Quote Originally Posted by DebW View Post
What's the usual etiquette for swapping leads? Is it the decision of the leader or the 2nd in line? What's the signal for a swap? I don't ride pacelines often enough to have this figured out.
Protocol says that the leader should pull out and drop speed slightly while everyone else keeps at the same speed and the leader hops back in at the back and "rests" until everyone else has done the same and the first leader will find themselves at the front.

Watch some elite riders in your local club - they should be doing it this way... or watch some pro or semi-pro races (like Giro or Le Tour) - you can see some beautiful examples of this.

When a pace-line is going well the leader should only be on the front for 20-30 seconds... however, in club rides here the leader sometimes hangs on for minutes until they get tired. The purpose of a paceline is to conserve the whole bunches energy, therefore you shoul get off the front BEFORE you get tired.

However, when I have been on training rides or in race situations where I am not strong enough to take a turn at the front, what seems to happen is that the riders directly behind the leader pull out, speed up and take a turn that way.