If your talking race situations etc, sure but most group rides simply rotate the same way almost all the time (2 person wide pacelines).


Originally 2-up pacelines had the two front riders peel off on their own sides and then drift back on the left and ride sides of the pace line. It had been done this way for years. Locally here in Ontario, where 2-up riding is allowed, this was what was done. Then a few years ago, most of the clubs decided to use a different approach and the Ontario Cycling Assoc. suggested it as official group ride protocol for all sanctioned clubs. Reason for the change - when the two riders at the front would peel off, you then were really riding FOUR abreast for a time until you reached the back.

Now most of the bigger clubs, for 2-up riding use more of what would look like an echelon turn-over at the front. The rider on the right at the front stays were he/she is. The rider on the left side moves up and slides over to the right side and leads momentarily the left line, and then the two following riders in the left line move up, the first one taking the lead position on the right line and the following riders takes the lead position on the left line. This way, you are truly never more than 2 riders wide.

So you are always working yourself backwards in the group when you are in the right line near the edge of the road, and forward in the line if you are in the left line. A nice side benefit of this is you get to talk with more people in the group as you are frequently changing who you are riding side-by-side with.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

False. You should always pull off into the wind. Even if not a Belgian-like echelon from gutter to gutter, people will still overlap their front to the leeward side of the rider in front of them to some degree. If you pulled off away from the wind you'd make them have to brake or take out their front wheel.

Great answer by Jason N.

I will add one thing. I do a lot of group rides, some I am strongest person, but the big one on the weekend is brutal, I have to sit in 50% of it, you have to be a good rider to make it to the end even if you never take a pull. Adjust accordingly, no strong rider or group cares if you sit on the back as long as you stay out of the way, they do care if you are on the limit and squirelly and keep coming though, or if you pull slower than everybody else. There is no shame in sitting on the back, just don't go sprinting off the front later, tell the people pulling back into the pace line to come in in front of you. We want people to finish rides and sitting in is fine, encouraged even until you know you can finish. If you are the strongest pull a little longer and harder on the flat and downhills and don't go sprinting up hills trying to drop people, and don't accellerate like crazy.
Bascially it is all about the group, not each rider.

Yea, at my last road race there were about 8 of us for a solid 5min. Wasn't a whole lot of time but we were going so fast and it was so smooth. I so badly want to do that again

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Unless it's a race where the paceline members have a tacit agreement to work together to stay away from chasers (usually "the field"). Then there's the added fun of pretending to be all about the group while you're all secretly cheating as much as possible and scheming to tear each other apart once the break is safe.

 
Good post by Jason N - pretty much covered everything.

And agree - we were always taught in France that the rider going back - does so in the wind, to provide a little more shelter to the side moving forwards.

Only thing I'd add - that whole anticipating the last man and beginning to apply pressure to get on? It's an art - do it too late and you're off the back, too soon and the person you're alongside will leave a gap for you to fill and suddenly you're one man closer to the front again.

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That's one of the little tricks you can do in a race. It's too obvious to completely skip pulls. That gets noticed real quick, and you'll get profanity directed at you at the best. A fun trick is to pretend you're struggling a bit to close a gap as a strong rider is drifting back, and create room to naturally invite the strong rider to fill the gap. That gives you the marginal cheat of delaying your arrival back at the front, and also positions you behind a strong rider, which is where you want to be when the attacks start to happen - behind the strong riders so they're less likely to surprise you from behind.

I did this once to a very good friend of mine, who was a better bike rider. I'd won a race the day prior in Yorkshire, it was August bank holiday weekend so raced the Monday down in Lincolnshire (where the riding was softer than Yorkshire) managed to get away in the 3 man break with my mate, 15km to go start missing turns and complaining of cramp. He obviously bought it and I rode away from him with 2km to go. Was a profitable weekend. We're still mates....just.

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This is a lot of good information, but one of the things not mentioned is that not all pacelines are created equal, and you need to react differently depending on the paceline. Some are good at figuring this out, some not so much.

Some pacelines have the goal of equal work and getting a workout, some have the goal of pure speed, some have the goal of showing off to each other and showing how hard or long they can pull.
As others have mentioned, don't pull so hard that you blow yourself unless you know it is the kind of ride where you can easily slot back in.
Have the mindset that your pull is not done until you are slotted back in at the back of the line and moving forward.
Don't "drop anchor" when your pull is done- That makes it hard to get back on.
Pay attention to what others do. Try to find the smoothest riders and do as they do.
If you notice a guy taking hero pulls where you wonder if his pull is a pull or attack- don't follow that guy.

All of this can be quite easy, or quite complex.

Good stuff here. It took me awhile to learn that when I'm done pulling, I'm not done. I had a habit of holding my pull until I was gassed. That's a mistake. Leave some in the tank so you can ease to the back of the line slowly. You're "done" when you tuck back in to the last rider's wheel. If you come out of your pull and coast or slow way down, your pace line may quickly overtake you and you'll struggle to not get dropped.

Also, over time I learned there's no shame in taking a short pull (or none at all) if you're not feeling it. All riders are at different levels. Let stronger riders be strong. They can (and should) pull longer. The overall objective is to keep the group riding steady, consistent and fast. Play your part in that.

That's my 2 cents.

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Thanks all for your help on this, esp. Jason for such a thorough response. Lots of good info and points of etiquette that I wasn't aware of. The idea that, mentally, the pull isn't finished until you have latched back onto the back is really useful, as that is definitely what I have been struggling with.

Jason N has the best answer. My simple rule is to have a weaker rider behind me in the pace line. I don't have to worry about them upping the pace while I get back on. Works every time.

Never ever have the strongest guy behind you in the pace line. Make a change in the order ASAP.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Easy trick to remember is to roll on the throttle at about the point where your front axle lines up with the rear axle of the last Rider. There is kind of a lag before the bike reacts so you want to start accelerating a bit earlier and then when you swing over you'll be right where you want to be. If you are getting tired take a shorter pull or just come to the front and swing off immediately. Avoid the temptation to take some big long hero pull at the front which causes you to get dropped.

While that's a good way to look out for yourself, at a certain point, someone has to ride in front of the strongest rider, and not everyone can ride in front of the weakest rider. I mean...it's kind of funny if you think about it because if everyone took your advice then everyone would ride behind the strongest rider, and in front of the weakest rider. Which means after a full rotation, the strongest rider will be behind the weakest rider.

The better way to handle it is to for everyone to simply observe their situation and adjust accordingly in anticipation of what will follow. Meaning that if you have a weaker rider in front of you, make sure to really stay steady while that rider is moving to the back of the line so there aren't any surges. Or if you are in front of the strongest rider, maybe cut your pull 10-15 seconds short knowing that it might be a little harder to jump back in.

Being predictable, consistent, and flowing smoothly is what makes a paceline really magical. If everyone is suddenly trying to reshuffle the order of the group looking out for their own interests...that flow gets disrupted. So much of this just comes from experience. The little nuances you pick up on from years and years of consistent group riding, especially riding with the same people. It's often why roadies get a bad rap from others who think they're snobby about their ways because they don't understand that there's a system in place for a reason. And what might not seem like a big deal to an outsider does make a difference to someone who knows what it's like (and how good it is) when everyone is on the same page.

executing option 3 from the front is also a great move to
1. get everyone to hate you
2. drop the dickwad who just took a pull
3. initiate new members to your group
4. prove how big your man parts are

[edit]
5. drop guys who have higher top end sprints than you but cannot sustain long hard efforts

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Correct...and by executing option 3, the guy behind you might execute option 2 in your list above. :)

as the person on group rides who frequently ups the pace on purpose (ie your rule 3) to strategically drop stronger sprinters as we approach a sprint (my rule 5) I can also say you will no doubt get yelled at at the next stop sign and with riders who are extremely sensitive about their man parts...you might get a bottle thrown at you. So save enough energy to duck and cover.

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