Does giving someone a tow take it out of you

[Bigsybaby]

We have all appreciated and benefited from the occassional tow as we use the wind vacuum to our advantage, but does this impact on the tower by pulling him back or give him a payload. If so should we only do it by invitation or request?

[Sergeant Pluck]

The tow also helps the tower, I seem to recall reading somewhere on here.

[mattc]

Short answer: NO

Long answer: NO. And in theory IIRC you get a tiny tiny reduction in drag from having someone in your draft.

(n.b. this assumes they don't grab hold of your rack)

[teethgrinder]

It does if you try to drop the wheelsucking b"£^ard!

[Kim]

If so should we only do it by invitation or request?

I'm with the physics answer of 'no'.

Sucking someone's wheel without prior agreement (of at least the "we're on a group ride together" level) seems like a really bad idea, though.

I get particularly nervous about people who aren't familiar with them hanging off my wheel on the recumbent, as the drafting position is also a pretty effective blind spot, and in an emergency it'll out-brake a DF bike.

[Basil]

I get particularly nervous about people who aren't familiar with them hanging off my wheel on the recumbent, as the drafting position is also a pretty effective blind spot, and in an emergency it'll out-brake a DF bike.

I seem to remember that drafting a 'bent (on the Shakespeare 100, or whatever it was, didn't actually work.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[Kim]

I seem to remember that drafting a 'bent (on the Shakespeare 100, or whatever it was, didn't actually work.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Experimentally, it seems that DF's benefit a little bit from drafting the Streetmachine, the Streetmachine benefits a lot from drafting DF bikes, and it's all hopelessly marginal with low recumbents in any configuration (except with themselves, but they'll have vanished over the horizon before you work that out).

Given that barakta is hoping to acquire a Trice, this means I can then use physics to justify an n+1.  

[gonzo]

The data I've seen says that having someone draft you is slightly beneficial*. for enclosed HPVs, drafting actually increases drag!

Anyhow, don't do it unless you let the other person know. I once had someone latch onto my wheel without asking so I didn't feel bad when I swerved at the last minute to avoid a load of lose wire fence hanging out into the road and onto which this guy hooked his bars. He went from about 20 to nothing very rapidly. This should have learnt him a lesson!

* to explain why, imagine you've got a circular section thing in wind. The drag will lower if you introduce a triangle very close behind it even if it's not the same object.

[Fab Foodie]

I seem to remember that drafting a 'bent (on the Shakespeare 100, or whatever it was, didn't actually work.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Experimentally, it seems that DF's benefit a little bit from drafting the Streetmachine, the Streetmachine benefits a lot from drafting DF bikes, and it's all hopelessly marginal with low recumbents in any configuration (except with themselves, but they'll have vanished over the horizon before you work that out).

Given that barakta is hoping to acquire a Trice, this means I can then use physics to justify an n+1.   

I found drafting you on the streetmachine quite effective with the added benefit of I could also see over you to see what was ahead rather than just the arse of the rider in front.

[Adrian]

I could also see over you to see what was ahead rather than just the arse of the rider in front.

I think you might have missed the whole point of drafting

[Fab Foodie]

I could also see over you to see what was ahead rather than just the arse of the rider in front.

I think you might have missed the whole point of drafting

  Not really, I said 'quite effective' by which I mean better than cycling alone but not as good as say following a barn-door on wheels.  Having said that the benifit of a partial tow but having greater visibility can worthwhile one.

[gonzo]

I did once partake in a race where there was quite a fight over the wheel of one girl in particular.

[Bigsybaby]

I did once partake in a race where there was quite a fight over the wheel of one girl in particular.

Did that have anything to do with drafting?

[gonzo]

Well, she wasn't terribly large (at the back end) so I can't imagine that she offered much shelter!