The Draft Effect | How Does Slipstreaming Save Energy Whilst Cycling?

[@gcntech]

Do you draft wherever possible? Or do you always do your turn on the front? Let us know in the comments below!

[@OFFSHOREDOUG]

Go out with local club. Draft normally at the end to not get dropped(Ollie). 5, 5 heart bypasses and overweight for a cyclist I need to draft.

[@KenSmith-bv4si]

Do I draft? Of course I do I'm 65yrs, duh.

[@charlesjames4194]

Nope. Drafting AKA Tailgating is a crime and punishable by a fine. There is a significant increase in risk of harmful injury, property damage, and expensive medical bills when travelling too close, too fast, and on wet roads. I am not an actuary but I imagine that as the size of the peloton increases so does the risk of a larger crash for the man in the middle or the back of the pack.

[@francisling3196]

Everyone needs to take their turn, even if it's only for a few minutes

[@OFFSHOREDOUG]

@@charlesjames4194 get a life.

[@aidedcamp]

Ollie: "As a rule of thumb if you're racing draft whenever you can" Important exception: don't draft when crossing the finish line if you want to win the race ... you'll be second in the best case ;P

[@ralvesco]

Ollie is a brilliant presenter, congrats!

[@noptimized]

Ollie never got dropped, he just made a conversion error from millimetres to centimetres!

[@alynlambert4855]

A little bit of a difference there Bridgewood... I thought 150cm felt like a long way to be off a wheel.

[@sanslaq]

Brilliant to see all these numbers in a single video!

[@PsyKeks]

Too bad the numbers were partly not true 😅 (When cinverting the units on distances, the decimal point shifts. They equate 500cm to 0,5m, which is not correct. Now we can't be sure, what numbers are true.)

[@miembrosgibran]

YEAH I CAN COUNT, THIS IS AMAZING!

[@Kimberly_Sparkles]

@@PsyKeks they added a caption that Ollie mean millimeters

[@PsyKeks]

@@Kimberly_Sparkles Ah, okay. Better than nothing, I guess 😅

[@moreseun]

@@PsyKeks You are right, I had the same observation as I'm sure others did. However your spelling mistake puts the quality of your contribution in a dim light 😄. Seriously though it's easy to verify the truth since he did reference the study and it's author. I'm going to check it out now for myself 👍

[@galenkehler]

Unfortunately you have to stay IN the draft to benefit, doesn't work if you get dropped...

[@gcntech]

This is unfortunate, it's true.

[@iberiksoderblom]

LOL :-D

[@svensayre1189]

light job at Ollie big oof

[@coachrobwille4176]

You only get dropped because you are not as good as a rider as the others. Drafting is all in your mind.

[@leonelgraca]

Learned that the hard way, never to allow to get dropped as better quit all together if one is on the limit of keeping up already.

[@markolazarevic4209]

First the caffeine video. Than this one. I like videos with science behind them. Those are great!!

[@bikepackingadventure7913]

So is this why drivers tailgate my arse whilst cycling, so they can draft me? Now I understand why, and there was me thinking they did it to intimidate me off the road……silly me 😂😂😁

[@taufikabidin412]

Actually, having something behind you can clean up the air flow and make you more aerodynamic.

[@Aeronwor]

Also slamming their horns to cheer you on. Truly inspiring to be on the roads with such support.

[@Eis_]

Make sure you tell them to take their turn though.

[@DHS_Studio]

@@taufikabidin412 also clean up your fart? lol

[@3dr1ch]

Nice to have a video that’s actually teaching us something, rather than selling us something for a change. 👍

[@cyclenutter2715]

00:08 'Like a sh*t, pushing through the sea' Oliver Bridgewood 2021

[@Solarsystem50]

Love the science technical clips. Ollie does a great job explaining just a bout everything. Viewers, you should take notes.

[@julesvereijken188]

Best GCN tech video yet! Cool to see a paper from my university make a surprise appearance!

[@Avioto]

Whoever is doing the animations deserves a raise 💷

[@stephankyle6460]

At 300+ ftp while under 80kg ollie is probably stronger than 90%of the "Ollie got dropped" commenters.

[@jasonmcgrody9472]

No doubt. I have an FTP of 290 but I'm probably 15kg heavier (taller and overweight)

[@manuel7102]

It's all in good fun

[@michaelb1761]

I think you're being generous to the commenters.

[@richcrompton6891]

I don’t think there is any shame being dropped by ex-pros who put out too many watts to keep the unit solid. If Ollie had been included, I think Si would have been beaten far sooner. Their team persuit skills were highly suspect and were more like 4 individuals than a well drilled squad. Manon should have been brought in to drill them properly. She is the one at GCN with those skills in abundance

[@marcalvarez4890]

Not probably, definitely.

[@The_Cotswold_Engineer]

My favourite is tractor drafting! Always good fun and you get plenty of warning when they are going to do something like brake or turn off as the engine note changes and the whin of the gears changes! Had a couple of amazing tractor rides over the years!

[@moreseun]

Haha Strava segments are getting smashed all over due to tractor drafting!

[@martinandersson5833]

Thanks Ollie for making the effort, reading all the studies. Great video. This clip gave me some new information. Much appreciated👍

[@CyclingSteveL]

When a car is sat right behind me I ride faster not because of aerodynamics but because I'm absolutely pooing myself.

[@Kimberly_Sparkles]

Oh god yes.

[@henrycheang424]

😂

[@fixieebro]

Great vid. Ollie! Thanks for bringing all that info together. And thanks graphics dept. for using fixies in the animation! Appreciate the love... 😉

[@gefloigle]

+10 GCN points! Woohoo!

[@LarsRR]

They didn’t accept mine at Tesco. Does anyone have the GCN support hotline?

[@gcntech]

@@LarsRR 😂

[@dietrickkooyman2754]

I’m glad the information was covered for cars as well. It explains why I was almost sucked into a car that I was drafting due to its wake.

[@kevinmills3329]

I would like to see you recreate an entire race using only figurines

[@dennistay9980]

My heart went out to Ollie when he referenced to when he was dropped 😭

[@stevedawson2390]

Great to see all of the different situations on the road taken into account. Fantastic video very informative

[@stuartfreedman6854]

Always alway always be extra cautious when coming up on a stranger. Keep your distance until you see how steady a pace they carry. I learned this the hard way a long time ago.

[@michaelb1761]

"How close should you follow?" How much do you trust the rider in front?

[@davtwill531]

Ollie really needs to revise his distances for metres, millimetres and centimetres !!!! How many times did he get it wrong today 👨‍🎓

[@PsyKeks]

Yeah. I don't really know which ones were true, now. 😅

[@maxrevell3830]

The Mavic service Peugeot 504 model is a thing of beauty

[@Jimabaz]

Respect to Tim Declercq, the guy who is always in the front of the peleton dragging it along

[@helmiwijaya7]

00:40 connor said , "we have to go without him", and then the bike behind is swapped

[@helmiwijaya7]

ah and then Ollie explained it :(

[@NicolineXD]

Loved the presentation in this video, with the figurines and graphics along with Ollies way of explaining. Made me understand everything clearly, amazing job 👏 And now I want those figurines

[@mopedvieh]

CFD is fine for Ollie, but when it comes to cm or mm...things get tricky 🤔

[@ericarnold1739]

Love when Ollie goes full scientist!

[@boudoir00]

I just watched three grown up men having fun with a digger and now Olli with play with plastic bikes and cars. What a great start to a rainy Bank Holiday Monday..!

[@jliho1]

Loved this video. Keep on the good work GCN.

[@JoshPeak]

Absolutely love getting into the science and maths of cycling. Could you do an episode that actually shows the maths and formulas for the dominant forces? Go a bit deeper for the nerdiest of us? 🤓

[@paulhowell7103]

when i was a first cat rider in the 80s sometimes we would draft behind buses !!! the faces of the passengers on the back seats was priceless !!!

[@XFly170]

Drafting behind even larger vehicles such as a bus or a semi-trailer can not only reduce your drag to pretty much zero but also (if you’re willing to get close enough) provide you with thrust due to the vortices that are shedding behind in the low-pressure zone creating a suction effect. Just ask Evandro Portela… he managed to draft a semi-trailer on a freeway at 124km/h. Look up “bike draft 124km/h”… just remember, don’t blame me if you try it yourself and end up in a hospital.

[@p.t.i.campana5730]

Drafting saved my life this morning!😁 The pace of the ride was fairly high for me.

[@NickBorders]

Could you cover drafting etiquette in a group or even coming up on a group of riders you're not part of? How can you join in without being awkward, if at all?

[@inusarariderdiary2034]

ollie always make me smile.....very great presenter!!!!!

[@hisdadjames4876]

Really great video. Already understood drafting but it was beautifully well explained here👏👏👏👏

[@roebbiej]

Very informative, thanks Ollie!

[@deuxroueschamoiscream8626]

Oli my dude, you look sharp with the glasses man.

[@hugobci]

Sometimes riding uphill the trucks passing a feel centimeters from my skin actually helps to climb.

[@mikefule330]

Excellent video. I typically ride alone and occasionally side by side with my wife. I haven't ridden with a group for 30 years and when I did, it was with a touring club and we found natural positions in the group depending on personality types, friendships with other riders, and so on. I had genuinely never realised that the savings from slipstreaming were so great. No wonder I feel feeble when I hear the average speeds that other people report! D'oh!

[@jasonmcgrody9472]

Mom: Don't play in traffic! Me: But Ollie said it's more aero.

[@JMcLeodKC711]

Drafting while swimming or running is definitely a thing. In the water, you can ride the wake of a swimmer in front of you but off to the side.

[@sl077766]

It works with air too - it's why geese etc fly in a large V formation

[@andrifsig]

informative video as always is to be expected from Ollie. I remember once while I was touring with a front and rear panniers, about as aerodynamic as Connor Dunne on a brick bike, I was flying down a long hill fully loaded, probably reached about 65kmh, which is a lot with panniers on. I am managing the bike and staying upright and the wind noise is pretty much blocking everything else. I notice by the side of me a small car passing me and as soon as he has his nose just in front of my wheel it was almost like cycling in a vacuum for a hair of a split of a second and then I felt a severe block of wind resistance coming in from the opposite side where the first car passed me. I almost lost control of my bike and nearly swerved into the next car passing me. A real life education in drafting and cycling into a wall of air at speed.

[@DrewKime]

I used to ride a motorcycle, and passing trucks in a crosswind was always exciting.

[@boyobane1590]

I'm pretty sure having a lorry behind you reduces your drag, because I can cruise at 25mph when I'm being chased by a lorry, while I usually cruise between 15-18mph

[@tubbytoast2]

What !!! They Changed the bike in the background ,, never noticed,, Ollie's hair was to mesmerising

[@diogofso]

Ollie playing with the toy car is very funny 😂😂😂

[@donerbude5828]

2:42 why are they not wearing helmets

[@gcntech]

😂 Good point!

[@zzhughesd]

@@gcntech Quite shocked in this new world we live in helmet less models,

[@jamesmckenzie3532]

Ollie as a science presenter! What a great idea. But cm does not equal mm. Great job. And the fix for the bike shifting was wild. +10...

[@antonioguadalupe5365]

love to watch your program amazing!!!! GCN...... Yahoooo!!!

[@louisebeckett7104]

I see what you did there with the subtle bike change in the background!

[@nickrossuk]

Really interesting video - thank you. I can imagine Ollie’s heart sank a little in the planning meeting when this idea for a video came up…

[@jamesg9197]

The 'We'll have to go on without him..' audio cue was perfection.

[@dezoksiribon]

olli forgot his science glasses when saying, that 500 cm is a half of a meter, cause with the glasses he wouldnt do this mistake:D

[@Kobe404]

Didn't find it useful in the slightest as I'm in the Connor Dunne mould...but I did find it incredibly interesting! Great stuff Ollie, these videos are great for us nerds!

[@davidburgess741]

Solo I really like traffic assisted aero. I can get a 5mph boost from a large truck on a large shouldered highway. At a stoplight the truck gathers a large entourage behind it prolonging the effect especially when heavily laden. A crosswind magnifies the effect. Vary the position on the shoulder toward the edge for traffic going the other way. Never push your luck in the traffic area though. Connor is much like a tandem team. He has The power of 2 riders but not twice the frontal area. Reynolds number is also lower than average ,similar to a ship with a longer waterline. Finally the weight and aero drag of the bike are minuscule proportionally to a smaller rider. He must have been a great domestique!

[@gaborozorai3714]

When the peloton fills a wide road from edge to edge, doing 60 kph in the run-up to a sprint finish, they must be pushing a lot of air. So what is the effect on those riding at the front? I've always wondered how the same lead-out riders can keep those speeds up for several minutes, so it must be significant.

[@mg1060]

In the future could you go in to more specifics on how a riders physical size effects the draft please. I am only 170 mm tall and weigh 72 kg and often hear complaints and moaning from the bigger riders that they get no draft riding my wheel. Exactly how much less draft are they getting off me as opposed to a rider of their same size or bigger? Thanks Ollie.

[@CyclingSteveL]

You must have to pedal really fast to keep up with regular-sized riders ¦D

[@kstethespokes1051]

Came to say how much I like the new graphics but I like the model cyclists even more than those! Collectors items for the GCN shop?

[@UltimateBallaPOM]

Absolutely fantastic video!🤝🏿

[@hebrews11vs5]

Ollie is quite the nerd. Easily my favorite gcn presenter. 😆

[@glennoc8585]

Drafting is a godsend on a group ride when your doing So true about being number five or six at the back, you really need to get close and low otherwise you work harder. In a long chain you can feel the efficiency drop as you go from 3 to 5 to 7. Definitely drops off.

[@bubblesezblonde]

Professor O does it again! Brilliant. I really love your bicycle physics vlogs and honestly most of your presentations. There is no shame in being dropped when facing the UNDEFEATED Siborg. Resistance is Futile.

[@pmiller7886]

Good stuff Ollie, cheers.

[@tomeklubomir]

Great video Ollie, as usual 👍 Hope UCI is watching as well, to make racing more fair. Odds are always stacked against a breakaway rider/group. TV Moto is only allowed behind a breakaway if gap bigger than 30s. Where’s peloton has always at least one TV Moto in front at all times, but often more than one (TV, Security, Photo/Media, Commissaries). As if they didn’t have enough fresh legs in the peloton from all the drafting. UCI please allow a TV Moto in front of a breakaway at all times, to keep it fair.

[@deswhite8268]

white orbea at start then a metallic blue bike - quick respray by Manon?

[@BarryJHoffman]

Was this video made just to have an excuse to play with those adorable little cycler toys? Just kidding. Phenomenal video integrating cycling, math and science. Thank you!

[@sl077766]

There was an episode of Mythbusters where they tested vehicles drafting articulated lorries and found the effects beneficial over 100m behind. I have a 100 mile ride coming up next Sunday and know I'm nowhere near fit enough but hoping to tag behind a few fitter people (or just ride at 10kph for 16 hours :D )

[@richardslatcher4572]

“500cm or half a meter” is that what you say when you get dropped? I was only 1/2 a meter of the back. Reality 500cm or 5 meters 🤣. Is that another 10 points? 😁

[@allanrodzinski5850]

Here is what I need - a wind shield...could be two varieties, road bars, road bars w/ tri bars. It does not need to be overly large like fairings of old, just a small bullet shaped transparent canopy (in orange, lime green like a Mountain Dew bottle, and blue) a rider could use to slip that air around the body much better. Of course its not UCI approved...I'm just riding to the store.

[@DonutEndurance]

I got to items I’d like a deep dive into. First, does the weight penalty for clip-on aerobars out weigh the aerodynamic benefits (time trials and gravel events)? Second, how much damage does a handlebar bag do to aerodynamics?

[@adambrickley1119]

1st question is no, they actually tested this on gcn.

[@voltgan]

I notice a draft benefit while riding with mosquitoes. Serious marginal gains. Great video!

[@sebastiengagnon7510]

RGT and Zwift should use your video to improve their drafting physics. (Don’t know for other apps).

[@poweredbyplants416]

Amazing how many never stick their nose in the wind. We the lone wolves are not afraid.

[@nerigarcia7116]

Whoa, the bike changed in the background

[@neilpalmer1492]

Solid info - thanks

[@cyclingnerddelux698]

As Ollie demonstrated in a past episode, you have to stay in the draft, to take advantage of the draft.

[@jorstvondoom684]

Cracking video, thanks! Now I need some mates to ride with 🤣

[@BRC76]

Top video Ollie. 👏👍

[@ostrokolowiec]

I was riding once 1m behing the big post truck, 50km/h was so effortless

[@patrickwalsh279]

Dave Stoller got himself and his Masi up to 60 mph riding behind that Cinzano truck....

[@michaelb1761]

And, now we know how. Given the stats Ollie provided for riding behind a car or motorbike, imagine how low the drag was behind that Cinzano truck.

[@DeStraatz]

Seriously Bert Blocken is the OG bike aero man

[@geisslersonMC]

before all the corona-stuff started we did alumni grouprides of more than 10 riders. it was bonkers how fast the group was going compared to the felt exhaustion. riding 30 kph on my own is way more taxing than going 34+ kph and doing a snappy pull every other half hour. :D

[@geisslersonMC]

@gcn what happend to the orbea shortly shown in the video??? is it swapped for the inflite on purpose? :D

[@qibble455]

Very interesting video. I really enjoyed it.

[@thepie4052]

Great vid Ollie. 10:00 mins in, is this how Conor feels when drafting?

[@ygtcbee23]

Great video Olie! All that's missing is the white lab coat

[@jeremypritchard569]

Great video Ollie. Really interesting.

[@joes3703]

Thank Ollie! Love the glasses when it’s time to “geek out”. Hey can I put my 10 GCN points towards a GCN action figure?

[@bonzainutter]

Why do the pros not use a tri spoke wheel anymore?

[@iberiksoderblom]

I was drafted once... And ended up in Bosnia, Irak and Afghanistan !

[@Tom-xn5zj]

NERD ALERT: at the end of the video, I guess you are talking about your c(d)*A Ollie, which is the result of the multiplication of c(d), which actually resembles the coefficient of drag, and your frontal area A. A c(d) of 0.19 would be absolutely unheard of in a cycling context, apart from faired recumbents of course. still a great video, thx for all the great content

[@stevedouglas3606]

07:48 "The really well-drilled pursuit teams are really well drilled" - brought to you by the GCN Department of Redundancy Department

[@hambernat6444]

Why didnt you mentioned suction force of aerodynamics for last rider? This is also important, apart from sonic stream and pushing someone forwards from behind by filling out airhole, it's important to mention that last rider is also affected by sucking force, what is causing him to be in worse position then someone in front of him.

[@josepha-rt7118]

One time I was riding home in serious traffic..... I was caught in the middle of the lanes and I instantly felt drag reduce🇰🇪🇰🇪 (pangani to muthaiga descent)

[@jacobjohnsson-werneremileh1944]

Hey Ollie, need your help! I recently purchased a 2020 Scott Addict RC30 road bike which I love. Except for one part: the disc brake rubbing. When I'm out of my saddle putting the power down and rocking my bike side to side, on a sprint or climb, there's an annoying rub that has become louder and louder. It even happens when I'm hit by a big gust of crosswind. It seems to come from one side, but I'm not sure. I believe this is due to the fork flexing and thus the pads coming in contact with the rotor due to the little amounts of tolerance. I have flat-mount Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes. I've been to the local mechanic twice to no avail. The rotor is straight, the calliper is centered, the rotor is torqued correctly to the hub and the thru axle is tightened enough. My last thought is that maybe the pads need to be removed and the pistons cleaned with some degreaser. Is it possible the pistons aren't retracting enough? Please help, this is the last thing stopping me from fully enjoying my new ride!

[@williamaylmer2194]

What's the protocol if any, in the pro peleton? Is everyone supposed to take a spin in front? Why would anyone take point unless they were about to attack from the front?

[@matthewshadrick3094]

Unrelated BUT Ollies laptop is awesome