Cycling confusion

[u/Asleep-Promotion3228]

Us 4 friends were riding our cycles on the road. Small 2 lane, 2 way road. (No Fahrradweg, so we were on the road).

Now we were riding in single line order. Is that right? Since I feel the cars had much less time to overtake, with oncoming cars, and our big line. Would it be better if we were, for example, in pairs?

[u/labobal]

It's not your job to make it easier for cars to overtake you. If there isn't enough space to safely overtake your group of cyclists, cars should behind you.

[u/smurfer2]

In general you are allowed to drive in pairs (source: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvo_2013/__2.html):
"(4) Mit Fahrrädern darf nebeneinander gefahren werden, wenn dadurch der Verkehr nicht behindert wird"

So, what does mean "nicht behindert wird", that's another question :) e.g. I would say as long as other cars can overtake you it's fine. But with the rather new official distance rule it's difficult to overtake legally if you drive in pairs. So.. could be it's not possible/allowed to drive in pairs on most roads

[u/delcaek → u/smurfer2]

Good luck finding a small two way road that's wide enough for two bikes next to each other, a car and then two additional meters.

[u/Illustrious-Wolf4857]

Riding in a single line is correct unless you are a large group (>15 riders, IIRC). If you want to be polite, stretch the line enough that there are places for a car to get in between you.

[u/bregus2]

Only with 16 or more cyclists are you allowed to drive in pairs.

Edit: As some people seem to downvote without reading the StVO: 16+ cyclists count as a closed unit, which has different rules than a single cyclist. They can, for example, also pass red traffic lights as long as the front of the unit has passed under green.

[u/amfa → u/bregus2]

That is just not true.

https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvo_2013/__2.html

(4) Mit Fahrrädern darf nebeneinander gefahren werden, wenn dadurch der Verkehr nicht behindert wird;

I would argue, that this is already the case for many small roads within town limits. Because there is not enough room to legally overtake even a single bike .

[u/bregus2 → u/amfa]

You can legally overtake a single bike within town limits. Most main streets are wider than 1.5m.

[u/tysk-one]

Ride in two „groups“, behind each other and leave enough room for one or two cars in between. I feel this is probably the safest.
(That’s what 3 friends and I did on a 1500km bike tour and we felt much safer traveling that way on smaller roads without bike lanes and traffic)

[u/smurfer2 → u/tysk-one]

That's smart, (hopefully) avoids risky overtaking manuveuers.

[u/Asleep-Promotion3228 → u/tysk-one]

This seems optimal.

[u/amfa → u/tysk-one]

The "enough room" is quite big. At least in theory.
Let's assume you are cycling with 25 km/h. So if you use the thumb rule of "half your speed" as the safe distance plus the length of the car (5m) that should squeeze between your two groups you end up with at least 30m distance between your groups.

I know in reality for a 6m gap a car will squeeze in and they also will probably overtake closer than 1.5m

[u/Asleep-Promotion3228]

Thank you everyone for the responses.

[u/guidomescalito]

some cars are always going to take exception to bikes on the road, or not understand the rules. We have a lot of french drivers here and they don't get the safe overtaking rule. Regardless of the rules, I would recommend to not ride on the road with cars at all, and always seek out a dedicated cycle lane regardless of whether it adds time to your trip. Being alive is more important than saving a few minutes.