Question about Pacelines...

EvilGoodGuy said:

Why is it important not to accelerate when moving to the front to pull in a paceline? I've heard this is one of the no-no's of a paceline. Can someone explain this...

one of the advantages to pacelining is the consistancy of the pace. If you take off hard when it is your turn at the front you cause everyone else in the line to have to accelerate. As your acceleration moves down the line it gets more pronounced the farther back in the line you go, until the folks at the very back are facing a hard acceleration to keep up. Often the people behind you end up surging to keep up with you then slowing when they catch you again. Now the deceleration is moving back through the line. The yo-yo effect of contantly surging and slowing can be very tiring and even unsafe. Therefore it is best to keep the pace nice and consistant. If you want to speed it up a bit, do it gradually and not right after you pull to the front to keep the surging to a minimum.

EvilGoodGuy said:

Why is it important not to accelerate when moving to the front to pull in a paceline? I've heard this is one of the no-no's of a paceline. Can someone explain this...

If everybody accelerates by 1 mph when it is their turn on the front, eventually you will be doing like a bajillion miles an hour. Instead of the new pulling rider accelerating to get ahead of the rider who has just finished his pull, the new pulling rider maintains the same pace, while the rider who is pulling off slows slightly. The idea is to maintain a steady pace. You accomplish this when the person who is coming off a pull slows slightly (about 1 mph slower than his/her previous pace) and slowly drifts to the back of the line while the person starting his/her pull simply maintains the speed that the previous pulling rider was going.

Physiologically, it is much easier to maintain a steady pace than it is to constantly change speeds.

Bob

Think about it, you are just pulling in front of the guy who just came up and now if you accelerate you're making this guy hop on the gas again. It defeats the whole purpose of a smooth group maximizing it's energy. Anytime you pulsate a pack you are wasting energy. You should pull through with enough speed to overtake the lead rider and then back off to maintain his/her pace.

Thanks for the info,

A thought: if a slight change in pace at the front of the pack ripples out to the back and becomes a much higher change in pace, would this be a good way to put pressure on riders at the back of the pack who aren't willing to pull? Or would it just annoy other riders and be a safety hazzard?

EvilGoodGuy said:

Thanks for the info,

A thought: if a slight change in pace at the front of the pack ripples out to the back and becomes a much higher change in pace, would this be a good way to put pressure on riders at the back of the pack who aren't willing to pull? Or would it just annoy other riders and be a safety hazzard?

for the riders that refuse to pull, it's better to throw a stick in their spokes than to disrupt the rest of the paceline by accelerating.

wh0areume said:

for the riders that refuse to pull, it's better to throw a stick in their spokes than to disrupt the rest of the paceline by accelerating.

Had a ride a couple of weeks ago where a guy sat in the back the whole time. Afterwards I said "Dude, haven't seen you all night. thought we dropped you." This past week he got the message and started pulling. many inexperienced riders think they are making it easier for themselves by not pulling, but in reality it takes more effort to try to hang on the back and close that gap as riders jump off.

EvilGoodGuy said:

Thanks for the info,

A thought: if a slight change in pace at the front of the pack ripples out to the back and becomes a much higher change in pace, would this be a good way to put pressure on riders at the back of the pack who aren't willing to pull? Or would it just annoy other riders and be a safety hazzard?

What do you care if there's guys hanging on the back, just so long as they don't compete for the town sign sprint (if any)? Sometimes people are just hanging on for dear life because they aren't as fit as those pulling the group.

What's the point of putting "pressure" on them?

....Oh my.....I hope you aren't one of those guys who treats the weekly club ride as a stage of the Tour de France or something?!?! Maybe you should practice giving them "the Look", too.

Bob

Bobby Lex - I should have clarified. I meant the people in a race who sit near the back (or middle) and refuse to pull, not a group ride. Although I suppose in a competitive group ride the same might apply. *It was just a thought*

EvilGoodGuy said:

Bobby Lex - I should have clarified. I meant the people in a race who sit near the back (or middle) and refuse to pull, not a group ride. Although I suppose in a competitive group ride the same might apply. *It was just a thought*

If you are talking about a race (IMO pack riding and pacelining imply two pretty different things so I think that is why your original question wasn't really answered the way you were looking for.) - indeed it is a tactic, but generally attacks don't take place directly off of the front. It is too easy for the pack to see what is happening and just follow. A good attack usually comes from a short way back- say 3 riders or so - at least in the lower cat where I ride. Another thing you can do if you are with team mates is put in multiple attacks - as soon as the pack catches the first attacker, the next person goes. It puts even more pressure on the pack and increases the likelyhood that one of the attackers will stay away. And yes - the accelerations will put a lot of pressure on the people at the back, the middle of the pack is usually more comfy, but if the attackers get a gap and you are in the middle of the pack, you may have a hard time getting through to chase.