Same pace? sit back 20 metres or so.
f
Why, what difference does it make if you sit back 2 meters or 20 meters?
Same pace? sit back 20 metres or so.
f
Why, what difference does it make if you sit back 2 meters or 20 meters?
If i see someone upfront and I think i can catch em I will try to , and then go past them if I catch them but the whole drafting thing makes no sense to me when I'm out there to get fitter.
same applies for light bikes, I'm riding an old steel frame thing, weighs more than my dually, its irrelevant, it makes me fitter. Happy with a lighter mtb though more, more riding = more fun, on the roadie more riding = more zzzzzzz.
2m isn't enough space?
Having some one hang off your wheel is something I can understand but getting pissed that some one is 2m behind you is a bit dramatic.
2m isn't enough space?
Having some one hang off your wheel is something I can understand but getting pissed that some one is 2m behind you is a bit dramatic.
Yeah, I kinda agree - 2m behind is fine.. is being 20 metres behind even drafting anymore? I was more concerned about someone being 2cm behind!
Dramatic? Never said it was dramatic, I just find it disconcerting for someone to follow at a bike's length for a period of time without saying hello.
A drafting zone is 7m or 12m according to triathlon rules.
20m is way out of drafting distance - if you are concentrating on your riding would you even notice someone was there 20m away?
At 12m I don't see how much benefit you would get at all. And the draft zone is 3m wide too. For a vehicle the rule is 35m and 5m wide.Wow, is there still a benefit at a distance of 7-12m?
Don't get me wrong, I definitely respect a person's decision not to have a draftee. It used to annoy me as well when I first started riding as it just felt like some one was freeloading off me and/or simply uncomfortable that I had some one I didn't know following me. But after I thought about it honestly and did it a few times myself I felt that I was just concerning myself needlessly. Each to their own, though.
What is most annoying on the commute are people who filter to the front at the lights and then dawdle off and average 5-10km/h (or more) slower than you, so you overtake and then at the next lights they repeat the fiasco.
+10000
What on earth is going through their heads?
Ditto for those who insist on filtering to the front of vehicles queued at traffic lights, and then plonk themselves in front of the first car and delay everyone. This is the sort of crap that fuels anti-cyclist sentiment.. I'm fairly confident that the majority of cars on the road are able to accelerate faster than the majority of cyclists on the road, so WTF makes people think it's fair and reasonable for them to take off ahead of all of the cars?
so WTF makes people think it's fair and reasonable for them to take off ahead of all of the cars?
Very dependent on the traffic situation.
Based on your logic you'd just sit in a traffic jam on your bike instead of passing stationary cars on the left, which you are well within your rights to do?
The law.
I am not saying that you should always do it. Also if you're on a road moving at 70 80 clicks and the cars don't have enough room to pass you you should definitely consider finding another route.
Wow, is there still a benefit at a distance of 7-12m?
OK, perhaps my post wasn't clear.. I'm not referring to a traffic jam scenario. I'm referring to a queue of vehicles stopped a set of traffic lights in otherwise relatively free flowing traffic. Think say 8-10 cars, who were all happily pottering along at whatever the speed limit is, safely passing you on your bike pottering along at whatever speed you're doing. Light goes red, cars come to a halt, as do you.. Except instead of stopping, you pass those 8-10 cars, get in front of them and then make them wait while you take off... and they all then pass you again soon enough anyway. What have you gained? Nothing - but you have delayed them, and you have likely shifted their gauge a little more towards the "bloody cyclists, shouldn't be on the road!" side. I see this VERY regularly when commuting to work, and I have yet to come up with an explanation that makes it fair and reasonable for all involved (legal does not necessarily equate to fair and reasonable...)
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