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

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.

#Cycling #GCN #GCNTech #RoadBike

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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Music - licensed by Epidemic Sound:
ES_Ur Karma (SLCT Remix) (Instrumental Version) - Craig Reever
ES_Solarity - Guustavv
ES_Red Head - Pro Reese
ES_Duracell (Instrumental Version) - Jontha Links
ES_Bumfuzzle - Jobii
ES_A Year Down - A P O L L O

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[gcntech]

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

[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!

[sanslaq]

Brilliant to see all these numbers in a single video!

[stephankyle]

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

[CyclingSteveL]

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

[bikepackingadventure]

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 😂😂😁

[galenkehler]

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

[drch]

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

[markolazarevic]

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

[julesvereijken]

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 💷

[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!

[Solarsystem]

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

[martinandersson]

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

[davtwill]

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

[kevinmills]

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

[fixieebro]

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

[cyclenutter]

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

Oliver Bridgewood 2021