definition please

[csb]

what is 1/2 wheeling?

[Ozz]

riding 1/2 a wheel ahead of the guy you are supposed to be riding next to...you know, cuz although he is your pal, his chit-chat is really annoying, he rides too slow and it would serve him right if you get ahead of him and drop his sorry butt! But he drove to the ride and you would just end up waiting for him at the car, so you suffer on, slowly upping the pace.

but you probably knew this already....

[csb]

the reason i ask: a friend (we've been riding together for a year)
chirps to me in a very blunt way if i'm familiar with the term 1/2
wheeling. i respond by saying 'ya its this... then i slide back off
our side by side chit chat usual formation, and show him that i
think its this slightly over-lapping wheel thingie. NO he says _ you
1/2 wheel me all the time and its really fukin annoying!!! let me
repeat _ we've been riding together for a year _ thats about 5x wk!!
he never once in a pleasant informative way hinted or suggested
that i was doing a bozo-no-no _ which i still believe i wasnt but...

so i asked another VERY experienced racer friend of mine what 1/2
wheeling is, he thinks basically its sitting in, but doesnt know.
he adds that i'm a very steady rider. any small amount of back + forth,
out of 'perfect wheel line-up' is going to happen. he did say that egging
someone on by ramping up the pace could be construed as uppity and
undesirable _ i have never done this while riding with this other friend.
i really have very little idea what the hell he was all pissy about. maybe
i talk too much. my father used to say i had oral diarrhea, but he died
at any early age of taciturnitis so the last laughs on him.

[William]

the reason i ask: a friend (we've been riding together for a year)
chirps to me in a very blunt way if i'm familiar with the term 1/2
wheeling. i respond by saying 'ya its this... then i slide back off
our side by side chit chat usual formation, and show him that i
think its this slightly over-lapping wheel thingie. NO he says _ you
1/2 wheel me all the time and its really fukin annoying!!! let me
repeat _ we've been riding together for a year _ thats about 5x wk!!
he never once in a pleasant informative way hinted or suggested
that i was doing a bozo-no-no _ which i still believe i wasnt but...

so i asked another VERY experienced racer friend of mine what 1/2
wheeling is, he thinks basically its sitting in, but doesnt know.
he adds that i'm a very steady rider. any small amount of back + forth,
out of 'perfect wheel line-up' is going to happen. he did say that egging
someone on by ramping up the pace could be construed as uppity and
undesirable _ i have never done this while riding with this other friend.
i really have very little idea what the hell he was all pissy about. maybe
i talk too much. my father used to say i had oral diarrhea, but he died
at any early age of taciturnitis so the last laughs on him.

GROUP RIDING ETIQUETTE

One of your obligations when you ride in a pack is to point out or call out road hazards. Don’t just look out for yourself; be courteous of those behind you. If you spot a rock or rough road surface and it is easy to point out – do so. If it endangers you to point, call out loudly. But don’t be like the boy that cried wolf – you can’t call out every speck of gravel. Your obligation is to call out threatening obstacles. It’s your decision, but if you keep telling out nonhazards no one is going to listen to you when something important comes along.

Another obligation is to prevent gaps from opening between you and the rider in front of you. Of course, there will be times when you cannot sustain the pace – but if this occurs on a regular basis and you are riding like a yo-yo, you might better spend your time at the back of the pack learning to ride comfortably behind the wheel in front of you. That way you won’t have to worry about the riders behind you, since there won’t be any.

When it is your turn to pull through (take the position at the front of the paceline), maintain the same speed as when you were drafting. The normal temptation is to speed up. Nothing destroys a paceline faster than an ever-escalating pace. If you have a handlebar computer, monitor the pace until your sense of pace is well established. You won’t prove anything with an overzealous pull at the front during a training ride.

You should always pull through, even in a race, because it helps to keep the pace going. That does not mean you are obligated to pull along; if you are struggling, you can go to the front and pull off quickly. If you truly cannot maintain the pace, you are better off sitting on the back of the group. This practise of sitting in, or wheelsucking as it is called, will make you pretty unpopular in a race – especially if you are in a breakaway or a motivated chase group. Your riding partners want you to work, not rest. However, it is a better tactic to sit on the back than to die and get dropped because you pulled at the front. Just be prepared for some venomous words from your riding partners.

Don’t half-wheel the rider next to you. When you ride a two-by-two, your goal is to ride even with your partner, hub to hub, handlebar to handlebar. Many riders have the annoying habit of always riding a half wheel ahead of their riding partner. Most people don’t even realize they are half-wheeling. This is aggravating. You partner might continually, try to ride next to you, but you keep inching forward, escalating the pace and driving your riding partner nuts. This is an easy habit to break one it’s recognized.

Comments or criticism can be sent to beef@teamabsolut.net

William

[Tom]

when somebody's not drafting right, they're overlapping your rear wheel by about a half a wheel so you don't know they're not behind you but next to you out of your vision. Annoying when somebody fails to hold their line (I swear, I never do this!) wheels cross and all fall down.

I guess I'm wrong... that does happen every once in a blue moon.

[csb]

a bunch of you guys have ridden with me.
did you notice this MOST annoying phenomenon?

i MAY not be the sharpest hook in the box, but
i have caught a few!

[fjaws]

I'm with Tom. Half wheeling is overlapping the front rider's rear wheel by 1/2 with your front wheel instead of being completely behind him. If he has to swerve to avoid something he has no choice but to swerve into your wheel. Dangerous in large groups.

[tch]

So if your "friend" doesn't like it and says it is different than what you describe (and what has been confirmed here), what is HIS definition?? And if it is so #*@&ing annoying, how about if he tells you what he finds annoying? What am I missing here?

[Big Dan]

Always thought it was the rider behind you..................... :eek:

[MartyE]

I also always thought it was overlap with rear wheel by
rider behind you.

tch is right, you've been riding with this guy for a year
and he only now tells you?

Marty

[Kevan]

half wheeling can be difficult to prevent sometimes due to changes in terrain and varying talent and/or strength.

My bigger personal frame means I often ride faster coasting down hill than the guy in front of me. I will pull out of line, out of the slip stream, just so the wind will hit me and help slow me down. Similarly, on up hill climbs it's sometimes easy to start sneaking up on the slower guy ahead of you. Lastly, having a slight over lap, assuming both parties are aware of it, is both helpful in communicating, and quickly peeling off into single file as motor vehicles approach, than riding side by side.

But the message here is clear, and I do make ever attempt to allow the guy ahead of me all the space he needs

[Too Tall]

OZZ got it right first, BEER! It is very annoying in training because on right drive roads the rider (slightly) behind has no out as the paceline is behind and the miscreant half-wheeler has nailed you to his pace but blocking any chance of a graceful exit. It's a real rat bag move ment to beat down the other rider...not real friendly on a training ride eh?

Bar to bar baby, it looks right, feels right and it works.