monkeyography

This is not a safety discussion, it is obviously dangerous and you are obviously asking for it.

But I'm curious, what factors make one bike easier to ride with no hands than another? I was riding a hybrid around campus for a year and could go for minutes at a time, round corners, follow paths, etc. I have a road bike now and it feels much twitchier so I only sit up to roll my sleeves or stretch for a second.

Being very familiar with the bike is obviously necessary.
Does tire width matter?
Circumference?

My theory is the chainstay length. It was 44.5cm on the hybrid, which is basically touring geometry. The road bike is 43cm.

operator

Everything. Frame geometry.

dobovedo

Pedaling

Abneycat

Head tube angle and fork offset are important. Your road bike feels much twitchier, likely because its *designed* twitchier, with more aggressive steering geometry.

https://www.momentumplanet.ca/ecstati...anic/what-fork

This explains it fairly well, I think.

markhr

look up fork rake and trail on the interweb - lots of stuff out there about what makes a bike stable for hands free riding

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=fork+rake+trail

DataJunkie

That and your balance.

I lost my amusement with no hands riding when I was a kid. Not even sure if I can do it or not.
Track standing is more entertaining but I still suck at it.

GlassWolf

I dunno. I have a road bike, cromo frame, 700x19c slicks, a disc on the back, and I can coast, pedal, corner, and nearly stop without hands on the bars. I think it's more a matter of good balance.

my headset is slicker than greased owl sh** too so it's not like it stays straight on it's own. I have trouble even pushing that bike along without touching the bars, because they like to turn at the slightest twitch.. so it isn't that.

rm -rf

If your frame is out of alignment, it could pull to one side.

monkeyography

Neat, thanks. I was just curious. I was riding hands-free because my backpack was 15lbs with books and laptop so it felt much better sitting upright than having all that on my spine. When I ride unburdened the desire to sit ramrod upright goes away.

Whatsisname

unless you have another bike with a different fork rake you can't be sure its you or your bike.

Also, having a stiffer headset will make it harder to ride no handed than one thats free to turn. Over tighten your headset so its hard to turn and it will be nearly impossible to stay balanced, hands or not.

wahoonc

May I suggest a rack for the load? I used to use a backpack and did for a few years. The rack is a major improvement in rider comfort IMHO.

Aaron

dobovedo

I have noticed that all my bikes have a different degree of 'comfort' when riding no-handed. However, NONE of them are perfectly balanced. My Trek hybrid is the worst, and is almost unrideable no-handed. My road bikes are pretty good, and I can corner or dodge road hazards on both. But on all, I have to lean to some different degree to the right. It's like a car that is out of alignment. I think what it really amounts to is that it is me who is out of alignment.

I don't make a habit of it, but occasionally do sit up for a bit to stretch my back on long rides. And occasionally I get lucky and win a sprint, thus requiring the hands up 'touch down/stage win' pose.

dahoss2002

Alignment makes a big difference. If the frame is true, check the front and rear dropouts for proper alignment and make sure rear wheel is centered. Also check headset for wear. Worn headsets can track to the side whether they are loose or stiff.

Cyclaholic

training wheels

markhr

good answer

SweetLou

Just like you can balance an egg during the Spring equinox, you can ride a bike no handed during this time. For some unknown reason, this doesn't happen during the fall equinox. But, unlike the egg balance, this doesn't happen only once a year. No hand riding is a function of time squared from the Spring equinox. The farther you are away (Autumn equinox) the harder it is to ride no handed. This is why it is easier to ride no handed during a nice warm spring day than it is during an early November snow storm.

stapfam

Relaxed geometry MTB and no way- Relaxed geometry OCR and no way- Full race geometry and Dead easy. Have an idea it is weight position on the bike. It was only when I got the race geometry road bike that I found I could ride no handed. In theory- It should be the other way round as relaxed geometry is more stable but I just do not know why.

roadfix

Sure, as kids, most of us rode no hands for amusement and to show off at the girls...
Now, I frequently ride no hands during a ride so I can sit straight up to stretch my back and arms. This is just something that is easier done while riding than to stop and take time out.

I have several bikes and they all handle differently, no hands. On one bike I can ride no hands even at under 5 mph while others require slightly more speed to keep them stable and not squirrly.

Now, as far as trackstanding, I do that while waiting at a light or just to show off, or both.

alicestrong

I knew you were showing off for me riding no handed at the Memorial Ride...




I'm starting to get a complex. I can't do it and all I see are images of crashing when I attempt it...

roadfix

I was being a kid on that ride...

maddyfish

Don't forget the seat. I once was king of no hands riding, the prostate surgery demanded noseless seats. I could barely ride one handed with a noseless seat, let alone no handed. Now my health is better, and ride regular seats again, and can ride no handed again.

graywolf

Head angle, the slacker the more the self-centering (castering) effect
&
Trail, the more trail the more the bike wants to go straight.

Trail is a combination of wheel radius, head angle, and fork rake (or offset).

However it is not really as simple as that because other things like wheelbase and center of weight affect it some but not as much as those do. Also extremes do not seem to work well, so it is a case of balancing the effects of angle and trail within a fairly narrow range. The trade offs are quick steering vs. steadiness. most modern bikes are designed for quick steering, many older (pre early 70's) bikes were designed for steadiness.

Doug5150

The short answer is a lot of things.
A longer answer would be--in terms of upright bikes--a larger and heavier front wheel helps with stability. If you've ever rode a folder, the tiny front wheels have to always be held over any rough ground--they won't hold a straight line on their own.

A slacker head angle only helps to a degree, and then it becomes an impediment.
Some recumbents use very-slack head angles with tiller-effect handlebars, and riding these no-handed at low speeds is very difficult--but if you are rolling down a hill at 20-30+ MPH, steering just by leaning is pretty easy.
~

greenstork

fork rake, head tube angle, and trail.

jhglaw

When I was a kid we had a Schwinn tandem balloon tire one speed. I used to ride it everywhere, by myself, from the back seat. It was very easy to keep straight or to turn at whatever angle I wanted. So a long wheelbase and slack steering did the trick.