Originally Posted by
LarrySellerz
I don’t really do the organized paceline thing, but to me this is entirely dependent on the fitness of the riders. If you’re bored sitting on a wheel it’s not disruptive to go up to the front and pull for a while. Frankly it’s a problem on the rides I’m on where people won’t take the initiative to get on the front and pull, especially if we need to bring back a breakaway.
Isn't it up to the guy in front to go to the side and let the next guy pull? It's not up to the next guy to overtake the puller. I do find it disruptive for someone to race to the front to pull - it usually speeds up the pace. It's very simple to talk about it. If the guy in front is pulling excessively long, just say something like lets' rotate, or lets do shorter pulls and rotate. Maybe they don't get it.
Originally Posted by
Rides4Beer
If they're holding pace, what's the problem? If they're slowing down, then yeah, they need to pull off and take a break.
I tend to take longer pulls, just depends on how I'm feeling. I usually get thanked for a good pull, never heard anyone complain. There are also guys that do short pulls, nothing wrong with that either, just do what you're feeling.
If the puller is obviously more fit and knows what they're doing, I just sit in behind and enjoy the pull - mainly because I'm not often the fittest person and benefit from the draft. But I've been in groups where people didn't discuss this at all and an inesperiened rider will think its necessary or a matter of pride to pull and pull and pull. So they get tired and are off the back and are no longer a "resource" for a turn at puling. I usually try to either discuss it up front "hey, let's do short ~1-2 minute pulls" or if I'm second wheel behind someone I think might be mis-judging the effort, I'l just call out to them (nicely) to rotate off and take a break.