northernlights

On my full size hybrid bike I do it to give myself an occasional break. I can ride with no hands for several minutes at a time and even make 90 degree turns with no hands. On longer rides I like to go no hands every 15 to 20 minutes or so to relieve the pressure in my wrists, shoulders and lower back.

But on my Tern Link D8 folding bike I'm afraid to do it because as soon as I let my hands go it feels like I'm going to tip over. So I'm afraid if I let go of the handlebars for more than 2 seconds I'm going to be doing a faceplant on the sidewalk. Probably because of the stability of the full size tires on a hybrid bike its very easy for me to go no hands even going up and down hills and turning 90 degrees with no hands. But on a folding bike with much smaller 20 inch wheels it feels not so stable. The high mounted handlebars and seat also probably raises the center of gravity which doesn't help the stability either.

Can it be done safely? Has anyone ever tried?

towndock

I think you're right that folders in general are less suited for no hands riding, but there can't be a single yes/no answer for all folding bikes (any more than there is a single answer for any type of bike). It depends what folding bike. Short wheelbase folders are likely too twitchy. Some have a longer wheelbase and may be OK. Frame / fork geometry will define no hands stability too. Agreed that small tire size doesn't help.

It does seem you have an answer on your Tern.

Nightdiver

I would guess that the difference between your hybrid and folder is a combination of trail differences and gyroscopic effect of the larger wheel. Your center of gravity is the same, or possibly slightly lower, depending on the bottom bracket height and riding posture. But once you adjust to the smaller wheels, riding no hands is easy enough.

jur

That depends almost entirely on the geometry of the fork. Folding bikes due to small wheels have less trail. Unfortunately due to ignorance or for fashion reasons, folders still have rake which cancels out trail, so smallwheelers can end up with hardly any trail, which is essential for no-hands riding. Small wheels can be ridden no hands, if geometry allows it. I can do it comfortably on my Ti Swift, which geometry I designed, but can't do it on my Xootr Swift, with its factory geometry, with otherwise identical components on the rest of the bike.

bhkyte

The gyrospcoic effect keeping bikes stable theory was debunked in the 70's by bikes that had contra rotating and /or 90 degree wheels that where perfectly ridable. It has only a minor effect and smaller wheels have potentially greater gyrosopic effect anyway?

Geometry is the main factor. Most folders dont have much forward reach on the stem or trail. In aDdition to shorter wheel bases in many cases. Smaller wheels will be more difficult to aviod flopping towards 90 degrees due to their weight distribution afaik. 20 inch BMX bikes are harder to ride no handed I used to find than road bikes. But one soon finds it secound nature.

The birdie is one notable exception as the front suspenion design NEEDS the weight of the upper body to stabilitise the steering from vibration feedback. Dont ride a Birdie no handed except at slower speeds where no handed is difficult anyway. Else you get massive speed wobbles.

tudorowen1

If you have half-a-mind too you certainly can ride a folding bike with no hands..but then you would only have half a mind..

The good news is though you will not need to wear a cycling helmet if you do ride with no hands....because you haven't got any brains to protect....

Nightdiver

I don't really get too much into the physics of bike riding, but from what I've read, the tests that have looked at the gyroscopic effect have only found that it's not responsible for keeping the bike upright. I haven't seen them claim that the gyroscopic effect is absent or doesn't influence the riding of the bike though. More recent tests have also used zero trail bike models, so also eliminating trail from the equation of keeping the bike upright. Of course we all know how trail can impact handling. The weight of the wheels is an interesting idea. The whole handling difference between smaller and larger wheels is quite interesting. Do you have more info on that?

bhkyte

Hi no real information on this idea about small size flop. I am not an engineer either. My theory is that larger wheels have weight further from the axis that they pivot on and therefore are better counterweighted to avoid flop against the direction of travel. I dont know if this or something simular, such as weight distribution, is a valid rationale. One of the engineers could enlighten. Seems to work in tennis rackets to stabile the racket. Some manufactors centralise weight to either side of the sweet spot frame area to increase stablisation of the head against twisting.

HGR3inOK

I agree. In the late 1950s, I rode my 20" Schwinn on unpaved country roads with no hands. The length of a hands-free ride was determined by the smoothness of the road. On paved surfaces, riding hands-free in a straight line was pretty easy.

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

fietsbob

Your (insecure) sense that it cannot, will be a limitation .

prathmann

Not too hard to ride no-handed on my Bike Friday - feels about the same as my Cannondale road bike. Neither is as stable feeling as a cruiser or hybrid type of bike which generally have a geometry that favors stability over quick handling.

bhkyte

Yes yoda.

iamclaus

I found riding with two panniers on the front (~5kg each) improved my ability to ride without hands. I can manage close to 8 seconds with the panniers. An improvement from the unloaded 5 seconds.

keyven

Safely? Well, not as safely at a 26" or bigger wheel. I'm sure you can, but it only takes an oversized pebble or hard-to-see bump to really screw up your day.

tudorowen1

Is this thread rather a silly one..Why would any adult want to ride no-handed...? This is not a thing that anyone wants to encourage..
WHAT WOULD YOU THINK IF THIS THREAD WAS ABOUT HOW FAR CAN YOU DRIVE YOUR CAR WITH NO HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL..?
For goodness sake find something sensible to talk about!

Sixty Fiver

My daughter would ride with no hands a block at a time... if I let her... on her Raleigh 20.

(I modified the headset on the Raleigh as the stock setup does not allow for no handed riding).

Amt0571

I can do it with my Dahon Mu as long as I keep a slightly higher speed than on a regular bike.

invisiblehand

Sure. It's a bit harder. But yes it can be done.

Jerrys88

This reminded me: When I was a kid, I decided to see what it would be like to ride no-handed AND eyes shut. Seconds later my neighbor's mailbox was was facing his house instead of the street and I had a big bump on my forehead. My biggest concern was that nobody was around to witness my stupid misadventure. Still, it is liberating to be able to be able to ride no-handed on a stable bike (with eyes open!).

I've noticed my 20" Dahon can be ridden a short distance no-handed at moderate speed, whereas it was impossible on my 16" Brompton, but still, it doesn't feel all that stable.

bhkyte

It may be an often repeated topic for a thread,
But there are many valid reasons for riding no handed. If you are not exposing anyone else to danger. Many cyclist will ride no handed for a posture change. I do it when sometimes when there is no danger to others. Ie deserted minor country roads or off road. Performing and learning bike stunts have no purpose, but they are fun to learn and people make their own judgements about risks. Wheeling is great fun to master but I frown on idiots doing it in traffic. Fun is what cycling is about. Rolling backwards no handed is one of the hardest things I ever tried on a BMX bike. Gangs of us used to do one handed no footed wheelies. Its about fun. Sometimes. I was not a brave or risky BMX cyclist, but I enjoyed mastering skills so they became routine.

Others are interested in the effects of the geometry that make this harder for small wheeled bikes.

bhkyte

Its certainly not impossible to ride a Brompton no handed. Just difficult. Low straight bars seem to far better ime. Not had any difficulty on a 20 inch folder that I can remember.

ThorUSA

used to be a Spanish ( ? ) music video on you tube .. a guy riding a dahon boardwalk while paying guitar and singing .. actually not all that bad singing ..lol

but NO I sure don't suggest to do that
thor

rreis

me and the wife did it on our bromptons last weekend. She can do it for a longer time - in the order of minutes. Smooth pavement helps. And pratice also. Very practical to be able to do it now and then and fun for sure!

jur

Riding a bike no-hands is not to be compared to driving a car no-hands. If the bike's geometry allows it, you retain steering control of the bike through balance movements. Obviously there is no such control with a car. So it is perfectly sensible. Bike handling skills is an important topic.

cplager

I ride my Cruzigami folding bike with 20" wheels a lot. I've gone 1/2 a mile without touching the handlebars.

Of course, it's not quite fair as I can steer with my feet...