# What's so bad about half wheeling?



## WingNut

Was in a group training ride ion Sunday, an experienced cyclist called to another at the front 'Watch your half wheeling' - I know what this is,(not riding with yr wheels parallel to the guy you're riding next to) and know it's unpopular, but I'm not sure why it's a problem. can anyone enlighten me?


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## sol 518

If the front rider moves to the side to avoid something he could take out the rider behind him.


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## Dwayne Barry

sol 518 said:


> If the front rider moves to the side to avoid something he could take out the rider behind him.


No, that is a risk of overlapping wheels. Half-wheeling is something you do to someone riding next to you.


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## Dwayne Barry

WingNut said:


> Was in a group training ride ion Sunday, an experienced cyclist called to another at the front 'Watch your half wheeling' - I know what this is,(not riding with yr wheels parallel to the guy you're riding next to) and know it's unpopular, but I'm not sure why it's a problem. can anyone enlighten me?


It's annoying if you're trying to ride a certain speed or go at a certain effort. If someone keeps going that little bit faster to half-wheel the other rider and the other rider matches his speed, and then he half-wheels again, and the second rider matches his speed, next thing you know you're going flat out rather than just riding along.


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## ewitz

sol 518 said:


> If the front rider moves to the side to avoid something he could take out the rider behind him.


Exactly.


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## Spunout

Speed control in a group. DB has it right.

Usually we let the half-wheeler speed up the road alone, they usually look back after a few kms to see that they are riding alone. We lock up the front of the group and they have to ride at the back for the next hour or so. 

Or, let them ride off the front, and then drop him on the next climb.


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## bill

Dwayne Barry said:


> It's annoying if you're trying to ride a certain speed or go at a certain effort. If someone keeps going that little bit faster to half-wheel the other rider and the other rider matches his speed, and then he half-wheels again, and the second rider matches his speed, next thing you know you're going flat out rather than just riding along.


I tend not to understand the people who go apesh*t over someone they don't know drafting them, but I HATE half-wheeling. And it usually -- not always, but usually -- is the guy who is off the back when the hammer really comes down.


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## Argentius

*Wait, what?*

Maybe I am more noob than I thought.

What are you guys talking about? I guess at first I thought you meant overlapping, but it seems like you mean something else.


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## bill

Dwayne explained it well. When you're just not hammering, but just riding, and maybe you're even talking to the guy next to you, and he just always seems to have to have his bike a half-wheel ahead of yours. It is annoying as hell, becuase you're always catching up. Catch up, he'll do it again. And pretty soon, you've gone from a very comfy 18-20 mph to 22-24, and so on and so forth.


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## rbart4506

I hate that! I'm no seasoned racer, not even close...I end up blowing my self up trying to keep up with the half-wheeler. I'll get to the point that I just say screw it and pull off the front because I know I'm going to hard and prone to make a mistake.

I really think some guys just feel like they have to race whenever there is someone beside them, instead of working as a pair to pull the group along....


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## Argentius

oh... Okay.

I guess I usually just say, "Hey, slow down." But that's me.


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## BikeGeek

If the half wheeler is one of the weaker guys in the group you can subtly match thier speed untill they bonk and leave em for dead. They may or may not learn their lesson.


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## bill

the half-wheeler is usually the guy with one speed -- not really fast, but not really slow, either. It usually occurs when you are supposed to be riding at a comfortable pace, and the half-wheeler has to go just that little bit faster. 
The only thing I have found to work is to say, with all of the endearment you can muster, "Motherf*cking half-wheeler; SLOW DOWN!"


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## ridenow1

The term "half wheeling" is used two ways with different meanings, as replies state.
1) Overlapping wheels, creating higher potential for crash, especially if front rider unexpectedly moves to one side.
2) When one rider is slightly pushing the pace (usually annoyingly) at the front of a dual paceline.


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## Dwayne Barry

ridenow1 said:


> The term "half wheeling" is used two ways with different meanings, as replies state.
> 1) Overlapping wheels, creating higher potential for crash, especially if front rider unexpectedly moves to one side.
> 2) When one rider is slightly pushing the pace (usually annoyingly) at the front of a dual paceline.


It only makes sense that #1 is a misuse of the term by people who have heard it and not understood that #2 is the actual meaning.


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## bill

Dwayne Barry said:


> It only makes sense that #1 is a misuse of the term by people who have heard it and not understood that #2 is the actual meaning.


. . . although this is the way that language evolves generally. What I learned as wrong and ignorant usage twenty-five years ago is now commonly accepted -- "comprise" for "compose." "chagrin" for "dismay." they are now synonymous. 
but I still agree with you. particularly because the problem in #1 involves overlapping the rear wheel of the lead rider with the front wheel of the rear rider, and the lead rider typically doesn't even know it is happening. Very different from the half-wheeling thing, which is merely annoying rather than dangerous.


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## Cruzer2424

haha. i've been so educated with this thread. i guess thats what the internet is for. haha.

normally I just lock my speed and let them ride off the front. I never really knew there was a name for this... although I did always find it annoying.


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## estone2

bill said:


> What I learned as wrong and ignorant usage twenty-five years ago is now commonly accepted -- "comprise" for "compose." "chagrin" for "dismay." they are now synonymous.


Um.

Comprise for Compose?
I'm going to go comprise a symphony? LMAO.
I lost my comprisure?


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## Einstruzende

I never knew there was a term for this phenomenon. There are a couple folks in our club ride that are infamous for this behavior. I'm going to have to get on them tonight.


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## tarwheel2

What annoys me is people who insist on riding about 2-3 left of the paceline, rather than staying in the slipstream. If you're stuck behind this person, you don't get the full benefit of the draft. Also, if they suddenly decide to pull back into the line, they can clip your wheel. Is there a name for this?

Another annoying habit is standing to climb in such a way that you slow down. The person behind you has to hit their brakes, back off or run into you. There is a technique for standing where you don't lose momentum, but many cyclists don't seem to have figured it out. Is there a name for this?


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## bill

estone2 said:


> Um.
> 
> Comprise for Compose?
> I'm going to go comprise a symphony? LMAO.
> I lost my comprisure?


well, more like this --
the break comprised five Navigators riders, one Colavita rider, one Battley Harley rider, (etc., etc.)

you now will see this usage -- the break is comprised of five Navigators, [etc., etc.]

just to cement my own pedantic bona fides, I just looked it up in a dictionary that is about twenty years old. It still lists the latter usage as disfavored.


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## asgelle

estone2 said:


> Um.
> 
> Comprise for Compose?


From Merriam Webster

Main Entry: com·prise
Pronunciation: k&m-'prIz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): com·prised; com·pris·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French compris, past participle of comprendre, from Latin comprehendere
1 : to include especially within a particular scope "civilization as Lenin used the term would then certainly have comprised the changes that are now associated in our minds with 'developed' rather than 'developing' states" -- Times Literary Supplement>
2 : to be made up of a vast installation, comprising fifty buildings -- Jane Jacobs
3 :Compose, Constitute "a misconception as to what comprises a literary generation" -- William Styron; "about 8 percent of our military forces are comprised of women" -- Jimmy Carter
usage: Although it has been in use since the late 18th century, sense 3 is still attacked as wrong. Why it has been singled out is not clear, but until comparatively recent times it was found chiefly in scientific or technical writing rather than belles lettres. Our current evidence shows a slight shift in usage: sense 3 is somewhat more frequent in recent literary use than the earlier senses. You should be aware, however, that if you use sense 3 you may be subject to criticism for doing so, and you may want to choose a safer synonym such as compose or make up.


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## Spunout

tarwheel2 said:


> Another annoying habit is standing to climb in such a way that you slow down. The person behind you has to hit their brakes, back off or run into you. There is a technique for standing where you don't lose momentum, but many cyclists don't seem to have figured it out. Is there a name for this?


Bad technique. Stand up slowly. Lift back off the saddle, not pull forwards with your hands.


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## iliveonnitro

Stand half way through your power stroke on your dominant leg, not before or just after it. It should feel like you are flinging yourself over the bars...without the flinging yourself over the bars part.


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## footballcat

i love half wheelers, its an excuse to make them hurt


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