The idiot on my back wheel

[albion]

Looking at my bike I do notice that the seat is pretty much on my back wheel.

 

[Longshot]

I think people have not understood Longshot's question, which as I understand it, is as follows: Mr Longshot is cycling along when out of a side road appears another cyclist in front of Longshot. It soon becomes apparent that the two cyclists are traveling at the same speed. Longshot does not wish to overtake the other cyclist. What distance should he leave between himself and the cyclist in front?

For what it is worth, in triathlons where drafting is not allowed you are told to leave 7 meters between yourself and the bike in front. That's about the length of a bus. That might be impractical in busy urban areas!

Ah, right. I reckon on a minimum of three or four bike lengths, meself. "Able to stop within the distance you can see to be clear."

Thanks - that helps!

 

[evo456]

3/4 bike lengths is ok, main concern is safety, half wheeling is a no no. At the end of the day, if i'm going at my own pace and they decide to draft and pass me later on -so be it, providing they don't pass and then go slower/hold me up. Equally I think it's ok to pass someone (safely) when they are slowing down for a junction, and I have a better view/assessed the situation/in the right gear etc, not everyone takes the same time as others assessing the road situation. I don't own the road so fully expect there to be other cyclist/road users too, I do follow another cyclist (not wheel sucking) like following a pacemaker, it's just like following the speed of traffic in the car. This can be misconstrued differently by other cyclist, that's fine, because I can't go around telling everyone I meet on the road what I and how I think.

 

[slowmotion]

I have never had a problem with this.