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

Рет қаралды 156,740

Күн бұрын

When cycling with other bike riders, drafting can save you loads of energy. Sheltering from the wind on another cyclist's wheel can reduce the amount of power you need to produce by up to 50%! In this video, Ollie breaks out the 'GCN Does Science' glasses and takes a deep dive into the physics of drafting, and how it actually works.
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Do you draft wherever possible? Or do you always do your turn on the front? Let us know in the comments below!
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Пікірлер: 312

@gcntech 3 жыл бұрын

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

@OFFSHOREDOUG 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@charlesjames4194 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@OFFSHOREDOUG 3 жыл бұрын

@@charlesjames4194 get a life.

@noptimized 3 жыл бұрын

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

@alynlambert4855 3 жыл бұрын

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

@aidedcamp 3 жыл бұрын

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

@CyclingSteveL 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Kimberly_Sparkles 3 жыл бұрын

Oh god yes.

@galenkehler 3 жыл бұрын

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

@gcntech 3 жыл бұрын

This is unfortunate, it's true.

@iberiksoderblom 3 жыл бұрын

LOL :-D

@svensayre1189 3 жыл бұрын

light job at Ollie big oof

@coachrobwille4176 3 жыл бұрын

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

@leonelgraca 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@ralvesco 3 жыл бұрын

Ollie is a brilliant presenter, congrats!

@stephankyle6460 3 жыл бұрын

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

@jasonmcgrody9472 3 жыл бұрын

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

@manuel7102 3 жыл бұрын

It's all in good fun

@michaelb1761 3 жыл бұрын

I think you're being generous to the commenters.

@richcrompton6891 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

Not probably, definitely.

@bikepackingadventure7913 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Aeronwor 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Eis_ 3 жыл бұрын

Make sure you tell them to take their turn though.

@DHS_Studio 3 жыл бұрын

@@taufikabidin412 also clean up your fart? lol

@sanslaq 3 жыл бұрын

Brilliant to see all these numbers in a single video!

@PsyKeks 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

YEAH I CAN COUNT, THIS IS AMAZING!

@Kimberly_Sparkles 3 жыл бұрын

@@PsyKeks they added a caption that Ollie mean millimeters

@PsyKeks 3 жыл бұрын

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

@moreseun 2 жыл бұрын

@@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 👍

@markolazarevic4209 3 жыл бұрын

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

@3dr1ch 3 жыл бұрын

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

@julesvereijken188 3 жыл бұрын

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

@kevinmills3329 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Solarsystem50 3 жыл бұрын

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

@helmiwijaya7 3 жыл бұрын

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

@helmiwijaya7 3 жыл бұрын

ah and then Ollie explained it :(

@Avioto 3 жыл бұрын

Whoever is doing the animations deserves a raise 💷

@davtwill531 3 жыл бұрын

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

@PsyKeks 3 жыл бұрын

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

@gefloigle 3 жыл бұрын

+10 GCN points! Woohoo!

@LarsRR 3 жыл бұрын

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

@gcntech 3 жыл бұрын

@@LarsRR 😂

@The_Cotswold_Cyclist 3 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@cyclenutter2715 3 жыл бұрын

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

@martinandersson5833 3 жыл бұрын

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

@dennistay9980 3 жыл бұрын

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

@fixieebro 3 жыл бұрын

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

@dezoksiribon 3 жыл бұрын

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

@stevedawson2390 3 жыл бұрын

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

@ericarnold1739 3 жыл бұрын

Love when Ollie goes full scientist!

@jliho1 3 жыл бұрын

Loved this video. Keep on the good work GCN.

@boyobane1590 3 жыл бұрын

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

@NicolineXD 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Jimabaz 3 жыл бұрын

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

@mopedvieh 3 жыл бұрын

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

@roebbiej 3 жыл бұрын

Very informative, thanks Ollie!

@dietrickkooyman2754 Жыл бұрын

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.

@maxrevell3830 3 жыл бұрын

The Mavic service Peugeot 504 model is a thing of beauty

@antonioguadalupe5365 3 жыл бұрын

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

@hisdadjames4876 3 жыл бұрын

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

@donerbude5828 3 жыл бұрын

2:42 why are they not wearing helmets

@gcntech 3 жыл бұрын

😂 Good point!

@zzhughesd 3 жыл бұрын

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

@UltimateBallaPOM 3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely fantastic video!🤝🏿

@boudoir00 3 жыл бұрын

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..!

@XFly170 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@stuartfreedman6854 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@NickBorders 3 жыл бұрын

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?

@deuxroueschamoiscream8626 3 жыл бұрын

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

@JMcLeodKC711 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@paulhowell7103 3 жыл бұрын

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 !!!

@hugobci 3 жыл бұрын

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

@neilpalmer1492 3 жыл бұрын

Solid info - thanks

@p.t.i.campana5730 3 жыл бұрын

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

@JoshPeak 3 жыл бұрын

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? 🤓

@inusarariderdiary2034 2 жыл бұрын

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

@pmiller7886 3 жыл бұрын

Good stuff Ollie, cheers.

@jeremypritchard569 3 жыл бұрын

Great video Ollie. Really interesting.

@jasonmcgrody9472 3 жыл бұрын

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

@qibble455 3 жыл бұрын

Very interesting video. I really enjoyed it.

@mikefule330 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@lukelarrea7605 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent video

@nickrossuk 3 жыл бұрын

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…

@bubblesezblonde 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@BRC76 3 жыл бұрын

Top video Ollie. 👏👍

@jorstvondoom684 3 жыл бұрын

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

@Kobe404 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@andrifsig 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@jamesmckenzie3532 3 жыл бұрын

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...

@jamesg9197 3 жыл бұрын

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

@louisebeckett7104 3 жыл бұрын

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

@gaborozorai3714 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@tubbytoast2 3 жыл бұрын

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

@davidburgess741 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@hebrews11vs5 3 жыл бұрын

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

@diogofso 3 жыл бұрын

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

@ygtcbee23 3 жыл бұрын

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

@deswhite8268 3 жыл бұрын

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

@tomeklubomir 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@poweredbyplants416 3 жыл бұрын

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

@iberiksoderblom 3 жыл бұрын

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

@ashokdongre7289 3 жыл бұрын

Nice!!

@kstethespokes1051 3 жыл бұрын

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?

@BarryJHoffman 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@richardslatcher4572 3 жыл бұрын

“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 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@mg1060 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@thepie4052 3 жыл бұрын

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

@cyclingnerddelux698 3 жыл бұрын

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

@jacobjohnsson-werneremileh1944 3 жыл бұрын

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!

@glennoc8585 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@Zeekos126 3 жыл бұрын

Enjoyed this. Would like to have heard a bit more on the variation of drafting benefit compared to the speed of the group. Do the % reductions in drag(compared to a single rider) remain constant, regardless of the speed of the group🤔?

@carloborromeo5595 3 жыл бұрын

Hey GCN Tech, what do you call that bike rack on the wall behind the gent speaking?

@nerigarcia7116 3 жыл бұрын

Whoa, the bike changed in the background

@teotambo 3 жыл бұрын

Super video... but where did the Orbea go? :)

@matthewshadrick3094 3 жыл бұрын

Unrelated BUT Ollies laptop is awesome

@grahambarker2186 3 жыл бұрын

mistakes so what.....love ollies presentations....always good and entertaining.....

@sebastiengagnon7510 3 жыл бұрын

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

@DonutEndurance 3 жыл бұрын

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 2 жыл бұрын

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

@voltgan 3 жыл бұрын

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

@joes3703 3 жыл бұрын

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?

@patrickwalsh279 3 жыл бұрын

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

@michaelb1761 3 жыл бұрын

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.

@01FozzyS 3 жыл бұрын

Where does one procure those cycling figurines,professor O. ?

@geisslersonMC 3 жыл бұрын

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 3 жыл бұрын

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

@ostrokolowiec Жыл бұрын

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

@anthonyhilchey8215 3 жыл бұрын

#gcnTech I just got a SRAM AXS Mullet build on my new Cervelo Áspero 1X 42t front cog ⚙️ it’s rubbing/Scratching Frame as I turn the crank can you have advice on what to do I’m not mechanically inclined?