Group Riding

I saw an online question posed, “When is a group ride too big.” The answer I would give is that it is not the size of the group that is the issue, it is the makeup of the group and their collective bike riding experience and skills.

A group of 20 or even 30 professional riders, or even top experienced amateurs, might not be too big, whereas a group of six complete novices might be.

I stopped riding with my local group, because the experienced guys are just too fast for me, and the slower group has just enough people in the mix that don’t have a clue about the basic group riding skills. At best it makes the group not fun to ride with, and at worst, downright dangerous.

Probably the single most important thing in group riding is the ability to ‘Follow a Wheel.’ To draft effectively a rider must maintain a distance of no more than 18 inches from the rider ahead. Once the gap opens up to half a bike length then the following rider has no benefit from drafting.

The ideal minimum distance to follow a wheel is 6 to 8 inches. Many do not have the confidence or the skill to ride that close, so they leave a bike length, or two, or three, between each rider, as a result a group of 20 or so is strung out over a quarter of a mile, making it impossible for cars to pass the whole group without cutting in front of someone somewhere.

Others are trying to get from the back to the front of this long strung out line, the result being that there are riders two abreast in several places. Okay, so it is legal for a cyclist to pass another cyclist, but to an outsider it just appears to be an unorganized rabble all over the road. Which is pretty much what it is.

Then if the group does manage to form something that resembles a pace line, there is the rider who can’t ride smoothly, and is constantly pedal, pedal, coast. Pedal, pedal, coast. Or worse still is constantly on the brakes.

A newcomer should aim to maintain a gap of about 12 inches to start with. That way the distance can fluctuate from 6 inches to 18 inches. Try to avoid using the brakes to regulate speed, if one should find themselves getting too close to the wheel they are following, ease off on the pedaling, and pull off to one side or the other. That way the rider pulls out of the lead rider's slipstream and catches a little head wind that it will slow him down, naturally and gently.

Applying the brakes will slow the rider too quickly, and he will start to yoyo on and off. Braking opens a gap, the rider then sprints to catch up, finds himself running into the rider ahead, then has to use the brakes again and the whole cycle starts over.

This also becomes uncomfortable and dangerous for others following. Even a gentle touch of the brakes, and with the delay in reaction before the rider behind realizes what is happening. He has to slam on his brakes a little harder, and the whole effect gets magnified as it goes from one rider to the next. Often the result is someone runs into the rider ahead and brings down several riders behind him.

Don’t even stop pedaling and freewheel. This can be annoying for the following rider, better to just ease of the pressure, and keep the pedals turning at slightly less revs, just partially freewheeling.

Try to avoid overlapping the wheel in front, but if a rider should find the gap between wheels getting to be 6 inches or less, just pull off slightly to one side. Better that wheels overlap briefly than to have them actually touch.

Don’t panic, don’t use the brakes, just ease off on the pedals and let the wind the rider is catching slow him gently so he can drop back in behind the leader. The rider next in line will follow not even aware that the rider ahead changed his line slightly.

Smoothness is the key to riding in a pace line. That includes smoothness when going to the front to take your turn. Don’t sprint through and increase the speed. Gaps will open up, and cause a chain reaction down the pace line in the same way braking did, with each rider having to sprint harder and harder to close the gap ahead.

Cycling is one of the few athletic activities where one can socialize while participating. But in order to socialize one must ride in a group. With more and more new people coming into the sport all the time the situation will get worse before it gets better.

What are your pet peeves with inexperienced riders on group rides?

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Climbing out of the saddle

Climbing a hill out of the saddle, standing on the pedals is very tiring and a rider can soon burn himself out. But used sparingly at the right time, an experienced rider can save energy in the long run.

When deciding how to climb a hill on a bicycle, think of it as a work load. Imagine two men, each moving 100lbs. of sand from A to B in five minutes. One man hoists the 100lb. bag of sand on his shoulder, moves it from A to B in one minute, then sits down and rests for four minutes. The other man divides the sand into five, 20lb. loads and takes a minute to move each 20lb. for a total of five minutes.

Now imagine that the two men have to immediately repeat the same task over and over. Who is the fresher? The one who makes a big effort to start with, but then rests, or the man who spreads the work load over the full five minutes? A lot depends on the makeup of each individual.

Often if a road is an undulating series of short steep hills, it is often in the interest of a rider to use the speed and momentum of the descent to carry him half way up the next climb, then without shifting down, he gets out of the saddle and puts in a super human effort to keep the momentum going to carry himself over the crest of the next hill, knowing that even if this effort takes him to the point of exhaustion, he can recover on the following descent.

On a long steep climb it is different, even a long gradual climb. One must still try to keep momentum, and must occasionally get out of the saddle to boost that momentum, but a rider cannot put in those super efforts, when there are no downhill respites where he can recover.

A rider climbs out of the saddle not only to get his full weight over the pedals, but to get his body nearer his hands so he has a direct pull on the handlebars in opposition the downward thrust of his legs. Think of using an elliptical treadmill in a gym. One has to constantly move their body from left to right, so the user’s full weight is directly over the downward stroke of the paddles.

On a bike, instead of moving the body, move the bike. As the rider thrusts down on the right pedal, he pulls upwards on the right side of the handlebar. This not only puts an opposing thrust on the pedals but it moves the bike to the left, effectively using the bike as a lever.

As the right leg pushes down on the right pedal, power is transferred through the crank, chainwheel, and chain to the rear wheel. Meanwhile the bike’s frame is moving to the left and the bottom bracket, is moving upwards on the right side. 

There is not just the leverage of the crank arm, but the leverage of the whole bike frame working in the opposite direction. As the pedal moves down towards the bottom of its stroke, the right side of the crank axle is moving towards the top.

When the right pedal gets to the bottom, the rider pulls up on the left side of the handlebars, while pushing downwards on the left pedal. The rider’s body stays vertical, and the bike moves from side to side. (See top picture.) Also as the rider pushes down on one pedal, he pulls upward with his other foot on the opposing pedal. 

Obviously climbing out of the saddle like this is very tiring, one is using the whole body. But used sparingly, to increase momentum, it can be very effective. For example if the gradient of a climb starts to level out, a strong rider can shift up a gear, then get out of the saddle to get the cadence back up to a level where he can sit down a pedal again.

It is all a matter of a rider knowing his fitness level, and his recovery time. Knowing his strengths and limitations, and that only comes with hard work, training and experience.

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Weight Distribution

It was pointed out to me recently that of all the articles I had written about bicycle design, I had not written one about weight distribution.

It is a subject that while somewhat important, it is not as important as a good riding position, and once a frame or bike is built and the rider has set it up to his or her absolute best position, are they then going to alter that position to achieve a certain weight distribution? That would be counter productive.

The rider is the engine that propels the bike forward, and a proper riding position is of the utmost importance for the body to work at maximum efficiency. I am talking of the racing cyclist who is looking to get optimum performance from body and machine.

If you are riding for leisure or exercise, you may sacrifice some efficiency for comfort, especially if you are older or not in top physical condition. You will adjust your riding position accordingly and weight distribution is probably not important enough to be even thinking about.

Under normal riding conditions there is always be more weight on the rear wheel that the front, simply because of the mass of the rider’s weight is behind the center point between the two wheels. I always pump my tires up to 120 psi in the rear, and 100 psi in the front for this reason.

A figure that is often quoted as being ideal weight distribution for a racing bicycle is 55% of the weight on the rear wheel, 45% on the front. It is one of those figures that sound about right, but has anyone ever taken the time to prove that this figure is best. I certainly didn’t in all the years I built bikes.

How would you come up with such a measurement? Maybe set a bike and rider on two sets of scales. And then the weight ratio from front to rear wheel would vary from one rider to the next because of their differing physical build.

Any vehicle or moving object will hold a straight line better if the weight is towards the front. An arrow flies straight because its weight is at the front tip, if it were at the rear it would not fly straight. In the 1960s I once owned a rear engine VW Mini-Bus. It was awful to drive in a strong wind; I would be blown all over the road.

When I first started racing in the early 1950s seat angles were around 71 degrees. We sat further back and also rode with our saddles lower than today. Gearing was a lot lower, and the theory (Back then.) was in order to pedal fast a rider had to sit back.

I always questioned this because whenever I had to make a maximum effort as in sprinting for the finish line or just to bridge a gap to a break-away, I would end up sitting on the front tip of my saddle. I would see photos of other riders sprinting and they would also be in this same forward position.

“Riding the rivet” is an expression still used today when a rider is making maximum effort. It pre-dates the 1950s when saddles were real leather and actually had rivets. Riding on the front tip where the saddle is narrower had the effect of the saddle being even lower than it already was and to my way of thinking was definitely not efficient.

It was one of the reasons I started building my own frames in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It seemed to me that when I needed to go fast, my body took up a natural position that was a lot further forward that a 71 degree seat angle would allow.

Pushing the seat angle forward actually pushed the whole frame forward making a longer wheelbase. To avoid this I made the top tube shorter and used a longer handlebar stem. This put my weight out over the front wheel and I found I had a much better handling bike. It went round corners faster and descending hills at speed felt safer.

It is often said that bike riders who are good sprinters are often good at descending hills. It is sometimes speculated that their nerves of steel that allow them to mix it up shoulder to shoulder in the chaos that is a bunch sprint, makes them fearless when descending mountains at 50 mph or more.

Maybe so, but many sprinters are big guys with a lot of weight in their upper body, chest, shoulders and arms. When in a low tuck aero position this extra weight is towards the front making bike and rider much more stable.

I have written here about “Shimmy” or speed wobble. It is a subject that gets discussed over and over on forums all over the world. It has occurred to me that these bikes with the shimmy problem are often the same well known brand of bikes that the pros use in the Grand Tours and other races throughout the season.

None of the pros experience speed wobbles, there would sure to be a video of it if they did, especially if they crashed. It has occurred to me that the fault is not with the bike, it is with the rider, and the way they have their bike set up. Or rather the way they position themselves when descending.

The pros have their bikes set with the bars set low in relation the saddle. Their weight is therefore more over the front wheel, especially when in a low tuck aero position.

If a person buys this same bike and sets it up in a more upright position because his physical limitations do not allow him to ride like a pro. They should then accept the limitations in the design of the bike which after all is designed as a racing bicycle, and if it develops a speed wobble at 45 mph. the rider should consider either a change of position or keep the speed below 45.

You will notice the pros descend by moving forward on the saddle, or sometimes squatting down on the top tube in front of the saddle, then rest their chest on the handlebars. This not only reduces their frontal area, but it places much of their weight over the front wheel. Therein lays a clue.

While descending you may not feel safe or comfortable going to the extreme of some of the riders in the picture above. But don’t go to the other extreme of the “Old Skool” position shown at the top. Study the picture, most of the rider’s weight is behind the bottom bracket, this is just asking for shimmy to develop.

Descending with your butt hanging off the back of the saddle is good for Mountain Bikes or Cyclo-Cross, because if you hit a bump or your front wheel drops on a hole, you could be thrown over the handlebars. However, on a smooth road at high speed this is unlikely to happen.  

Move forward, lower your back and try to position most of your weight ahead of the Bottom bracket. If you achieve at least a 50/50 weight distribution you will be less likely to encounter the dreaded speed wobble.

                        

Shared Path Etiquette

An 80 year old woman, who was knocked down by a cyclist on a shared walk and bike trail in Arlington has died from head injuries. Incidents like these make me both sad and angry, because it could have been avoided if the cyclist had just slowed down.

Here is a lady who had lived to be a great age only to have her life ended abruptly, and unnecessarily; and the cyclist himself 62 years old now has to live with the fact that he killed someone.

I ride on a shared bike path during the week, weekends I ride on the road. I accept that it is a “Shared” path; people riding bikes, or walking with or without dogs, and others running, all have an equal right to be there. If I cannot accept that; I should not be on the path.  

I regularly see a twenty-something girl, probably a triathlete as she is always down on her aero bars riding very fast. She will sometimes pass me without any warning, and I gave up waving to her long ago as my acknowledgement of a fellow cyclist is always met with a blank stare.

I was talking to a neighbor of mine who regularly walks her dog on the trail, she told me this same girl shouted abuse at her for being on the wrong side of the path. It is this attitude of superiority by some cyclists that annoys the hell out of me.

People walk on either side of the path; they sometimes walk in groups taking up the whole path. They often wear ear buds or head phones and can’t hear my warning. They let their dogs run loose when by-laws state they should be on a leash.

It would be annoying if I allowed it to be, but this is the nature of shared path.

Cyclists on the road would not be annoying to motorists if they would just accept the fact that they have a right to be there and just deal with it. 

If I hit someone and fall I could injure myself; it is in my own interest to ride with caution around other pedestrians and cyclists alike. The onus is on me as the faster trail user to watch out for more vulnerable persons on the trail.

Is this not the exact argument we have on the public roads? The ones driving automobiles are the ones with the potential to kill or injure others; therefore the responsibility for our safety is largely up to them. How is it when the position is reversed and cyclists are the fastest, the rules change?

I always ease off the pedaling as I approach someone else on the trail. If there are dogs or children I will coast and be prepared to stop. I call out a warning, “On your left,” or “On your right,” depending which side they are on.

If there is more than one person and they are not clearly on one side or the other, I will shout, “Coming through,” and let them decide which way they want to go. Sometimes to shout on your “Left” or “Right” confuses people. I always say “Thank you” as I pass.

Most people riding bikes on shared trails are doing so for one reason; exercise. It is not a race with prizes for the fastest time. Actually by slowing down and speeding up again, I am actually increasing my rate of aerobic exercise.

If you ride on a shared walk/bike path, expect other people; deal with it. If you can’t, stay off shared paths, ride on the road and deal with motorized traffic.

Just because as a cyclist I am faster than most other trail users does not mean everyone else should watch out for me. It is the other way round; I have the potential to seriously injure someone, or even kill them. It is my responsibility to ride with caution for my own safety and that of others.

In the case of this unfortunate Arlington woman, one could argue that the cyclist was not at fault because he called out a warning and rang his bell, and then the woman stepped in front of him. How would any of us feel if a motorist said, “I didn’t slow down, but I sounded my horn and the cyclist turned in front of me.”

We all know that sounding a car horn can startle a cyclist and cause him to swerve. It appears that this elderly lady may have been startled and somewhat confused, as she turned around and stepped to the left. The cyclist has to be at least partially held responsible because he should have slowed to a speed where he could have stopped.

                       

Trackstand

The “Trackstand” is the art of balancing on a bicycle that is stationary. The skill originated in the sport of match sprinting on a Velodrome, which is a banked oval track. Hence trackstand.

A 1,000 meter event is usually 3 laps of a track, as most Velodromes are designed to measure 333 1/3 meters to a lap. Some indoor tracks are shorter.

Match sprinting at a world class level is usually two riders on the track at a time, riding in three matches; best of three to determine the winner. Obviously, if a rider took off at a high rate of speed from the start, his opponent would simply draft behind him, and at the end of three laps, with fresh legs would come by to win.

One rider has to lead for the first lap; usually by a draw or coin-toss initially; in the second match the other rider leads. It is a definite advantage to be in the rear position. If the leading rider makes an effort the rider behind can immediately match that effort, and get into the lead rider’s slipstream.

The lead rider is at a distinct disadvantage. Not only is his opponent already in a position to draft him; in order for the lead rider to watch his following opponent he must turn his head.

At any time when the lead rider looks to the front, or looks over the wrong shoulder, his opponent can attack hard and open up a considerable gap that might be hard to close before the finish line. After leading for the first lap the lead rider will slow, even come to a complete stop to try to force the other rider to take the lead.

The trackstand is executed by turning the front wheel to the right facing up the banking of the track; the front wheel will tend to roll backwards down the slope of the track. By applying forward pressure on the pedal; the rider can force the bike and the front wheel forward to oppose gravity, and maintain balance.

This takes a great deal of skill, and if the rider loses balance he has no option but to move forward or risk falling over. The above video from the 1990 World Championships shows the art of trackstanding at its best.

Italian rider Claudio Golinelli has to lead for the first lap; then he manages to stop completely and force Micheal Huebner his East German opponent to take the lead. Huebner then picks up the pace a little; soon after the bell goes for the final lap, the East German gets out of the saddle looking like he might attack.

But instead it appears Huebner is holding back against his fixed wheel to slow the bike because Golinelli suddenly goes past, hesitates, and then attacks, losing any chance of surprise.

I believe the Italian rider was surprised when he suddenly found himself in front position with no alternative but to attack. Had he not done so the East German would have surely attacked from behind, and being so close to the finish Golinelli would have no chance of closing the gap in time.

Both riders rode a great tactical race, but in the end it was Huebner who was not only the stronger but also managed to outwit a worthy opponent. Had the Italian realized Huebner was back-pedaling and attacked from behind he may have held off this stronger rider as he crossed the line, but the moment’s hesitation cost him the race.