Hybrid Bicycles - Hybrids no-handed?

I find that riding my hybrid is much harder (impossible at the moment) for me to ride no-handed than my road bike ever was. Is this other people's experience as well? Is it the "slack geometry" perhaps? (Note: besides head tube angle I don't actually know what slack geometry refers to.)

It's a function of taking weight bias off the front wheel. I find, that it can be done by scooting forward on the seat, and/or placing a hand on the top tube, and applying weight.

I've no problem riding with no hands on my bike (Kona Dew FS).

My Trek 7.5 FX frame & fork - now fully customized component-wise - doesn't like to be ridden no hands. It's very skittish - just a slight touch will have turn 90-degrees. My PUCH has tight racing-geometry and also doesn't much care for no hands. But my 3-speed eats it up.

It's the opposite for me: very easy on the (comfort) hybrid and more difficult on the squirrelly hybridized road bike.

Part of the problem can be poor frame alignment or incorrect dish on one wheel so they do not run in line. I am always amazed to see how the pros can ride no handed while removing or putting on clothing etc.

I haven't managed to ride no handed for more than a couple of seconds...it's probably 90% fear of crashing. I used to ride any ole bike no handed for blocks as a teenager..

I can ride hands free on my comfort hybrid, beater MTB and the touring bike.

I can ride my bike with no handlebars. No handlebars. No handlebars.

I can ride my bike with no handlebars. No handlebars. No handlebars.

It was only a matter of time....

my fuji hybrid and my bent-fork old panasonic are very hard to ride no handed. dahon 26" folder is easier. The 1973 atalas thta I used to ride as a kid would ride no-handed for days.

It was only a matter of time....

I remember going to their concerts long before they hit mainstream. That is actually one of my least favorite songs of theirs.

My Marin Mill Valley has every handling quirk in the book. I can ride it no handed, but the front wheel might start to oscillate wildly side to side at a very high frequency, the whole frame gets into it. Crazily shuddering until I squeeze the top tube between my legs. If I'm really smooth and don't lean too far back, I can keep it from happening, but general avoid no handed riding on that bike. That freaks me out even when I do it on purpose. It's out of control.

On my other hybrid and my mtb, I find leaning back makes riding no handed easier, contrary to what Wanderer suggests, though his point about an unweighted front end would explain at least partially, the shimmy I experience with the Marin. I suppose a well aligned frame and well built wheels would be most important factors, after that, the ideal fore aft position may vary.

Part of the problem can be poor frame alignment or incorrect dish on one wheel so they do not run in line. I am always amazed to see how the pros can ride no handed while removing or putting on clothing etc.

In the middle of a huge peloton rolling along at 40kph!? Inches from several other riders. :eek:

Interesting. My daughter has a Marin Muirwoods and she rides no hands without problem.

In the middle of a huge peloton rolling along at 40kph!? Inches from several other ridersThe Blue Angels of cycling.

Interesting responses. I've been thinking that it's actually too *easy* to turn; I have the same problem as the above poster that it seems to want to turn far too easily; the old 10-speed in my memory at least was far more stable. Also wondering if the handlebars/stem have anything to do with it. The bars are cut down a bit to about 19", so I don't know about that. The stem's pretty long though, and everything up there is steel.

Then again, the 10 speed was likely steel, too. So who knows? Only reason I'm comparing to this mythical 10 speed is it's the only other bike I remember riding, besides my BMX-sized mini cruiser with the banana seat. :)

It's a function of taking weight bias off the front wheel.
WRONG. It's a function of trail & frame alignment.

WRONG. It's a function of trail & frame alignment.

Funny, but with my bike, simply sliding forward on the seat a couple inches, without changing any "alignment" or trail, my bike is perfectly stable no handed.

Sounds like what works for one, isn't necessarily the answer for the other...... Just maybe they are all different problems, unique to individual models.

i can't ride my 7.7 w/o hands.... it literally veers in another direction the second i take both hands off of it...

i barely recall riding w/o hands on my 7.2... but i could be wrong... i had that bike for such short time that i barely remember what color it was :D LOLOL

I've no problem riding with no hands on my bike (Kona Dew FS).
Well, it seems that there is a wobble with no hands -- at about 30 km/hr. :eek:

Gotta love the speed wobbles, eh!?

I use a zero offset seatpost and push my saddle all the way forward. Wanderer uses a setback post and has his saddle pushed all the way back. Guess which of us needs to move backwards and which of us needs to move forward to find the balance point?

Looks like you either have a time trial bike or a bike of the wrong size? If you're riding with your seat all the way forward, you must have a lot of pressure/weight on your hands, no?

Gotta love the speed wobbles, eh!?

I use a zero offset seatpost and push my saddle all the way forward. Wanderer uses a setback post and has his saddle pushed all the way back. Guess which of us needs to move backwards and which of us needs to move forward to find the balance point?

Ha,,,,, never even noticed that - maybe it is a function of weight bias..... i.e., the balance point.

Just as a point of information, that setback post is OEM, and a Brooks B-17 has very little fore aft adjustment. It's not even quite as far back as the OEM saddle was, but just very slightly forward of all the way back.

Looks like you either have a time trial bike or a bike of the wrong size? If you're riding with your seat all the way forward, you must have a lot of pressure/weight on your hands, no?

I suffer from patella femoral syndrome which necessitates a high forward saddle position. More so on a slack angled hybrid than a time trial bike. Plumb bob from nose of saddle 2 1/4" behind center of BB.

OEM? Meaning stock? I thought that was a Thomson. Setback seatpost is an unusual spec.

Original Equipment Manufacturer.. yep, you got it right.

I have no problem riding my bike handsfree. Will probably end up crashing since I said that.

WRONG. It's a function of trail & frame alignment.

I was just reading this thread and noticed how polite and courteous the replies were until I got to this one :(

I'd have to agree. It's almost impossible to ride my hybrid with no hands, eg while I'm attempting to fasten my helmet straps. I used to do it easily on mountain bikes when I was a child and in my teens.

I've never ridden on a road bike, besides my dad's for about 5 minutes when I was 13 :D

i do it all the time....one of the reasons i am so slow to change bars or get bar ends, as if i get discomfort or anything in the hands, i just no hands it a while, shake 'em out, stretch, or just act goofy. honestly i have not yet had any problems no-hands on any bike so far....famous last words, right?

It's not that hard on my 7.6fx. It used to start pulling in one direction as soon as I took my hands off but now I can ride indefinitely in a straight line and go through slight turns no hands so long as the surface is flat and there's no wind.

But it's much easier on an mtb.

Like Flash and Alky, I seem to be able to ride no hands for about as long as I want. I can stretch, put my arms over my head, or behind my back. I don't think it's because I'm particularly athletic anymore, I just think the bike (Gary Fisher Utopia) is really well balanced. I do seem to end up leaning back and slouching to the left a little, and it seems easier when I'm actually pedaling rather than coasting. Don't know why, and don't want to over-think it!