Yes, there is a bike path section in Montgomery, IL. that I like to do no handed that has some curves, rollers, bumps. a bridge crossing with sharp turns at each end. Fun stuff. Scars? Maybe a couple....

I didn't see 'hold my beer and watch this' so I didn't vote.

You mean like this guy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EaJMr26F5w

Cheers

I used to do it when I was much younger and stoopider. That was back when my bikes weren't as, shall we say, quick to turn. Now I don't trust my own reflexes. I'm always afraid the bike could start to go over and either I would overreact or not act quickly enough. Also I s'pect I don't heal as quickly as I used to.

I don't to like to have to say ouch.

With an attempt to stay on topic and C&V cycling antics, there's a video somewhere of a young whipper snapper at Gaiole Italy. (You might have heard about these events ;) The L'eroica circus.

Anyways, this guy is on his lightweight, going uphill passing riders, while doing a wheelie! hehe

careful all you kids!

Ill let you know when it happens.

I nominate this as the "Winter 2016 Cabin Fever Poll." ;)

You got that right. I used to do it a long time ago. But things don't heal as quickly now.

I have hands. So I can't ride without them.

...Only long enough to zip/unzip/adjust/whatever is necessary. I'm not much for extended no-hands time. Whether it's a lack of confidence or an abundance of age-induced common sense, I can't say for sure.

I can ride all the way around the block on my Mongoose ATB with no hands. It feels right and I am totally comfortable doing so. On a road bike with racing geometry it just doesn't feel right. But on long rides I do it to stretch out or to give my hands a quick break.

No handlebars on a unicycle.

Especially at about 18mph on a fixie :eek:

But seriously, most of my bikes are A-OK no-hands riders on a nice smooth flat surface without any sharp curves, etc. Heavier, longer bikes with larger tires seem to be more stable than lighter bikes.

My main problem with riding no hands is most of my saddles are tipped very slightly nose down (because I ride bikes that "are too big for me") and I tend to slide forward when I'm wavin' my hands in the air like I just don't care. But I'll do it often on a long ride to strech out my back and rotate my shoulders around to keep loose.

i'm supposed to what? stop to light my cigarette?

I ride no-hands briefly, to rest or stretch or look cool, but only when the road is straight and smooth. I'm not good enough to track curves no-hands. Also, one of my bikes has a terrible shimmy above 15 mph, and can't be ridden no-hands too well.

As a kid, I was so confident of my ability to ride without handlebars, I took my hands off the bars and coasted a while. Then I got the brilliant ideal that I could also ride with my feet up on the top tube. Well, it turns out that riding with your feet on the top tube and your hands in the air is a great way to wipeout REALLY badly. So that was the last time I did that.

I had a shoelace come untied in a road race once. Simple fix.
Unclip from toe clips (pre clipless)
Coast no hands with foot on top tube.
Tie shoe.
Clip back in.
No big deal.

but can you "sit" no hands too?

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...aae1df4470.jpg

I was practising as a teenager. Doing quite well. Then tried to take a gentle corner with it. The wheel flipped sideways. I flipped over the bars. Well, no real scars, but I did have a mangled front wheel and a mile walk back home.

It couldn't have been on the Colnago as it had 32h rims, which I didn't discover until college.
So, probably on the Viscount that was later stolen.

Anyway, I haven't had any interest in riding hands free since then.

If you can't do it then either you have horrible balance or your headset is too tight. If you're scared to then that's just weird.

Yup.

Well, there could be a mechanical reason; something is bent, the headset isn't right, the cones of one wheel are too loose, etc.

It also depends on the saddle to some degree. It's a little more difficult on a 'swallow' type saddle.

rccardr and I were following a kid (23-24 years old) at Thunder Ridge. We were on C&V, he was on a Surly Straggler with a rear rack, having no problem in our little group as it began a long straight descent at about 22-23 mph. The kid calmly sat up, took off his gloves, helmet, jacket, pulled off a layer (over his head), tied it around his waist, put everything back on, without skipping a beat, and pedaling to keep pace. RobbieTunes was speechless, which is something. We went from 1-2' wheel distance to maybe 1-2 bike lengths, but we likely didn't have to. I eventually caught him; he was a mountain biker from Western NC turned bike commuter in Washington DC, rode Thunder Ridge "to get some hills in."

Call me weird, then, maybe horribly balanced, but scared? Street patrols in Lebanon were scary, chasing milita members into apartments is scary, getting married is scary, taking home your newborn is scary. Inviting a wipeout is not on my list of scary. I still can't and won't ride "no hands" but I've definitely seen it done. I once saw a guy ride the AMA cycle safety course doing a wheelie on a GPz750, so there are balance artists out there. Then again, I've seen kids wipe out on Stingrays through "10-speeds" by doing it, and watched tons of cyclists wipe out doing wheelies or attempt burnouts.

This clip belongs in this thread.

[MENTION=108582]RobbieTunes[/MENTION] you have done many a brave thing in your career and service to our Country! Thank you!

I've been riding no hands since at least 6 or 7 years old. Can't remember not being able to. I also taught myself at about 9-10 to sit on the handlebars while facing backwards and riding forwards. Trust me, this is best done on a bike with a coaster brake!

Now, as I bump toward 60 and have endured my share of injuries, I take a more cautious approach. Hands on bars and for Mrs. PB speed below 30. But, just to keep this skill viable, I usually ride the last 1/2 mile (on my street) to my house with no hands. There's just something about the feeling of no hands riding I don't want to loose yet.

Creeping arthritis has, I believe, led to numbing of fingers which is easily relieved with raising my hands up to shoulder height, required ever 20-30 mins for only a few seconds so i ride w/o hands on bars several times every day.