Slipstreaming

nebakke said:

Hi Guys,

Just curious, I've been wondering about this for many years now...
Why is slipstreaming such a big issue with most riders? I can see the
whole point of sharing the workload and all, but I mean if you've got
good legs one day and someone slipstreams for a couple of KMs because
they don't why is it a worry, it's not like you suddenly have to push
twice as much air or something.
I'm only asking because I had a girl slipstreaming me from Toowong to
QUT this morning and I realised that I have seen plenty of people get
quite peewed off over that same thing, which is why I never do it,
seems kind of impolite.

Doesn't worry me at all, it's a compliment. Except when racing 🙂
What am I doing on the front in a race anyway?!

I don’t do the road bike thing too much, but I understand it’s hitching a free ride almost, as you are (being at the front) punching the hole & they just ride your wheel.

Lance Armstrong can really help you out on this one I think…….
😉

Marx SS said:

I don't do the road bike thing too much, but I understand it's hitching
a free ride almost, as you are (being at the front) punching the hole &
they just ride your wheel.

I see your point but again, that is more in case of competition riding
than in every day going on the road though isn't it... I was just
wondering why it's an issue in non-comp riding...

Quoted message said:

Lance Armstrong can really help you out on this one I think.......
😉

Heheh true, didn't help Beloki much though did it? ;O)

-Rasmus

Glad to hear I'm not alone then, must be a predominantely Danish thing
then, I've seen several riders over the years, nearly getting into
fistfights over it... I can understand why it'd get you peeved off in a
race but on the way to work, just to repeat I reckon it's a compliment
more than anything as well.

-Rasmus just rehashing right now ;O)

nebakke said:

Hi Guys,

Just curious, I've been wondering about this for many years now...
Why is slipstreaming such a big issue with most riders? I can see the
whole point of sharing the workload and all, but I mean if you've got
good legs one day and someone slipstreams for a couple of KMs because
they don't why is it a worry, it's not like you suddenly have to push
twice as much air or something.
I'm only asking because I had a girl slipstreaming me from Toowong to
QUT this morning and I realised that I have seen plenty of people get
quite peewed off over that same thing, which is why I never do it,
seems kind of impolite.
Anyways, to me it's kind of a compliment I guess, I mean if I'm going
fast enough for them to consider it worth it slipstreaming then great,
of course I'm also of a size where it'd be like riding without any wind
at all, but that's a different matter.
I've had that happen to me twice in the last week now, for all the
years that I've ridden in Denmark I think that's about the same amount
of times it's happened there so is it just different here?

-Rasmus

I don't have a problem with someone sitting in for a while, but I think it's polite for a following rider to let the other rider know they are there. If I know someone is there I will call out holes and other obstacles, let them know if I am slowing/ stopping/ turning etc. If I don't know they are there I don't want them smacking into me as I slow down or take a drink or whatever. I think that's why some get annoyed, especially as it would normally happen at peak times in busy areas like the coro drive bikeway where there are zombies everywhere it's not always safe to draft.

Having said that being competitive if someone sits in I will nearly always try and burn them off just for fun 🙂

Adam

nebakke said:

Glad to hear I'm not alone then, must be a predominantely Danish thing
then, I've seen several riders over the years, nearly getting into
fistfights over it... I can understand why it'd get you peeved off in a
race but on the way to work, just to repeat I reckon it's a compliment
more than anything as well.

you don't get peeved in a race, you get smart (or, you're
a defacto teammate 🙂 )

nebakke said:

Glad to hear I'm not alone then, must be a predominantely Danish thing
then, I've seen several riders over the years, nearly getting into
fistfights over it... I can understand why it'd get you peeved off in a
race but on the way to work, just to repeat I reckon it's a compliment
more than anything as well.

Why would it even peeve you in a race? Isn't it a standard tactic in
racing to use the opponent's slipstream to your advantage?

Uncomprehendingly yours, ;-)
David

--

David Trudgett
http://www.zeta.org.au/~wpower/

What forces these men to the false reasoning that the existing order
is unchanging, and that therefore they ought to support it, when it is
so obvious, on the contrary, that it is only unchanging because they
themselves support it?

-- Leo Tolstoy, "The Kingdom of God is Within You"

David Trudgett said:

nebakke said:

Glad to hear I'm not alone then, must be a predominantely Danish thing
then, I've seen several riders over the years, nearly getting into
fistfights over it... I can understand why it'd get you peeved off in a
race but on the way to work, just to repeat I reckon it's a compliment
more than anything as well.

Why would it even peeve you in a race? Isn't it a standard tactic in
racing to use the opponent's slipstream to your advantage?

Yes, but that doesn't mean it won't annoy you sometimes.
Say you're in a break, or a handicap, and someone's
not working in that group. That's not a good thing
if you're one of the workers. There are ways to get
riders to work, or get rid of them (legally!).

nebakke said:

Hi Guys,

Just curious, I've been wondering about this for many years now...
Why is slipstreaming such a big issue with most riders? I can see the
whole point of sharing the workload and all, but I mean if you've got
good legs one day and someone slipstreams for a couple of KMs because
they don't why is it a worry, it's not like you suddenly have to push
twice as much air or something.
I'm only asking because I had a girl slipstreaming me from Toowong to
QUT this morning and I realised that I have seen plenty of people get
quite peewed off over that same thing, which is why I never do it,
seems kind of impolite.
Anyways, to me it's kind of a compliment I guess, I mean if I'm going
fast enough for them to consider it worth it slipstreaming then great,
of course I'm also of a size where it'd be like riding without any wind
at all, but that's a different matter.
I've had that happen to me twice in the last week now, for all the
years that I've ridden in Denmark I think that's about the same amount
of times it's happened there so is it just different here?

-Rasmus

I always regard it as a compliment too. Some complain that the people
behind might run into them, but usually it'll be the person behind that
comes out worse off. I get annoyed if people ride too close beside me,
since it limits my options if I want to swerve around something.

Marty

Carl Brewer said:

David Trudgett said:

nebakke said:

Glad to hear I'm not alone then, must be a predominantely Danish thing
then, I've seen several riders over the years, nearly getting into
fistfights over it... I can understand why it'd get you peeved off in a
race but on the way to work, just to repeat I reckon it's a compliment
more than anything as well.

Why would it even peeve you in a race? Isn't it a standard tactic in
racing to use the opponent's slipstream to your advantage?

Yes, but that doesn't mean it won't annoy you sometimes.
Say you're in a break, or a handicap, and someone's
not working in that group. That's not a good thing
if you're one of the workers. There are ways to get
riders to work, or get rid of them (legally!).

Not having ever raced before, I suppose it's a bit hard to grok, but I
think I get it. You're saying that if you're racing with a team, or
just an unofficial let's-work-together group in a race, then you'll
want everyone to share the work fairly. I can understand that point of
view. I'll bet there are differences of opinion as to what's fair,
though! :-)

Cheers,

David

--

David Trudgett
http://www.zeta.org.au/~wpower/

As a computer, I find your faith in technology amusing.

David Trudgett said:

Not having ever raced before, I suppose it's a bit hard to grok, but I
think I get it. You're saying that if you're racing with a team, or
just an unofficial let's-work-together group in a race, then you'll
want everyone to share the work fairly. I can understand that point of
view. I'll bet there are differences of opinion as to what's fair,
though! :-)

Yes, and yes, and yet you want to have everyone else in the
bunch working more than you are, if you're planning on winnng.

At the end of a long h'cap, the rider who
wins is rarely appreciated by the rest of their bunch, as
they had to get the extra kick from somewhere! Someone's
always going to assume that they were just wheelsucking.
When I won a long h'cap, I was working, up until
I knew our bunch wasn't going to get caught anyway, then
it all changes and you rest as much as you can if
you're a sprinter, or you start attacking if you're not.
Or, if there's some team riding going on, and someone's
been "gifted" the race, that's different again.

But, that's one of the beauties of road bike racing. It's a
team sport and an individual sport at the same time, quite
unique.

Carl Brewer said:

nebakke said:

Hi Guys,

Just curious, I've been wondering about this for many years now...
Why is slipstreaming such a big issue with most riders? I can see the
whole point of sharing the workload and all, but I mean if you've got
good legs one day and someone slipstreams for a couple of KMs because
they don't why is it a worry, it's not like you suddenly have to push
twice as much air or something.
I'm only asking because I had a girl slipstreaming me from Toowong to
QUT this morning and I realised that I have seen plenty of people get
quite peewed off over that same thing, which is why I never do it,
seems kind of impolite.

Doesn't worry me at all, it's a compliment. Except when racing 🙂
What am I doing on the front in a race anyway?!

Sure we've discussed this before... depends on if they're competent. I
would hate to think that, if I changed lanes to pass a pedestrian,
they'd follow me without checking, and then run into someone. I'd feel
awful. If they seem stupid, I slow down until they pass (then pass them
at high speed soon after). If they are competent, I don't mind.

Tam

My entire riding style is based on wheelsucking someone until I drop
off - then hoping someone else comes passed that I can jump on the back
of... Just ask Tam, and the Blart-ers...

And that's when I'm riding in a social group!! I'll start to develop a
race strategy when I can actually keep up with everyone else until the
end...

Absent Husband (who relies on the patience & kindness of others...)

Absent Husband said:

My entire riding style is based on wheelsucking someone until I drop
off - then hoping someone else comes passed that I can jump on the back
of... Just ask Tam, and the Blart-ers...

And that's when I'm riding in a social group!! I'll start to develop a
race strategy when I can actually keep up with everyone else until the
end...

I smell a sprinter ...

Carl Brewer said:

Absent Husband said:

My entire riding style is based on wheelsucking someone until I drop
off - then hoping someone else comes passed that I can jump on the back
of... Just ask Tam, and the Blart-ers...

And that's when I'm riding in a social group!! I'll start to develop a
race strategy when I can actually keep up with everyone else until the
end...

I smell a sprinter ...

That's the problem with sprinters, they don't wash.

Tam

*laughing hysterically*

Lard-@rse, actually...

Absent Husband

Absent Husband said:

*laughing hysterically*

Lard-@rse, actually...

I'm not fat and lazy, I'm a sprinter.

Carl Brewer said:

Absent Husband said:

*laughing hysterically*

Lard-@rse, actually...

I'm not fat and lazy, I'm a sprinter.

That may be true, but Absent Husband is fat and lazy.

(Sorry dude, you know I don't mean that!)

Tam, who will no doubt get chased down in a big way, next time

Tamyka Bell said:

That's the problem with sprinters, they don't wash.

Tam

You do know that Hippy is a sprinter!

PiledHigher