Look Ma, no hands!

[EnPassant]

This is a daft question really, if for no other reason than I have no real need to ride no handed. It's just that it's been bugging me.

Back in the day as a teen I could ride my 'Eddie Merckx' 10 speed racer without hands all day long pretty much, even around bends of a moderate radius. However despite a few attempts to do so since returning to cycling on my Specialized Tricross, I find it extremely difficult to let go for more than a few seconds at a time and feel inordinately uncomfortable and unstable doing so. One finger is fine, but the moment that comes off....

The question is, has the geometry changed in the intervening years? Or am I just old and not as co-ordinated as I once was? Perhaps it's just cross bikes?

In myself I don't feel my balance has become that much worse, so I suspect the bike itself is set up to be more twitchy, I suppose the marketing folks would say responsive. But if that's the case, it doesn't seem to stop the pro's riding extended periods without hands (though clearly they arent riding cross bikes). Or maybe their balance in addition to all the other things I don't have is also that much better. Though I have watched them do so, and unscientifically it seems that if they are pedalling rather than freewheeling they are still moving from side to side somewhat and not finding the bike wants to wander off and constantly correcting.

Possibly I could answer this myself by trying again on different bikes than mine, but I only have the one and don't know of any locally owned by mates due to moving recently.

 

[ayceejay]

Fear is the key.

 

[ianrauk]

Or am I just old and not as co-ordinated as I once was

This

 

[screenman]

Is it possible something in your anatomy may have lowered, it is suprising how many things are not as easy when that happens.

 

[mjr]

Tighten your headset so much it indexes. It'll be easier to ride no handed but harder to do everything else and will bugger the bearing races quicker

 

[classic33]

Old Age is on a a bike bike behind you, and you don't want to risk falling off and it catching you up.

Does it matter which leg is the lower, whilst on the pedals?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I reckon that older bikes had a more pronounced rake on the front forks, which for road bikes meant that they wanted to go in a straighter line to where gravity took them. (Probably less responsive though.) The other thing is the ''I dare'' bit: keeping just a finger on the bars keeps you slightly off balance. No handed is easier when you sit up properly, in my experience.

 

[winjim]

Tighten your headset so much it indexes. It'll be easier to ride no handed but harder to do everything else and will bugger the bearing races quicker

I'd have thought a stiff headset would make it more difficult to ride no handed. You need the front wheel to pivot in order to provide the correction as you constantly topple left and right.

 

[123456789]

If you really want to do it I find that getting my backside further back on the seat and making a point of sitting as bolt upright as I can with one finger barely touching the bars (literally you have no weight on your fingertips) then let go and sit up. Also keep the speed up a bit it's easier the faster you go. A good flat or ever so slight downhill section helps.

 

[al-fresco]

I remember, as a teenager, pedalling along, my hands at my sides, without fear of anything except my Dad seeing me do it. These days I have difficulty letting go of the bars long enough to clip up my rucksack chest strap or zip up my jacket. I have several bikes with a range of geometries, doesn't seem to make much difference. Not sure if it's age, fear or having no ACL in my right knee.

 

[Winnershsaint]

Strange I was wondering this. I can remember on many occasions cycling to school on my Claud Butler 5 spd no handed both ways along the A338, surviving the passes of Wilts and Dorset buses without concern, only putting my hands on the bars to actually turn into school itself.

 

[paraffinlamps]

If you really want to do it I find that getting my backside further back on the seat and making a point of sitting as bolt upright as I can with one finger barely touching the bars (literally you have no weight on your fingertips) then let go and sit up. Also keep the speed up a bit it's easier the faster you go. A good flat or ever so slight downhill section helps.

^^^^ This perfectly sums up how to start doing it. You need to be upright and have some speed initially . You may even feel as if you are leaning slightly backwards .Try and keep yourself relaxed . I do find race oriented bikes harder , but still doable . Its useful for taking off / putting on coats , gilets etc . I always drop out of a group if doing it though and always on a long straight piece of road .
I'm 53 so not exactly a youngster

 

[GuyBoden]

^^^^ This perfectly sums up how to start doing it. You need to be upright and have some speed initially . You may even feel as if you are leaning slightly backwards .Try and keep yourself relaxed . I do find race oriented bikes harder , but still doable . Its useful for taking off / putting on coats , gilets etc . I always drop out of a group if doing it though and always on a long straight piece of road .
I'm 53 so not exactly a youngster

Yes, I agree, you can still do this, with a bit of practice, even when you're older, but not really for beginners......................

 

[Fab Foodie]

Fear is the key.

Ice station Zebra

 

[Fab Foodie]

This is a daft question really, if for no other reason than I have no real need to ride no handed. It's just that it's been bugging me.

Back in the day as a teen I could ride my 'Eddie Merckx' 10 speed racer without hands all day long pretty much, even around bends of a moderate radius. However despite a few attempts to do so since returning to cycling on my Specialized Tricross, I find it extremely difficult to let go for more than a few seconds at a time and feel inordinately uncomfortable and unstable doing so. One finger is fine, but the moment that comes off....

The question is, has the geometry changed in the intervening years? Or am I just old and not as co-ordinated as I once was? Perhaps it's just cross bikes?

In myself I don't feel my balance has become that much worse, so I suspect the bike itself is set up to be more twitchy, I suppose the marketing folks would say responsive. But if that's the case, it doesn't seem to stop the pro's riding extended periods without hands (though clearly they arent riding cross bikes). Or maybe their balance in addition to all the other things I don't have is also that much better. Though I have watched them do so, and unscientifically it seems that if they are pedalling rather than freewheeling they are still moving from side to side somewhat and not finding the bike wants to wander off and constantly correcting.

Possibly I could answer this myself by trying again on different bikes than mine, but I only have the one and don't know of any locally owned by mates due to moving recently.

Geometries have changed, bikes of old were generally slacker angled and longer wheelbases. You sat further behind the bottom bracket too.