General Cycling Discussion - bike pulling when riding w/ no hands

hello forum folks:

when i ride my 1970s huffy sportsman (lightweight cruiser) with no hands, the bike pulls to the left. my concern is not so much that i want to ride around town with no hands all the time... the pull is strong enough that i can feel it when i have my hands on the bars. plus, i'd like to have a bike that rides straight and true.

any thoughts out there in forum land as to why this is happening? thanks in advance for your help.

Your fork may be bent or you wheel may not be true. But given the age and make of your bike, I'd say that it's probably a waste of money to pay someone to fix it. If you are handy enough to fix it yourself, you may want to give that a shot. Or look for a used bike on Craigslist that you can buy.

Check a few things first. Are your wheels seated correctly in the dropouts? Rear should be equidistant from the chainstays. Front should be snug in the dropouts. Are your wheels true? One that's often overlooked is the headset. Lift the front of the bike off the ground and slowly spin the front end back and forth while holding it by the stem (it's easier to feel irregularities without the leverage of a handlebar) is it tight someplace? When you drop the front end, does the headset rattle?

Finally, get a tape measure. Have a friend hold up the bike with the front wheel STRAIGHT. Measure from the front wheel to the rear axle on both sides. Are the lengths equal? If not, you've got a bent frame and your Huffy has huffed its last.

balance better