Thanks scaredypants – Edric got the wrong end of the stick there.
Yes, basically the drag is reduced for the rider/driver in front.
Obviously the advantage is still far far greater for the rider/driver behind, but it’s possible that someone has an easier ride with a wheelsucker than they would without. (apart from the building rage and frustration slowing you down 🙂 )

hatter, I like it – technique filed for future use!

A single, sharp expletive from behind generally indicates success.

or a scream, clatter, screech of car tyres, a huge crunch and (sometime later) sirens would also indicate a success…of sorts 🙄

he pulled up along side me and told me I should have mudguards on my bike as he was getting a lot of road spray

naff joke or hugely cheeky.

If you don’t like drafters there’s plenty of none offensive (and none verbal if you are shy) ways to get rid of them.

Why don’t you have mudguards? Are you, perhaps, mental?

Couldn’t you drop him? If not, you have no grounds for complaint…

Yes, basically the drag is reduced for the rider/driver in front.
Obviously the advantage is still far far greater for the rider/driver behind, but it’s possible that someone has an easier ride with a wheelsucker than they would without.

Just read Dr Hutch’s new book – interestingly, they reckon that team pursuit guys are so fast now, even lapping on their own, at around fourteens seconds a lap they almost give themselves a (negligible) tow. 🙂

edlong – Member

Couldn’t you drop him? If not, you have no grounds for complaint…

I don’t understand this reasoning. Any inability to power away from someone taking a free tow doesn’t excuse an interloper sitting a couple of feet behind me unannounced, as far as I’m concerned. Flipping weirdos.

Never really bothered me tbh I assuem they are just slower
Only time i did it [ wheel sucked] he arm flicked me to go through and i went through, got level, stared him in the eyes and went back to wheel sucking
He could tell from my pained expression I had nothing more to give but at least I tried to go through and he knew he was the man!

I lasted about 3 miles…it was agony!!

Tailgating drivers are asshats as it’s dangerous to the person in front. Same on a bike.

OP, you should weave. I do, but thats normally because I’m putting a serious amount of torque into the rear tyre so the bike wheelspins in the big ring and squirms under powerful acceleration. The offshoot is- its also hard for wheel-drafters to get behind me 8)

No guards at this time of year is either wildly optimistic or plain daft.

told me I should have mudguards on my bike as he was getting a lot of road spray

I had one a couple of weeks ago who told me I needed a bike fit!

Funnily enough I had a guy sitting on my wheel this morning for about 4 miles, I do have full guards though. I was on an easy ‘fasted’ ride this morning so had no intention of putting the hammer down to get rid of him.

Why you would want to sit in someones wheel in pissing rain, guards or not, is beyond me.

Slam the brakes on.

Slam the brakes on.

I presume you’re joking. Certainly wouldn’t work for me, ain’t no slammin’ with canti brakes in the rain 🙂

Did he have guards?

Tailgating drivers are asshats as it’s dangerous to the person in front. Same on a bike.

Not at all. I’ve been hit from the rear in a few races and never came close to going down. Sadly the same is not true for the rear rider who will go down.

Just put the hammer down.

Saw a bloke the other day on a knobbly tyred mtb but he weren’t half shifting, tempted to draft him. It was wet and he had no guards but even worse his road positioning was terrible, door zone, down the left of lorries stopped close to the kerb, hugging the kerb at pinch points, let him go.

For the people who say “just drop the hammer”, I think unless you’re a lot stronger than the guy who’s got your wheel, if he wants to stay there, he probably will.

teethgrinder – Member

Tailgating drivers are asshats as it’s dangerous to the person in front. Same on a bike.

Absolutely.

There’s a regular on my commute who tries to take a free tow off my wheel into a headwind that’s almost always there then peels off just before the road ends and sprints ahead of me to ‘win’.

Call the Strava police!
No big deal on the road as long as you keep in with other etiquette, namely announcing your presence and offering a turn. If I have a person on my wheel who does neither the hammer ever so gently and discreetly gets put on and they are soon off, its pretty disgraceful that some of you guys are admitting to snotting on and spitting on other riders.

someone is behind you then that’s that. of they want to moan about mudguards, then tell them to maintain the pace on the front, but really a non-issue

Seriously don’t people just talk?

If someone is on my wheel for more than a few seconds I’d say something along the lines of ‘you alright in there’ if they say yes then that’s all cool.
I won’t go any faster or slower if someone joins me, not only are they going to get a tow they’re going to get a masterclass in how to ride a bike properly without ****ing constant jibber jabber, arm waving and changes in pace 8)

Edit; if you catch up, go past.

Was his name Paul??

No idea why anyone ever cares. They are not inconveniencing you any more than if you were riding by yourself. Let them ride behind and revel in your awesomeness that others are just mere mortals who must stay in your wake rather than have the legs to power on past. The comment was probably a poor attempt at humour but is clearly cheeky. Again, who cares. You are not racing and people make daft comments all throughout daily life. It would be pretty tiring to get worked up about every one of these.

To be honest though, I reckon the guy had noticed there hadn’t been one of these threads for a few days so was trying to wind you up and sucker you in to the post 😉

Oldgit has it. If you’re going fast enough to catch someone, they’re going too slow to be any use. It takes forever to catch someone going almost the same speed as you.

Re no harm done by rear enders. Disagree. Last year a clubmate had the entire rear triangle snapped off his Supsersix Evo (new) and both 303’s tacoed (also new) after a rear shunt. Had missed a gear climbing a rise at about 35kmh, next wheel went straight into the back of him. So if you ever wondered what would win in a fight, Evo or Madone… the Trek was barely scratched 😉

Oldgit has it. If you’re going fast enough to catch someone, they’re going too slow to be any use. It takes forever to catch someone going almost the same speed as you.

Unless you’ve put in a massive dig to get onto their wheel and you’re legs are gone!

Frankly I’d have thought a face full of spray for a few miles would have been punishment enough for his perceived crime. The poor guy must have had some sort of problem to put up with that.

Are we going to have this exact same discussion every week at this time?

Given the x no of miles in blinding spray, I reckon it was this guy…

Golden Shower Man

But, please take some comfort that the guy was on some form of carnal high, driving him on.
[/titter]

Unless you’ve put in a massive dig to get onto their wheel and you’re legs are gone!

Chasing someone then dying is a the badge of the highest ranking amateur, especially on a commute or bun run. When someone does that to me I just think they’ve disgraced themselves ➡

Re no harm done by rear enders. Disagree. Last year a clubmate had the entire rear triangle snapped off his Supsersix Evo (new) and both 303’s tacoed (also new) after a rear shunt. Had missed a gear climbing a rise at about 35kmh, next wheel went straight into the back of him.

Sounds like if the guy had come through and done his turn but happened to be ham fisted at setting up his mech then he could have put the OP at risk 😉

Are we going to have this exact same discussion every week at this time?

STW should be able to post an autoreply “Who cares, get over it. Have a chat and some banter or failing that get own with your own ride like you would have done anyway”

mrblobby – Member

Oldgit has it. If you’re going fast enough to catch someone, they’re going too slow to be any use. It takes forever to catch someone going almost the same speed as you.

By that reasoning you’re saying that there would never be any drafting, are you not? As the only people fast enough to catch others should be fast enough to then keep going on past?

Are we going to have this exact same discussion every week at this time?

Yeh its all the new road riders that pop up at this time of year. They all think they’re the bollox and want to either chase everyone down, then die a death when they pass or sit on a wheel because they’ve seen the sky boys do it on the tour.

They’ll be gone by early September

By that reasoning you’re saying that there would never be any drafting, are you not? As the only people fast enough to catch others should be fast enough to then keep going on past?

Not quite. Drafting has it’s place in training and racing or any ride where you have mutual goals.
Catching and sitting on the wheel of a stranger who probably has a very different agenda is altogether different.
That said it’s pretty harmless unless either of you is a bit trigger happy, and by saving energy from the draft you’ll be doing yourself out of a workout

If you don’t give him the elbow flick you can’t expect him to come through a do a turn!

I can honestly say that it doesn’t bother me at all. If I’m out on my own then I’d rather that they sat in behind than come through for a turn because I want to ride at ‘my’ pace putting ‘my’ effort. I don’t want a rest or to take a tow. I’ve done dozens of rides with a mate who will sit on my wheel for the whole ride, whether that’s for 50, 60, 110 or whatever miles. I’m happy, he’s happy. If I catch up with someone then I carry on at my own pace and speak as I go past. If they grab my wheel that’s fine. If they come through for a turn I don’t change what I’m doing at all. To be honest though, it very rarely happens that I cross paths with anyone of similar pace.

If you don’t give him the elbow flick you can’t expect him to come through a do a turn!

Most of the wheel suckers I pick up have no clue what an elbow flick means. See my post above 🙂