Riding w/o hands

Scott Alexander

I've been informally trying this for years (been cycling/tri'ing for 10+ years now), but have never had much luck.

I've now seen a few of my "less fit" friends tackling it (on road AND tri bikes), which makes me think "if they can do it, surely I can!" (I'm not competitive at all!)

Any advice and/or tips on how to make it happen?!?

Dino Sarti

Sit back and lean back. Move the center of gravity backward and the front wheel will track better. That being said, I am not that confident. Rich should check in here. He's a master. He is that guy that can put on and take off a vest while pedaling.

Mark Maurer

Like Dino said, just sit up and put your weight on the seat. It's kind of like riding a horse though, the bike will feel it if you're hesitant and wobble like crazy. I have noticed that if the head set is a little out of kilter, i.e., loose, worn, or if either wheel is out of true it makes it harder to ride without hands. I often sit up and ride without hands to eat or just rest for a few minutes. If you're pedaling while you're riding without hands, I've found it helps to have the gearing a little higher so that my cadence is a little slower. 

Gordon Cherwoniak

Also to add.  If you have a mountain bike start working on your no hand skills there.  It's less twitchy and I find it easier.  I agree with the weight shift and before I do it I usually flip a couple cogs down in the back so I'm not spinning like a maniac.  I find it significantly easier no hands in the 70-80 rpm vs 90-100 (this is just a guess). 

For the record this seemed so easy as a kid I told my wife to back off my rear tire when I tried this year for the first time just in case. 

Gordon

morpheus

I get nervous every time I need to stuff an empty bottle into my back pocket.

EVERY.

TIME.

(this is where I want to say that I haven't wiped out so far. Not gonna do that, don't want the jinx.)

drjohnson08

My advice is to not try it! I don't know what it is but when I was a kid riding a bmx bike I could ride no handed without a problem. I could even make turns. This past June I fell off my tri bike trying to unzip my jersey while riding no handed. There's still something wrong with my shoulder joint. Lesson learned the hard way, I won't be trying that again.

Coach Rich

Riding with no hands is just one of those skills we should all learn, like bunny hopping, how to reach cleanly for a bottle, change a flat quickly, etc. If you're going to spend hours and hours on your bike, you might as well be good at it .

As others have said, the key is to sit tall, lean back, and relax. And pedal, which stabilizes the bike. Also, this is MUCH easier on a road bike or mtn bike vs a tri bike. I won't think to twice to ride no hands on the road bike...but I definitely plan ahead on the tri bike. Again, the key is to sit tall, keeping your weight back. 

Leslie Knight

I can easily ride no hands on road bike using techniques already discussed.  Not on tri bike!  But I'm not sure why this is a skill I "need".  I can put in/take anything out of a jersey pocket and even can easily remove and replace bottles in my rear gorilla cages with a hand on the bar/elbow pad.

Scott Alexander

any suggested "drills" to get me there?

I try to practice a little in my parking lot at the end of my weekday rides, but just don't seem to have the confidence to stay up for a long time yet.

Satish Punna

Posted By Scott Alexander on 02 Oct 2014 09:05 AM


any suggested "drills" to get me there?



I try to practice a little in my parking lot at the end of my weekday rides, but just don't seem to have the confidence to stay up for a long time yet.

Bike fit might have something to do with it-  On my previous road bike which was a little too small and had aggressive geometry the bike was too twitchy for riding no hands.  On my current bike which is a size larger, I can ride no hands all day.  

Coach Rich

Not sure about drills the keys are:

• It's easier on a larger, less twitchy bike
• Faster is better, as the bike is more stable
• Keep pedaling. 

I wouldn't really try to learn this in a parking lot, but rather a wide open street at > ~20-22mph.