Fixed Gear Freestyle - How do you ride a bike without your hands on the handle bars?

My question, it seems no matter how I practice I cannot do it.

You're just not bicycle material. Keep riding. One of these days, the bike will become part of your arse......

Tell me you're trolling?

Your frame geo probably has too much trail (less stable) or some part of the front end is out of alignment.

I learned by going down a long mild hill and letting go, catching myself, and letting go again until I could finally do it. That said, being able to ride no hands is useful in determining if a frame or fork is out of alignment, because you wont be able to.

Balance, practice, balance, practice.... etc.

On my roadie, I'm able unclip to adjust my sidis on my handlebars using both hands. No seriously, it makes things interesting for the group midride when things get a bit bland.

Not trolling, I was inspired by a friend's 70 year old grandpa when I was a kid who would show off tying his keds while rounding a corner with both hands while on his old 10 speed.

Coasting makes everything easier.

Coasting makes everything easier.

It's a luxury that isn't needed through.

On fixed I can down a pbr and a chipotle burrito without touching the handlebars once.

I can't ride no hands with a freewheel but fixed it feelsgoodman

As a beginner I found it a lot easier to do it while pedaling.

You should use a bike with a lower center of gravity, like a BMX bike, that way you can more easily build up your balance and the penalty for failing is not as steep if any considering you can put down both feet with ease.

It's a luxury that isn't needed through.

On fixed I can down a pbr and a chipotle burrito without touching the handlebars once.

I want to do that, I an so envious of those people. They can take the crappiest bike out there and still ride without their hands. Personally, I wanna learn on a SS, because IDK how to brake on a FG.

I learned how to ride with no hands when I was like...9, don't remember. Just practice??

I never could. Put together a new bike -- Salsa Vaya -- and now I can. It must be in the geometry but I don't know how.

Some bikes it's easy, most it's just a matter of enough speed, and some seem impossible, either from design or misalignment.

I never learned as a kid, so I'm working on it now (at 31). It seems to be easiest on my fixed-gear mountain bike -- probably the healthy amount of trail keeping things stable and the constant "input" from my feet.

to quote "Highlander": B.A.L.A.N.C.E.......balance!

I want to do that, I an so envious of those people. They can take the crappiest bike out there and still ride without their hands. Personally, I wanna learn on a SS, because IDK how to brake on a FG.

It is not against the law to ride a FG with brakes, not sure if you knew that. I have front and rear brakes on mine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENi1SvEFqsQ

There's no secret.

Agree w/ hairnet, riding no hands is easier when pedaling. The pushing of the pedal can help you balance. If you are falling to the right, push harder on the left; falling the left, push harder on the right.

Also, try to get as tall as possible before letting go. When your posture is straight up you can move your weight left/right easier than hunched over. Hug the stem of your bike and get as tall as possible. Then get taller by only touching the bars with your fingertips only. You won't have much control over your handlebars then, forcing you to steer and balance with your body. Then, let go.

I can now take pictures and manually focus and change film all while riding my bike with no hands and its great. I enjoy seeing how far i can go no hands while in the city. also it makes it easier if you practice ride with one hand and then stake your other hand off and keep going on like that til you get it

My last SS had a terrible headset and I could never ride without hands for more than a few seconds. And something about the geometry on my cargo bike makes it impossible. But on every other bike I've owned I can ride no handed all day.

According to the prophecy of Merckx, you must seek the dark lord Lance in order to ride with no hands.

It's a luxury that isn't needed through.

On fixed I can down a pbr and a chipotle burrito without touching the handlebars once.

I think the most I've done is take off my backpack and check something inside it, then put it back on.


The only way to do it on fixed, for me, is to get a head of speed first. After that, you gotta do it confidently or not at all, lean back...lean back...lean back...

Here are some tips you can use.

1. get on a mountain bike or get larger tires, trying to learn how to ride no hands on a pair of 23c's is going to be a lot harder than if you were to learn while riding on 38c's the bigger the tire the easier it is to recover and balance.

2. get larger handle bars, although it may not seem like it matters it does.

3. Find your dominant hand (the one you write with) and then try steering the bike with that hand only.

4. once you get comfortable riding with one hand try riding in a more relaxed position and when you are ready take both hands off while riding on flat ground or a slight incline. If you do this keep both hands somewhat near your handlebars.

5. The key to riding no hands is balance and you will find that the better your posture is when you ride no hands the easier it is to steer the bike by this I mean the straighter you sit up the more control you will get.

6. Other tips, riding in wind with no hands is NOT RECOMMENDED !!!! Every year I see someone on campus get hurt riding without their hands. This usually occurs on windy days and usually they had something in their hands while they were riding. All it takes is one gust of wind to knock you off balance and if your hands aren't free then you will go straight to the ground.

I never could. Then I put together a new bike -- Salsa Vaya -- and now I can. It must be in the geometry but I don't know how or why.

6. Other tips, riding in wind with no hands is NOT RECOMMENDED !!!! Every year I see someone on campus get hurt riding without their hands. This usually occurs on windy days and usually they had something in their hands while they were riding. All it takes is one gust of wind to knock you off balance and if your hands aren't free then you will go straight to the ground.
this happened to me once. it was a cold day and i forgot my gloves so i had my hands in my pocket and then the wind blew and i just tipped over and landed on my side. This happened right infront of a bunch of people and it was so embarrassing. but lesson learned

I could ride no hands all day as a kid. But on my current bike, not so much. Makes me mad too. Plus I look like such a dufus when I practice it. Not sure if it's me or the bike. Could be the geometry or headset, also the seat feels different when I sit straight up like that to ride no hands - not as comfy for me.
I see lots of people wheeling around handsfree in Chicago but the roads are so crappy I don't think it's a great idea anyways. I imagine myself hitting a stealth pot hole while strapped in and riding no-hands... and it ain't pretty.

I see people biking around texting and talking on their phones a lot. These are probably the same people who tell me I need to be wearing a helmet. :rolleyes:

Never crossed my mind on my bmx bike, and now I can do it whenever I want. I think something is out of alignment though, because it pulls left pretty bed whenever I do it

My question, it seems no matter how I practice I cannot do it.

Not sure why, perhaps it a change in your center of gravity as you age, but while I could do it easily when I was a kid, I can't do it now at 43 to save my life :)

best advice is to trust in your balance and make sure to keep all your weight on the seat. dont try and balance by supporting your weight on the pedals.

My question, it seems no matter how I practice I cannot do it.

Frame alignment may be off. A properly aligned frame should ride "no hands" without problems.

Movement is key. Keep the bike moving at a good pace. If you're trying to do it while creeping real slow, you'll have a much harder time (even though it may seem safer to go slow). The front wheel wants to stay going straight when you're moving at a good pace. But when you come to a crawl, it wants to flop/turn sideways.

best advice is to trust in your balance and make sure to keep all your weight on the seat. dont try and balance by supporting your weight on the pedals.

This and +1 to using fatter tires to learn. If you're trying to balance by putting weight on the pedals, you will be constantly upsetting the balance of the bike and making it want to stray from a straight track. To adjust direction, you almost steer just by shifting weight on your hips, directly above the saddle. It's a direct, smooth, and predictable way to make small, quick corrections as needed.

Scary as it may be initially, speed is needed to increase stability. The wheels on a bike have a gyroscopic effect which increases with speed. If you practice, you should be able to no-hands anything but a damaged bike.

I almost feel as though it would be good practice (for a complete newby) to walk the bike with one hand on the saddle. Walk it that way and notice the way the front wheel reacts to your movements and speed changes etc. Try to walk it straight, etc etc. Just to give them the idea.

It's just a matter of balance. Once you let go, your body should be doing the rest automatically. Of course, if your frame or fork is a bit out of whack, then it'll be more difficult or almost impossible.

I'm surprised so many people have difficulty with this. After starting to ride again, it was weird at first but I got over that pretty quickly.

My wife still struggles, but she could do it if she really wanted to.

I can't picture riding long distances without it, it's just another position to have and the more riding positions I have the more enjoyable the ride is. It also gives me a chance to take my sunglasses off and really wipe the sweat off.

I'm surprised so many people have difficulty with this. After starting to ride again, it was weird at first but I got over that pretty quickly.

My wife still struggles, but she could do it if she really wanted to.

I can't picture riding long distances without it, it's just another position to have and the more riding positions I have the more enjoyable the ride is. It also gives me a chance to take my sunglasses off and really wipe the sweat off.

I can ride no-handed on my geared commuter for days, including while fully loaded with not-always-balanced panniers and/or while pedaling. But my FG? Maybe half a block is the farthest I've gotten. I dunno if it's the headset or the twitchy geometry or both, but it's really difficult. It just doesn't want to go straight.

I ride better with no hands. :lol:

I can ride no-handed on my geared commuter for days, including while fully loaded with not-always-balanced panniers and/or while pedaling. But my FG? Maybe half a block is the farthest I've gotten. I dunno if it's the headset or the twitchy geometry or both, but it's really difficult. It just doesn't want to go straight.

Less BB drop on the FG -> higher center of gravity -> more difficult to balance?

I noticed this when I learned to trackstand on my winter bike (olskool MTB conversion with high bb) and then went on to my summer roadbikeconversion with significantly lower BB. I could hold trackstands almost with no effort at all, having practised with a bike with higher BB.

Man, it is tough, I tried again this morning, I can go or a good 20 ft. then I jut lost the balance. I got the point of pedaling to help balance, but it is still a bit hard to do.

Your $140 bike most likely has shoddy alignment.

I ride better with no hands. :lol:
I feel the same way. If I could turn tight corners and maybe skid stop with no hands, I'd cut my hands off.

It's funny - I know I've said it elsewhere but sometimes when I'm climbing I'll let go of the bars, sit upright and power up the hill like I'm out to flatten it.

Your frame geo probably has too much trail (less stable) or some part of the front end is out of alignment.

More trail = greater stability.

Dave Moulton: Trail, fork rake, and a little bit of history (http://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com/blog/2007/5/4/trail-fork-rake-and-a-little-bit-of-history.html)

Not really practical advice but it just kind of happens after a certain amount of time.
Some people have better balance than others and will get it faster but I'm pretty sure almost anyone can do it. Practice on a long wide road without cars or people and try riding with only one hand. Practice until you can do no hands.
Another thing, when you're about to go no hands, don't take your hands of the bars slowly, do it surely and quickly. Then lean back as your going.

I can ride no-handed on my geared commuter for days, including while fully loaded with not-always-balanced panniers and/or while pedaling. But my FG? Maybe half a block is the farthest I've gotten. I dunno if it's the headset or the twitchy geometry or both, but it's really difficult. It just doesn't want to go straight.

Yeah, see I don't get this. As long as I'm up to a certain speed, no handing on a fixed gear is fine. Maybe it is the headset if the bike doesn't want to go straight. The only sketchy thing for me is no handing around a lot of cars, I usually do it when it's just open road.


It's funny - I know I've said it elsewhere but sometimes when I'm climbing I'll let go of the bars, sit upright and power up the hill like I'm out to flatten it.

I've done this before too and it's a different type of workout. But again, I wouldn't even attempt it unless I'm up to a certain speed, then it's kind of like a fun challenge. Gotta love catching up to geared riders going uphill with no hands.

Gotta love catching up to geared riders going uphill with no hands.

This! Last year I blew by two roadies cranking up a local bridge no handed and one of them yelled "Oh, **** you!" as I passed. :lol:

i buckle and unuckle my bag all the time in front of the shop, and i have taken a shirt off from under a jersey. It just works out for me, and some of my bikes have just been really stable. I have been lucky.

I usually can turn with no hands to, it is all in the hips to move your core around and balance yourself, kinda like dancing.