Fifty Plus (50+) - Who rides with "No Hands?"

I see the occasional trail rider whizzing along with no hands on the handlebars. Just the other day a guy who looked to be in his mid-60s and in great shape, blew past me with his arms on his lap.

And then there is Solveg's new avatar, which should have a disclaimer on it of "Do not try this at home"

I'm a real chicken when it comes to this. I did it in my teens, but haven't tried it for years. I have the image in my mind of me taking my hands off for like two seconds and my bike careening off into the ditch. So I haven't tried it for even a tenth of a second this year. Of course most of my riding is on graveled trails, and riding "no hands" strikes me as foolish when one is on gravel.

Do you ride with "No Hands" on your handlebars? If so, how long can you do so? 10 seconds? 60 seconds? For pretty much as long as you want to?

how long can you do so?

Depends on how far from where I start the ditch is :eek:

I can do it, and choose not to. Not because of some weirdo safety thingy reason, but because I have an active 'coward gene'. Never tried for more than long enough to stretch my arms (and scare the lad silly) so I don't know for how long, but it probably wouldn't be much longer before the brain cell realised what was happening and tried to toss me into the weeds.

I saw a bloke cruising along in heavy traffic the other day, no hands, hands busy doing something though I forget what it was. He came right through an intersection (with the lights) and disappeared behind me, all with his hands off the bars. That guy is NUTS.

Richard

Do I?....Not often.
Can I? ...Yes, on everything except the 'bent for as far as I want
though I haven't re-learned to negotiate the 90 degree
corners yet. That'll come with a little more saddle time.

It's nice to be able to let go of the bars and stretch the shoulders
out every 10 miles or so.

I do occasionally on the road or touring bike. I do more often on the mountain bike on a paved road.

Also, I have a scar over my upper lip and a set of crowns on my front teeth that are a direct result of riding with no hands...and this happened as a full grown adult in the 70's on a Campy equipped Raleigh....on a nice level road where the front tire hit something. To this day I know not what I hit. I only know I went over the handlebars real quick like.

So I'm not real inclined to ride much without hands.

I can't ride "no hands" for more than a few seconds...so I don't do it ever. It's beyond me how people can ride for minutes on end with no hands.

I can ride "no hands" for an indefinite amount of time, limited by things like traffic or steep hills (more downhill than uphill, it turns out). Some of it is just practice, some of it might be natural sense of balance (I don't think so) but I think that the bike makes a lot of difference. I have owned bikes that track really well and some that did not track as well. It is easiest if you sit upright, by the way.

-soma5

I suspect that some of us show a touch of age in the innear ear area. I used to be able to ride a very long distance this way but in spite of trying I find myself unable to do it any more. But then I find it hard to stand on one foot with a finger on my nose either, or to walk on a balance beam.

I still try to take one special ride a week, not to go any distance but just to play on a dead end street. I chase acorns, practice weaving back and forth at increasing angles or even standing on the pedals. Like an old dog, I can't get a handle on new things with the bike unless I develope some sort of muscle memory by practice.

I could never ride no hands when I was a kid. Started trying it last year, for seconds at a time. I can now ride for many minutes at a time, around corners, while eating, adjusting clothes, etc.
I started trying cause I got tired of stopping to eat, or unzip jersey, etc.

I have never been able to ride "no hands". I've tried on road, cyclocross, mtn bike. It's a skill that I just can't seem to get.

Perhaps seeing my wife, when we were dating, hit a railroad track while riding "no hands" and go down hard has something to do with it. Fortunately she wasn't seriously hurt. Ever since then she has never been able to ride "no hands" either. That was 33 years ago.

I can't even pee with "no hands" anymore.

I do it all of the time. It is easier to do the faster you are going, it just takes some practice. I am now proficient at removing a wind breaker while riding at +20mph behind a pack. Riding no hands is a good way to stretch your back a bit. I have not been able to master the act of unclipping one leg at a time and stretching it back behind your saddle.

It depends a lot on the bike and the amount of "trail" the bike has. I can do it, but don't feel comfortable, especially on the roadies.

From Sheldon Brown, of course:

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_tp-z.html#trail

"Trail

Trail is the distance from the contact point of the front wheel with the riding surface to the intersection of the steering axis (head tube) with the surface. The trail is a function of the head angle, the fork rake, and the tire diameter. Trail has a major effect on the handling of a bicycle. More trail increases the bicycle's tendency to steer straight ahead. A bicycle with a largish trail dimension will be very stable, and easy to ride "no hands". A bicycle with a smaller trail dimension will be more manuverable and responsive."

Never. I have a full, rich life, and I want to keep having it.

I will, on my road bike, for just a few yards sometimes, but not for any length of time. My mtn.bike, maybe because of geometry or whatever, doesn't take well to being ridden with no hands (you'd think the head angle would be slacker, so maybe it's the knobby tires.)

I suspect that some of show a touch of age in the innear ear area. I used to be able to ride a very long distance this way but in spite of trying I find myself unable to do it any more. But then I find it hard to stand on one foot with a finger on my nose either, or to walk on a balance beam.

I still try to take one special ride a week, not to go any distance but just to play on a dead end street. I chase acorns, practice weaving back and forth at increasing angles or even standing on the pedals. Like an old dog, I can't get a handle on new things with the bike unless I develope some sort of muscle memory by practice.

+1, I do the same thing now, I've been trying the no hands thing and seeing how long I can stop without putting my foot down. Also making very tight turns.

Wow, I never got the hang of riding without hands either.

soma5 makes a good point about it being easier depending on the bike geometry.

I commute on a folder with 20" wheels. If you can ride that without hands you have my respect!

I can track stand indefinately, though....

How the bike is setup in terms of weight distribution can make a huge difference in ability to ride no hands. Experiment with it for yourself. It can be like two completely different bikes. Many people are just too far forward on their bikes to be able to easily ride no hands. Try saddle a bit further back, even if you have to shorten your stem accordingly.

I've always felt that even if you don't ride no hands, a bike setup in such a way that it allows it is generally a better bike for most riding.

I only rided no hands long enough to complete a specific task, such as removing arm warmers.

I do it rather a lot. Wind conditions and speed are the limiting factors.

I only rided no hands long enough to complete a specific task, such as removing arm warmers.

I totally agree. I can ride no hands but only actually do it when taking off a jacket, removing or putting on sunglasses, re-folding my route-sheet as the ride progresses, or taking the wrapper off an energy bar.

All of these are relatively short-duration tasks, so a very small part of any ride is "no hands."

Rick / OCRR

On the Madone, no problem...I regularly do it to eat, put on/take off jackets, etc. With a little practice and a wide enough road, you can even do U-turns with no hands.

On the TT bike - no way. It's far too twitchy.

On the new Surly LHT build, with it's long wheelbase, I could probably ride no hands all day.

Only on surfaces I've been over many times or can see clearly well ahead, and only if there are no bikes or people anywhere near me, and only to do tasks or give my back and arms a break on long rides.

I do for very short lengths of time, seconds in fact, just when I need to unzip the jersey or open a stuck water bottle nipple. But, only when it's safe, ie: no cars coming or unsafe roads etc. I have noticed it depends on the bike geometry as to how sensitive or touchy the steering is.

knotty

Do you ride with "No Hands" on your handlebars? If so, how long can you do so? 10 seconds? 60 seconds? For pretty much as long as you want to?

As other posters, it depends on the bike. The Bacchetta recumbent will not tolerate hands off and is pretty unhappy even with a single hand. Same with the Giant Stiletto chopper. The Hard Rock can take brief periods of hands free riding, but it's not happy. Ah, but then I get to the American Eagle/Nishiki. You can ride hands free all day!(Assuming you don't have to brake or shift gears ;) )

I must have very responsive bikes - they react immediately and drastically with the removal of my hands. As a teenager riding a Raleigh Rodeo muscle bike with ape bars and bannana seat I was able to ride without hands for several seconds and do passable wheelies.


It depends a lot on the bike and the amount of "trail" the bike has. I can do it, but don't feel comfortable, especially on the roadies.

From Sheldon Brown, of course:

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_tp-z.html#trail

"Trail

Trail is the distance from the contact point of the front wheel with the riding surface to the intersection of the steering axis (head tube) with the surface. The trail is a function of the head angle, the fork rake, and the tire diameter. Trail has a major effect on the handling of a bicycle. More trail increases the bicycle's tendency to steer straight ahead. A bicycle with a largish trail dimension will be very stable, and easy to ride "no hands". A bicycle with a smaller trail dimension will be more manuverable and responsive."

LOL! I see the Recumbent folks have chimed in. What a paradox they are! My Rans needs so little correction, but hands off....Heck NO! She just wants a lite carress from time to time to keep her moving in the right direction. This allows me to sip my coffee on my Sunday Morning Canal Path Rides.

Now my MTB and my Tandem are VERY stable hands off. I rarely do this on the tandem due to stoker requirements and safety of two people. On some longer rides on the MTB I've gotten my back straightened out and hands off and can ride for a fair distance on good trail or pavement.

This depends so much on the bike and as other have said, the "trail" of the fork itself.

Being that I have a stoker in training on a 1/2 bike, the little guy picks up so much from me when I ride. The first time I "STOOD" on the pedals he asked, Pa Paw, Can I try that too? LOL! I'm afraid of what else he might pick up from me!

Chris

I can only ride no-hands on my Atlantis, so far (remember when I first got it, and I said it almost steers itself?). I do it when I'm so happy riding that I'm just compelled... I think I could do it on my Bridgestone... I've done it for small distances, but it has a woman's brooks on it and I quickly discovered I used the nose of the saddle to balance!

It was one of my goals for the summer, and the first time I did it was on a gravel road, but it was hard pack. I never really thought about actually getting hurt doing it...maybe I should wear a mouthguard!

I think I'd be scared to do it on bikes where there was a drop to the bars....it seems so long to get to the bars. I'll work on that next year!

I love riding no-hands. I think it's the best feeling in the world. I suppose I can do it for a couple minutes at a time, so far. But what's this about lifting your leg back???

The one thing I don't like about my LWB recumbent is that you can't ride with no hands. It just doesn't work. bk

When I go out on longer(5+hours) rides, I take a 70oz camelback and two 22oz waterbottles. I fill the camelback and 1 waterbottle full of ice and fill both with water. I drink the ice water bottle first cause it stays cold ~ 1 hour, then I start on the camelback. I finish the water in the camelback @ ~ 3.5 hours after I started riding, but there is still unmelted ice in the camelback. I still have one waterbottle of warm water, so how do I get the warm water in the camelback so I have cold water to drink? I unstrap the camelback, but it on backwards meaning I put it on my chest, I unscrew the top of the camelback, take the 2nd waterbottle out of it's cage, pour it into the camelback, screw the top back on the camelback, put the waterbottle back, and put the camelback back on my back, all without using any hands on the handlebars. Voila! Cold water, no stopping.

One day I was in a luthier's shop talking with him about guitar stuff and I marveled at how a guitarist can change a string on the fly during a performance. He knew I'm a cyclist and responded by asking me if I could change my jacket while I was riding. I told him sure, I could probably take all my clothes off while I'm riding:eek:.

Point being if you do something long enough and often enough, it just becomes second nature.

I do it rather a lot. Wind conditions and speed are the limiting factors.
+1
Never in a crosswind. My 60 cm frames and 100+ cm wheelbase helps. On long rides it's a good way to sit up and relax core muscles.

I would if I could. But I can't so I don't.

I ride no hands some of the time. I only do it on reasonably good pavement. I don't try it when there's other traffic (bike, car, or ped) nearby. I'm trying to get good enough to be able to do two hands stuff while riding. It also gives me another riding position on my road bike. :)

I have never found a bike that I couldn't ride no handed. I have never tried it on a bent, though. The key is to have no fear. You steer with your knees. Just put a slight amount of pressure on the top tube, in the direction you want to go. I love being able to stretch out my back and take a little pressure off the privates every hour or so. I just try and avoid doing it in traffic. It is kind of difficult to stop no handed:)

Never. I have a full, rich life, and I want to keep having it.

+1

I had neither the coordination nor the self-confidence required for no-hands riding 45 years ago, and the situation has never changed.

I have never found a bike that I couldn't ride no handed. I have never tried it on a bent, though. The key is to have no fear. You steer with your knees. Just put a slight amount of pressure on the top tube, in the direction you want to go. I love being able to stretch out my back and take a little pressure off the privates every hour or so. I just try and avoid doing it in traffic. It is kind of difficult to stop no handed:)

You put pressure on the top tube? Do you touch it every time you pedal? I found I kind of apply pressure on the long nose of the brooks with my thigh, but I'll try your top tube method...

I can ride no hands all day on my number one bike and about 10 seconds on my number two. Obviously the first bike fits me and rides great. I usually sit up and ride no hands while I take a drink or eat something, also when my hands get tired. No big deal.

I ride no hands occasionally, not too far, but it helps stretch out my back and arms. Plus it takes me back to the way I rode as a kid.

no hands = no teeth = no way

I ride no hands to take a break, get a drink, eat some apricots, rest the hands, rest the derrière, rest the back etc. I'm not sure I'd try to remove a jacket while riding perchance that I got tangled and be unable to reach the bars in time to avert disaster.

I ride no hands occasionally, not too far,

Et tu DG?

I was counting on you being on the chicken side of this subject.

I can't even pee with "no hands" anymore.

pssssssssssssssst.......that's what viagra is for


ROLL TIDE

Sorry, I just couldn't resist.

I remember my first week-long bike tour back in '97 (a ride across Nevada, from the California border to the Utah border).

The last day of riding featured blue skies with gorgeous cumulus clouds, and impressive 13,000+ foot mountains in Great Basin National Park.

I realized I'd gotten pretty comfy on the bike when I found myself sitting up taking photos at the back of a paceline going down a slight incline at 30+ mph. Besides the no hands, you have to be a bit careful using the zoom feature on the camera. :D

I've used this same technique many times since...you can get some very dramatic shots (especially early in the morning when the shadows are long). You just have to be careful to be well off the back of the line, and be aware of traffic.

And, unlike the fearful answer posted above...I still have all my teeth. :rolleyes:

When I switced from my Lemond to my Litespeed I immediately could tell the difference in handeling and riding with no hands. I use gatorade bottles to drink from, so when getting a drink I sit up ride no hands and unscrew the lid and get my drink. I really think I could ride it for miles if I wanted to. I have gotten so used to it I have to be watchful and not do it when passing others going the other way. I don't think there is any danger, it just probably doesnt' look good. Sometimes I just can't help a littlel wheelie too.

Think of it as one more position on the bike...and the more positions you can find, the more comfort you can find. Good for housekeeping on the bike, stretching the back, resting the hands, rolling the shoulders, looking cool. Easier to learn and feel confident on relaxed geometry, long wheel base bikes and at moderate speeds. Like so many other things, really sitting up and not being hunched over ready to grab for the bars--committing oneself --gets you better balance and straighter cruising. Another bike skill worth learning if possible.

You put pressure on the top tube? Do you touch it every time you pedal? I found I kind of apply pressure on the long nose of the brooks with my thigh, but I'll try your top tube method...
Same difference. It is really the weight shift that turns you. I really only touch the top tube when I am doing a sharp turn.

Same difference. It is really the weight shift that turns you. I really only touch the top tube when I am doing a sharp turn.

+1. It's a matter of (sounds esoteric) steering with your butt by leaning just a bit. The bike will turn. It will also roll over some surprizing bumps and stay very stable. The more relaxed you are (a kind of irony) the better you can steer the bike by torquing with your butt.

I ride no handed quite frequently. Always have, since I was kid.

i do. always have. great for stretching, drinking, eating, relaxing. never really gave it much thought.

be,
and be well,

jim

If I rode "no handed" to get in my stretching, adjusting, drinking, shaking my hands, rolling my shoulders, etc., it would ruin several perfectly good reasons for stopping.