by Cameron Scott

Created on: March 23, 2010

Drafting, also known as slipstreaming, is a way of reducing drag by riding in the slipstream of the biker ahead of you. Bikers who ride in groups use formations called pacelines to gain the most benefit from drafting. A paceline which regularly rotates its leader can save the group as much as 40 percent energy over the same number of bikers covering the same distance independently.

It’s important for every member of the paceline to know how the paceline works. After all, for drafting to work properly, bicycles travelling at speed are just inches apart. All it takes is one wrong turn for the entire group to come crashing to a halt.

A paceline begins with a line of bicycles, as few as two and as many as eight or ten. All riders are pedalling at the same steady rate. The leader sets the pace at a cadence that lets all the riders maintain a smooth pedal stroke without breathing hard. This means that muscle activity stays aerobic, and does not begin building up lactic acid.

When his turn at the front is done, the lead rider checks for traffic, then peels off to the left and lets the other riders pass him. After all the riders have passed, the former lead rider falls in tightly behind the last rider of the paceline. Turns as lead rider can last a few kilometres, a few minutes, or even just a few pedal rotations if the group is going really fast.

This is the simplest type of paceline, a single line. There are other types of pacelines as well.

In a double paceline, there are two parallel lines of bikes, each with its own leader. When the time comes to change leaders, both lead riders check for traffic, and then peel off to their open side to let the others pass. This means that the leader on the left peels off to the left, and the leader on the right peels off to the right.

In a rotating paceline, there are two staggered lines of bikes, a ‘fast’ lane on the right and a ‘slow’ lane on the left. The leader is whoever is in the front of the fast lane. When his turn is done, he peels off into the front of the slow lane. At the same time, the person in the back of the slow lane shifts to the back of the fast lane.

An echelon is a special type of rotating paceline which is oriented diagonally against a strong wind. Unlike a regular rotating paceline, it does not have a ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ lane. To peel off, the leader lets himself fall one bikelength back. At the same time, the person at the end of the back lane moves one

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