Look Ma, no hands!

[KLizotte]

@mrkenny83 18901 wrote:

Am I the only person that can’t bike without hands? I constantly see people adjusting their helmets, or fixing their glasses….. both hands off the handlebars. I have to physically come to a stop or else I’d meet the asphalt.

Am I alone?

Is there something I’m doing wrong?

I can’t do it either; when I take both hands off the handlebar everything goes all wobbly. I really would like to learn though.

[jabberwocky]

How easy it is depends a lot on the bike… on my main mountainbike I can ride without hands with almost no effort. On my light road bike, its much more difficult. Heavier tires/wheels make it easier (more centrifugal force) and slacker angles help too.

[Tim Kelley]

@jabberwocky 18906 wrote:

How easy it is depends a lot on the bike… on my main mountainbike I can ride without hands with almost no effort. On my light road bike, its much more difficult. Heavier tires/wheels make it easier (more centrifugal force) and slacker angles help too.

A time trial bike with a full water bottle between the aerobars is quite difficult to ride without hands for more than a couple seconds.

[Greenbelt]

@mrkenny83 18901 wrote:

Am I the only person that can’t bike without hands?

Me neither. I’m wobbly enough with one hand on the bar. I have gotten pretty good at putting gloves on, squirting water on sunglasses, eating, exchanging water bottles etc. with one hand, though, but I pick nice level straight clear spots.

[baiskeli]

I remember doing it as a kid all the time. Now it’s harder.

You have to be in a high gear so you can adjust your balance using the action of the pedals. You have to sit up in the saddle, also for balance. I can’t do it for more than a few seconds these days.

[mrkenny83]

Thank god. I don’t feel alone.

I was behind a woman this morning for about 3 miles, and I swear she was hands-free for almost the entire commute (hugging herself b/c it was a little chilly). She did, however, have a mountain bike, and I wondered if that was helping her….

needless to say, I tried hugging myself as well and lasted about a full minute (which is the best I’ve ever done!!!)

[americancyclo]

I’ve found the straighter I can make my spine, the easier it is. It’s also more difficult on my carbon bike than it ever was on my old, three-sizes too small aluminum frame.

[jabberwocky]

The physics are pretty simple. A heavier rim/wheel/tire gives the spinning tire more centrifugal force (a spinning bike wheel is a flywheel). More centrifugal force means it resists wobbling better.

A slacker head angle helps as well, because a slacker head angle means that wheel wobbles actually have less effect on the direction of the bike. Thats partly why DH racebikes have super slack head angles; they are designed for stability at high speed in rough terrain.

A third factor is riding position. Road bikes are really designed to have your weight distributed equally with your upper body more horizontal. Putting all the weight in the seat and sitting up is awkward anyway. Mountainbikes are designed to have a higher proportion on the rear wheel/seat than on the bars.

Thats why something like Tims time trial bike (lightweight wheel, very steep head angle) is super nervous to ride without hands.

[txgoonie]

Funny, I thought I was the only one, too:-) I can remember doing it as a kid, but it’s just gone now. I practice it from time to time on my commute — one hand completely off the handlebars, the other lightly holding on, lifting it off for as long as I can control the bike.

It’s kinda like driving golf balls for me — some days I have no idea what I’m doing right, but it just seems to click; other days, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. Perhaps with more practice.

[Dirt]

The mechanical condition of the bicycle can make it difficult to ride no hands too. Headset (The bearings where the fork goes through the frame) condition and adjustment as well as frame alignment can make it easier or virtually impossible to ride no hands.

Seat height has a lot to do with it too. Seat too low or too high causes your hips to roll when you pedal, thus making it hard to roll in a straight line.

[mrkenny83]

lol – well if anyone sees a guy trying the “LOOK MA NO HANDS” unsuccessfully on their commute home – it’s probably me!

[Dirt]

@txgoonie 18928 wrote:

It’s kinda like driving golf balls for me — some days I have no idea what I’m doing right, but it just seems to click; other days, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t do it. Perhaps with more practice.

I can ride with my hands off the bars on most of my bikes all day long, but I couldn’t drive a golf ball to save my life.

[creadinger]

@mrkenny83 18920 wrote:

needless to say, I tried hugging myself as well and lasted about a full minute (which is the best I’ve ever done!!!)

I don’t think “hugging yourself” is really going to help you ride with no hands, and frankly I don’t think it’s something you should do on a bike, or especially do in public.

All joking aside, I have been perplexed by my inability to ride with no hands lately too. Sometimes I can coast on a gentle downhill for a couple of seconds, but pedaling is basically out of the question, let alone put on/take off a jacket, or any of the other stuff the pros do. I guess part of it is the fear of falling, which the pros are most likely very experienced with and it may not be as big of a deal…. that sounds ridiculous though.

Over the past couple of years I think I have come to grips with not being able to do it, and not really caring either. Great, some hipster can ride all the way across DC with no hands. I can do other stuff.

[elcee]

I, too, had lost the skill, but I was able to relearn. Here’s how I did it:

• Ride the most stable bike you can find.
• Find a smooth road with plenty of space.
• You need some speed – at least 15 mph is good. Then smoothly transition from two hands, to one hand, to a couple of fingers, then no hands.
• If the bike wobbles, gently clamp the top tube between your knees. Eventually you’ll be able to steer the bike doing this.
• When you gain confidence, just start pedaling.

That’s it!

[ronwalf]

@elcee 18950 wrote:

I, too, had lost the skill, but I was able to relearn. Here’s how I did it:

Here’s how I learned (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

1. Ride in summer near a gnat-infested creek.
2. Swat with left hand
3. Swat with right hand
4. Swat with left and right hands
5. Notice that you have no hands on the bars
6. Panic

[Author]

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