[Closed] Brake checked by a roadie

When brake checking doesn't go according to plan....

Honda Civic brake checks Hgv. 😯

I find the arguing in this thread very odd.

The reasons people don't want to be drafted aren't really the point. And whether they lack confidence, think it's dangerous, or just don't feel very sociable, there are many of them. The simple fact is that it's sometimes unwanted. And there seems to be a good proportion of people who think it's socially acceptable to force themselves into their space anyway. Justifying it by pointing out the inadequacies of the people their forcing themselves upon.

Courtesy or respect seem to be alien concepts to some people.

Anyone drafting me today would've ended up in the ditch today - a deer ran out from the right hand hedge. Emergency stop from me so I didn't hit it. Then its partner went too, a couple of seconds behind...

On a club run I'dve been shouting a warning as I know the carnage an emergency stop would cause but if there was a random stranger who'd arrived without telling me, I wouldn't know to warn them and they'd have been a mess. This was Ivinghoe Beacon - on a relatively fast bit of road.

OP - you need to think a bit more about these scenarios before slagging off people

I dont know how youve managed to make 4 pages out ofthe premise that someone on a bike would brake check another rider. You all need to get out more.

Anyone drafting me today would've ended up in the ditch today

Its perfectly possible the following rider could have seen the deer first and stopped before you.

Its just riding a bike, its not that dangerous.

ts perfectly possible the following rider could have seen the deer first and stopped before you.

Likewise, it is perfectly possible they didn't see it. It is very similar to tailgating a car, and is pretty much a potential accident that could be easily avoided.

Tangent here, last couple of cx races I've been drafted on the Tarmac sections and obviously in a race situation don't want to be. what's the best way to break the suckers off? Tried weaving, tried powering off, tried slowing down etc, but then in a big field conscious that slowing down is a bad idea.

Fire some snot rockets, mario kart style.

I guess the obvious tactic should have been to break check them 😆

I will not have someone I don't know drafting me. Its not safe simple as.

I do a bit of road riding on my Hybrid with 32mm tyres, wearing MTB baggy clothing and have hairy legs. If I manage to catch a full on roadie Lord of Lycra type I often sit on their wheel for a while. I find that if I overtake them, their hairless legs cannot help but increase their cadence.
It's as if, in their mind, they should be faster than me and I have insulted their manliness. For that reason I usually sit behind out of some kind of misguided sense of deference.
I will now make a point of saying Hi just to be polite but I do a bit of road riding in Italy on my semi slick shod MTB so the language issue is a problem.

I must admit to grabbing a cheeky draft the other weekend. Feeling a bit boxed, and got overtaken on a long tarmac section by a bloke on a Five. I was shamed into putting some effort in to keep up with him!

last couple of cx races I've been drafted on the Tarmac sections and obviously in a race situation don't want to be. what's the best way to break the suckers off?

Run deliberately wide at the corner beforehand, forcing them to be first onto the tarmac. Sit on their wheel for a bit, then attack...

Cheers David. pretty much what the others did to me I think 😳 😆

every days a learning day 🙂

FWIW in answer to one of the posts up there, i won't take draft from someone i don't know either.........

I do a bit of road riding on my Hybrid with 32mm tyres, wearing MTB baggy clothing and have hairy legs. If I manage to catch a full on roadie Lord of Lycra type I often sit on their wheel for a while. I find that if I overtake them, their hairless legs cannot help but increase their cadence.
It's as if, in their mind, they should be faster than me and I have insulted their manliness. For that reason I usually sit behind out of some kind of misguided sense of deference.
I will now make a point of saying Hi just to be polite but I do a bit of road riding in Italy on my semi slick shod MTB so the language issue is a problem.

or he thought you were returning the favour by doing a turn on the front.

Several posters claim that it is only the drafter that goes down when it goes wrong. It might be the case in race/chain gang / club runs but not necessarily when caught unawares. Last autumn I was out riding into a cross headwind up on Devil's Dyke. I was riding alone and hadn't realised I had picked up a sucker. The road kicked up and with it I took a strong headwind blast. I slowed and this clown ploughs into me sending me flying off the road. He went into a rant blaming my inconsistent riding for the accident. I let him know what I thought of him in my fruitiest Anglo Saxon and how I restrained myself from getting robust with my displeasure is a minor miracle.
So strangers drafting a solo ride - a polite no thanks, glass cranking finally followed by snot rockets to those who don't get the message

Those of you that think its acceptable to daft someone you don't knbow - please answer this. do you leave a safe braking distance in a car? Would you accept a car sitting inches from your rear wheel?

If you answer no to these why is it acceptable for anyopne to sit close to you just because they are on a bike? they dreafter is putting the draftee at risk. i sinmply tell them to stop doing it and if they don't I will slow down until they overtake -

My safety is in my hands and mine alone. I don't let anyonereduce my safe margins

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If you answer no to these why is it acceptable for anyopne to sit close to you just because they are on a bike?

Because its riding a bike its not that dangerous. Also compared to tailgating in a car a drafting cyclist can still have a good view of the road ahead, especially if they ride slightly offset and finally hazards develop slower at 20mph compared to 70mph.

Because its riding a bike its not that dangerous

and it is even less dangerous when some wierdo is not following you inches from your wheel

BTW I am happy drafting random people, but I am generally expecting half a bike length of space - if I feel they are riding too close or I just uncomfortable with them (wobbling, not backing off at hazards, blowing out of their arse) then i'd ask them to back off or something. Likewise I will sit behind other people, but give them a decent amount of space, often I find if I pass somebody who was only going a bit slower than me then they will speed up to pass me then tire and slow down in front of me, etc.

It's a London thing

Not buying it AA. Someone is drafting me I am relied on them being able to see hazards and to brake as quickly as I do with obscured vision. Just for clarity I am talking about on busy streets. I touch my brakes - he hits the back of me and it could hurt, put me under a bus, an asteroid could hit me, all the kittens could die

Why should I take that chance? Sorry but its not happening and I consider anyone who would do this should be dealt with! the green ink must come out!!!

Edit - Different with someone I know and know how they ride
🙂

Just for clarity I am talking about on busy streets

[quote=tjagain ]Not buying it AA. Someone is drafting me I am relied on them being able to see hazards and to brake as quickly as I do with obscured vision. Just for clarity I am talking about on busy streets. I touch my brakes - he hits the back of me and it could hurt, put me under a bus, an asteroid could hit me, all the kittens could die

Just for clarity, I don't think I would draft a stranger on busy streets - or certainly not anywhere near as closely as I would on quieter roads. Not that I would draft a stranger anywhere near as tightly as somebody I know, or on a club run/audax/sportive. I would also try and communicate my presence - if it was clear they were uncomfortable I would back off (or just accelerate and drop them 😉 )

It isn't the same as tailgating a car though, because even on the recent club run I did where I hadn't ridden with any of them before, I often sat very slightly offset - mainly so that I could see the hazards in front better, but also doing so allows you to avoid them if they do brake suddenly. Though even if you do sit right behind you can still see the hazards better than when tailgating in a car, and provided you're not inches away you should still be able to avoid running into the back of them by moving slightly sideways, something which isn't possible in a car. I'm actually kind of disappointed in you directly equating bike riding to car driving 😉

So either riding offset or giving half a meter of space, not really "drafting" very effectively is it 😉

Roadying is so complicated!

Just do what I do & maintain such a slow average speed that everyone zooms past, without bothering to sit in my draft......

Roadying is so complicated!

🙂

It's not really. If you want to ride an inch off a strangers back wheel then you need to ask as that person needs to know you're there and ride accordingly (and also because it's the polite thing to do.) And be prepared that they may not be happy for you to do so (for a multitude of possible reasons, none of which are your business to question.)

I'm actually kind of disappointed in you directly equating bike riding to car driving

sad fact is that those idiot drivers you see can also be cyclists and they will no doubt be relying on those same superhuman braking skills they think they have when driving 2 feet behind the car in front.

Just do what I do & maintain such a slow average speed that everyone zooms past, without bothering to sit in my draft......

That options has been working for me for years.