v6v6v6

Captain Spaulding brought this up during our LA ride... I'm not able to and I certainly miss it.

rhm

Thanks for mentioning this; I've been meaning to start a thread about this myself. But to v6v6v6 and anyone else who replies: Please tell us, for the sake of comparison, what folder you CAN'T ride hands-free, versus what other bike(s) you CAN ride hands-free.

I used to commute on a Nashbar MTB frame with a non-suspension fork that I modified with a piece of machined brass that raised the front of the frame about 1.5" up the fork steerer tube -- in other words, effectively making the fork blades longer, or effectively relaxing the frame angles. On that bike I could do my whole 5 mile ride to the train station without touching the handlebars except to change gears, brake, etc.

On my Strida, I cannot ride no-hands; haven't even tried very hard, it's too twitchy.

On my Downtube Mini, I could ride no-hands marginally as originally set up; I improved that by changing the front tire to to a Schwalbe big apple (fattest tire available) and the rear to a Primo comet (thinnest available); now I can ride no hands pretty well but not as well as on my old commuter bike.

Raleigh Twenty, could not ride no-hands as originally set up, but I straightened the fork (reduced the trail a little) (as recommended by Jur, I think) and this made it possible to ride no-hands as well; but again, not as well as on my old commuter bike.

Bacciagalupe

I can't ride hands-free on either my Swift or Dahon.

I don't "miss it," but it's an indicator of the excessive responsiveness of those (particular?) bikes, which IMO makes them unsuitable for three specific purposes: fast group rides, long distance rides, and some types of touring.

werewolf

"Are you able to ride your folder w/o hands?"

I've never been good at riding ANY bike no hands. I attribute that to being top heavy - short legs, big upper body (not to mention being naturally clumsy). I couldn't even think about riding my skittish small-wheeler no handed.

Foldable Two

Yes and No.

I can ride my Bike Friday NWT hands-free, but not my Dahon Boardwalk S1.

However, since we ride in crowded city situations, or on questionable pavement much of the time, I do not find it practical or safe to do so.

jur

Swift - no, too little trail I suspect.
R20 - Y, as mentioned above
Mini - Y, suprisingly well on original tyres, but haven't tried with the new Big Apples yet. From a pure geometry POV, the trail should increase with bigger tyres, so I expect it to be easier still. Then with wider tyres, there is also an improvement.

Don't know about Connie's Reach and Yeah.

Over here it is against the law to ride no-hands. Dunno why, over-protective law-givers?

gazer

My NWT: Currently ride no-hands for pretty short distances. With more practice, maybe a bit longer and more confidently.

Not great compared to my old Schwinn Sierra (circa '89), on which I'd see how few times I could touch my handlebars on a former 5-mile commute route. (Typically late at night with no traffic... including obeying stop lights and such). It was in the low single digits.

Herb

With adequate speed I can go no hands on my Dahon MuP8. I just tried it today!

4cmd3

I cannot ride my Dahon Helios P8 no-handed.
Then again I haven't ridden anything no-handed, except my fixed indoor cycle.

vik 

I can ride my Tikit hands free. It isn't as stable hands free as my touring bike, but then that's no surprise.

DLBroox

Can't ride the Dahon Curve no hands. What about standing? I've wanted to try but when I have, it feels like either I'll pitch forward or the bike will come apart.

Hope I'm not hijacking the thread...

LittlePixel

Can't ride my Raleigh Twenty or Brompton no-hands - both a bit too responsive though some of it is likely fear having not done it for about 20 years...

sahadev

DT IX - Sort of, if I really need to and really pay attention
R20 - No, with RST suspension fork. Yes, with fixed recumbent fork, but wobbly.
Bridgestone MB - Yes.

Every bike I have ever owned has wanted to veer to the left when I ride w/o hands. Why on earth would that be? The frames were fine(string tested them), so it has to be me.

How can I weigh myself one side at a time? That has to be it, one of my legs (and arms?) is probably much heavier than the other!! I'll try standing on the scale one leg at a time.

stevegor

I can ride my R20..The Wasp, no hands no problem, but I'm better at riding...NO BRAINS


....fair dinkum, what a strange question to post...I can see folder people all over the globe going over the handle bars in doomed attempts trying to achieve this....why not something more sane like "Who can pace the fastest behind a truck"?

charles vail

Now I know why cyclists these days feel the overwhelming need to wear a Styrofoam cushion on their head! Keep your hands on the bars.

jur

I must say, I don't see the danger in riding no-hands as long as the road is smooth and the bike is stable.

nigelme

For some unfathomable reason I sometimes try to put gloves on whilst still peddling - I think it would waste time to stop - It always turns out to be dangerous rigmarole where both hands come off the bars.

Generally though, I don't see any advantage in losing steering control, even if it does look cool.

My brief test results for 'no hands' :-
Downtube IX and Moulton - Can
Brompton and Dahon - Can't

James H Haury

Yes I can it requires a smooth road and a wide saddle. Fat tires help too.

rhm

Yeah, yeah. The question was are you able to do something, not whether you make a habit of it.

I asked the same question in the Recumbent forum and there, too, was advised never to ride any bicycle no-hands. Yeah, yeah. The question I have, before I try out a new type of bike is: is it a safe design? Is it a good design? Is it stable? Whether or not you can ride it no-hands is a good gauge of stability.

In my opinion a bicycle should be stable enough that it can be steered by balance alone. This should be a basic requirement for any bicycle design. In the case of the Strida I'm willing to make an allowance because it's such a radical design and it folds up so well; in the case of the others, I take it as evidence that the designers didn't know what they were doing.

Nachoman

Yes for short distances on a Bike Friday Pocket Rocket.

EastBiker

LOL

Jagee

I can ride briefly w/no hands on my R20. Not enough to look around too much or have a drink.

The real question, though, is one posed by Littlepixel: Can anyone go no-paws on a window sill while remaining in attack mode for an extended amount of time?

What a great shot!

charles vail

The fact that you can't ride some bicycles no hands has nothing to do with the qualifications of the designer and has more to do with rake and trail or alignment, not to mention, rider weight distribution and skill. Even tire size can affect the ability to ride no hands. My recumbent is very stable at speed but I can't take my hands off the bars and I don't bother trying.

SesameCrunch

Downtube Mini - Yes, pretty comfortably now, especially with the Big Apples.

Merc - No, maybe for 5 ft before I have to grab on again.

Dahon Helios - Yes.

Strida - Wouldn't dream of trying

Downtube/Cruzbike recumbent - Starting to experiment with hands-free. The issue here is the Front Wheel Drive design, and not the trail of the bike, which is stable. With the FWD, when I pedal, the legs affect steering. I'm just starting to get a feel for hands-free, though.

SesameCrunch

Lighten up, Frances!



(Obscure movie reference - two points to the first person who can identify the movie that made this line famous.)