Drafting Ebikes
 

Sup yall. Anyone else love trying to draft ebikes? Some of them are legit super fast. I find ebike riders vary between super stoked at carrying a cyclist along to not even knowing wtf I am talking about when I tell them I am on their wheel. I especially find myself holding back when drafting women on ebikes because I don't want to be scary/aggressive (I lowkey look homeless) but I think this is just me getting in my head. Anyways, do any of you have cool stories about drafting ebikes? Last week this super fast ebiker blew past me, I commented on how fast he was, and he told me to get on his wheel. Unfortunately I was too slow to ride with him but if I was slightly stronger we would have been cruising at 22 MPH just crushing everyone else on the road. Ebikes get a bunch of hatred for no reason IMO, I love ebikes

I had two sets of tandem friends and it was a blast drafting behind them. One set was smoother and other a bit more erratic but strong. But there was the time during the last ten miles of a century that one of our group actually came back on the course looking for some of us. He was incredible strong and consistent. I drafted that last ten miles and it was dream come true for a wasted rider - me!

So, if you can be trusted and you trust them - have at it with permission.

Tandems are so sick. I always give them a shout out when I see them, jealous as **** wish I had some cool biker girl on a tandem with me

Brother just draft the ebikes and learn their ways, you never know when you might need an ebike! More peeps on 2 wheels the merrier. He was probably excited about his ride and could tell that you were experienced and fast so he thought you might relate. If you were actually cruising at 22 MPH you are a real mother****er and he sees that and respects that

Same. I have yet to come across an e bike rider I’d feel confident drafting.

Drafting should only be done with experienced riders who know you are there and accept what you are doing. I used to live within a dozen miles of a VA hospital. I was riding home from an appointment on my tandem one day a few years ago and some roadie ended up separated from his ride up my right side and slid part way into a busy intersection when I stopped at a light. I have always had permission before I drafted other riders but they don' always let me know they are there. I don't see many ebikes in the high dessert but when I am in the downtown area in palm springs were it is flatter I see quite a few of them.

I haven't drafted any e-bikes, but back in the mid-late 80s, when I was still road racing, I used to draft semi-trailers, ala "Breaking Away." Used to be able to get up to 50+ mph on flat straightaways with a 52-53 big chainring. Good times.

https://vimeo.com/50872582

I have had biker want to draft off of me at 18-20 mph. No problem, I have a huge frontal area and form a good pocket behind me. If I know they are there, because I look in my mirror, I won't do sudden moves or stops.

I have an ebike. I ride it exactly the same as I ride my road bicycle, except about 4-5 MPH faster with same effort. I have not seen any of these problematic ebike riders I commonly hear discussed. I do see MUP warriors on road bikes from time to time and have seen them cause problems. Interestingly I never see the MUP warriors tearing it up on the road.

I see lots of ebikes here but they seem to all behave pretty well. And most seem to stay on the MUPs. I’m guessing it’s different everywhere.

im SO excited about getting fast enough to draft the cars on my commute to work. I think I’m getting close!!! That’s ******g sick that you drafted semis, super legit brother

ebikers tend to be erratic and do whatever they want, but they are powerful enough that it’s too hard to resist drafting, at least for me.

Well if you are drafting a Gerry, make sure they know you want to draft. They will be far less erratic or tell you they are uncomfortable with. They may know they are erratic because of the very nature of where they are in the life cycle.

Has anyone heard of gas powered bikes? I hear they’re super fast, totally legit. They can roll for hundreds of miles at insane speeds, disc brakes (sometimes dual on the front wheel!) and some even have hard panniers for commuting! Totally legit. All under their own power, though. The engine and throttle is just for that legit killer sound, brother. (Some of these types of bikes have room for two and can be seen with cool biker chicks on the back. Legit.)

In my view, as soon as you bring a motor into the equation, there's no longer a competition, so "crushing everyone else on the road" doesn't apply. They're different classes of vehicles. You can still ride together because e-bikes have roughly similar capabilities; but motors don't get tired nearly as fast, and whoever buys the biggest motor always wins.

Drafting off e-bikes? What's next? Attaching a bungee cord for a tow?

"It would be nice if you could pull me into town."

im talking about crushing all the other cyclists, with the Chad ebiker pulling you along. Unfortunately most ebikers aren’t as fast as the fast roadies, but when you find a fast one drafting is amazing

The ebikers around here don't seem to know the difference between the road and the sidewalk or even which direction they should be going. They're worse than juvies on 20" BMX bikes that flit around like flies with no sense of course or direction. I had one coming head on the other morning with a dog on a 20' leash and they acted like I was the one in the wrong.

try at least 65 pounds.

Born to be Wild, eh?
Vroom.........vroom

when I was sicker and used more assist I was going about 27 on a clear bike path when a roadie drafted me . got a kick out of it when then I turned he kept it up. but now I use my e bike like a regular bike but go faster I try to keep my heart rate in the 130s or higher. so Idont feel good passing others well unless its as a fat e bike with someone hardly or not peddling at all. nothing getting your heart racing and putting out 600 watts to pass them uphill.