Road Cycling - Look, Ma! No hands!

I read a while back that it is a good idea to learn to ride with no hands and get comfortable with it. Advantages include taking the pressure off your hands for a while, stretching your back, adjusting your jersey, etc., especially on longer rides. So every now and then I have taken a shot at doing it. I have never been able to go more than a few feet and always shaky. I hadn't tried in a few weeks so this morning, on a smooth straight stretch, I decided to give it another go. First attempt, same as before. Second attempt, I was DOING it! Rode a block or two. Next straight stretch, again! And again and again. I felt like I could do it indefinitely, only coming down on "all fours" for particularly rough patches, though I rode some less rough areas just for the practice. Ta daaa!

But I noticed a few things. First, I will have to practice a lot more before I get really comfortable doing it. Second, it was very fatiguing for my legs. I assume that is because by sitting back I was getting no leverage from my upper body. With nothing to push/pull against, my legs were having to do more work with different muscles from a different angles. And finally, about an hour later, it seemed like my abs were a little tender. Again, I assume from different usage. Is riding with no hands a good ab workout?

Any comments or suggestions?
Regards,
Raymond

Riding with no hands forces different muscle groups to be involved. The legs a little more, the abs, and lats.

Just watch out for cars! :eek:

Don't worry! I only do it when I don't see a car for blocks in either direction, which is most of the time at 0500 when I am on my way in.

Remember, the car drivers may be driving no-hands, too--so at least one of you needs to have some control! :D

:eek:

Ya, you have to be able to ride "no-hands" to give the double barrel salute to drivers that harrass you and to impress the girls.

Start by learning on a Schwinn Stingray.

Seriously, though, Raymond, it isn't all your fault if you can't do it. It might be your bike. That's right, it's your BIKES FAULT!

Not being able to ride no-hands can indicate to you that:

A) You desperately need a new bike. You can print this response and show it to your wife as proof.

B) Your headset is too tight or needs lubrication. Of all things, this is the biggest factor in not being able to ride no-hands.

C) You haven't been rotating your tires - especially your front tire. Did you ever notice that the left side of your tire wears out faster than the right side? That is due to the slope in the road/street which is designed for run-off to drain to the sides of the roads and into the gutters. Of course, you knew that.

And there you have it, Raymond. I hope you feel better about yourself knowing that you have the balance and coordination, but YOUR BIKE is not up to your skill level.

My Trek 1200 came with a warning from the manufacturers not to ride with no hands. They said it could "set up an harmonic vibration" :confused: that could cause loss of control of the bike.

What's up with that? I always could ride no hands on almost every other bike I owned as a kid.

Originally posted by Pete Clark
My Trek 1200 came with a warning from the manufacturers not to ride with no hands. They said it could "set up an harmonic vibration" :confused: that could cause loss of control of the bike.

What's up with that? I always could ride no hands on almost every other bike I owned as a kid.
This sounds to me like another we-don't-want-to-get-sued scare tactic from a manufacturer, along the lines of "Do not operate this answering machine while standing in water."

I guess Trek doesn't expect anybody to win the Tour de France on a 1200.... Giving the victory salute might set up "harmonic vibrations."

Mike,
Actually, Yorick is being pretty cooperative, even with his load of commuting paraphernalia. He does his job if I do mine. I practice some on every ride now. It is kind of exhilerating. I can ride no-hands until I decide to stop. I am still working on fine steering. I still have a tendency to oversteer, but I am getting better. No problem avoiding obstacles though I sometimes ride over bumps intentionally so I don't panic when I have no choice.
Regards,
Raymond