guy didn't hear you or was tired but who cares?

    Just overtake and don't let him catch you!-good training.

    Seriously chill out and ignore them.

    grumm
    Free Member

    I just think it's incredibly rude not to do a turn, not even speak to the person who you are sitting two feet behind.

    Maybe he didn't have a clue about the weird roadie unwritten rules about 'taking turns', and just thought it was a bit weird for someone to bother trying to overtake, then not really go any faster than them, plus start weirdly flicking his elbows and slowing down for no apparent reason.

    Stu_N
    Full Member

    It was like being followed by the truck from Duel. But on a bike.

    (OK – I exaggerate slightly)

    higgo
    Free Member

    Flick your elbow at me and I'll think you've got a twitch.

    aracer
    Free Member

    I'm not sure I'd like to put that one to the test…

    We're all mountain bikers on here aren't we? Surely that means you've ridden in situations where your wheels skid? How difficult is it to recover from a rear wheel skid? How does that compare to recovering from a front wheel skid?

    ourmaninthenorth
    Full Member

    Maybe not the case if your wheelsucker was on a 5K rig and dressed head to toe in team kit…

    Oh no, theya're usually the ones who have no idea about the flick of an elbow or doing a turn.

    The only proprtionate response is to sit up on the tops looking all casual, and then turn up the pace to around 30mph. 😀

    (In reality, I don't mind wheelsuckers, except in traffic, where the potential for being rammed at 20+ mph doesn't appeal.)

    samuri
    Free Member

    If they can keep up they're welcome to sit there. Being tailed speeds you up too. I don't point out things in the road though any of the time, that's their lookout.

    if it bothers you though it's really easy, either slow down or find a big hill and drop them, either option will sort them out.

    SandyThePig
    Free Member

    I have to admit if someone sits on my wheel I usually just completely ignore they are there and carry on. Sometimes they will come through and do a turn, or at least say thank you when they pull off.

    There has been times when I have been wheel-sucking and the other person has been going too fast for me to do a turn (bear in mind other person usually has a "proper" road bike compared to my 15Kg commuter). I would always make conversation though and say thank you.

    Take it as a compliment Stuart – you have been going too fast for them to take a turn 🙂

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