I stopped riding in the 80's when my back went bad. I had a bike with an 'upright' riding position. At some point I found I could ride a stationary bike at the Y without ill effects if I could ride leaning forward, like a proper biker. So in 2006 if bought first a mtn bike, then a few months later a Specialized Allez road bike (low-end price range of that model). I am now 75 years old. So that's my history.
When I returned to biking I immediately found I could NOT ride 'no-hands' any more. When I was 12 it was natural as breathing. At first I thought it must be bike geometry, but no, it's me. (btw I have advanced stenosis, nerves scrunched up)
Like most of us I can't turn my head enough to look thru my glasses and evaluate traffic. Therefore I ride bike path almost entirely.
Recently I started riding with a guy I met on the path. About 20 years younger, he can turn his head like a damn owl! I noticed that he swivels his whole upper body when he 'looks'. When I try this, the bike wavers and I feel UNSAFE immediately.
So, my question, finally: how many of you old farts can still ride no-hands? Can you turn your upper body (while not peddling, sitting upright as possible, one hand on the bars), look back and not crash?

While I am 70, and definitely not an "old fart" I seem to manage to keep track of what is around me OK. Many folks use a mirror to help, although, in the final analysis, it does require that one double checks into your "blind spot" by turning your head.

Perhaps by 75 I will have become an "old fart" and will respond differently - one never knows!!

And, I do not (and never have been very good at) riding with no hands, and yes, a whole lot of that depends upon the bike's geometry - especially the "trail."

I can't ride any of my current bikes no-handed, but I know it's the geometries. As for looking behind you: get a mirror.

Don't know about the looking back-I am not foolhardy enough to try it. Riding no hands though- that depends on weight didtribution and bike. Never have done it on the MTB but my co-rider on the Tandem does it all the time. He gets me worried at times. But road bikes- sit back in the saddle, sit upright and it is easy. Keep the weight forward and I am in trouble.

I won't ride without a mirror.
Don't see any need to go no hands.

Once you adapt to using a mirror, you won't ride without it - when I take a spin around the block to check my latest bike adjustment (or whatever) I may leave my helmet but not my glasses with the mirror! Most bikes seem pretty twitchy but I can still coast or lightly pedal with no hands, although not comfortably - e.g., I will roll my shoulders to loosen my muscles but I'm uncomfortable removing the top of my water bottle and drinking from the open bottle. But I think I will become more comfortable as I ride more. And it must be possible - the pros do it extensively and their bikes are undoubtedly very twitchy. (I'm only 64.)

Yes, that's it exactly. I went through a time thinking I couldn't ride no-handed anymore, then I sat back and realized that that was all I needed to do. However, I always seem to need to lean a little to the left, even on different bikes.

Last year I was riding with some others, and I showed off by taking out my jacket, putting it on, and zipping it up, all while riding no-hands. I decided that was stupid, and now I only do it to rest. If I sit back and coast, it's just as restful as taking a break and sitting down.

I am too cautious to do it anymore, having gone down hard a few times changed my desire to "trust the force"

I never learned how to ride no-hands. My sense of balance and my coordination were never all that good, and I have a weird fear of being off-balance, so I tend to ride very conservatively. But I can turn around and look behind me while keeping both hands on the bars with no problems. I'd be lost without my bar-end mirror; after too many years riding motorcycles, the mirror habit is ingrained, but so is the shoulder-check habit.

Looking backwards - No problem on my hybrid; sends me drifting into traffic on my road bike unless I am -really- careful.

No hands - As a kid, I would always go no-hands whenever I was passing someone. Neither one is easy now. I think that's what they call Karma.

I can ride no hands and do so as part of pedaling drills. No hands pedaling requires one to steer the bike with the core muscles. I do it sometimes riding uphill to make it tougher. The best way to look behind is to rotate your head and touch your chin to your shoulder without rotating your shoulders. Use the peripheral vision to look behind. Several of my track racing buddies who are late 60s and early 70s, ride no hands at the track and do not have a problem looking behind.

When I was a kid I had a Schwinn Continental that I would take to the schoolyard on weekends and ride all around w/o hands - circles, figure eights, you name it. Surely it had a very stable geometry, but now it seems beyond me that I could ever do that.

Of my two present road bikes, one is much more stable w/o hands then the other. I'm not exactly sure why.

Today during a ride I picked my water bottle out of its cage and realized that the top was loose. I quickly used both hands to tighten it, but it made me very nervous.

I can ride no hands and do from time to time to just stretch, mostly near the end of a ride. I do it to grab stuff out of back pockets and mess with whatever it is I get, such as food that needs wrappers taken off and what not. Zipping up jerseys or jackets.
I look backwards as well but I sometime will look under my arm when on/in the drops. I can look about halfway and like Hermes said use peripheral vision by just turning head . A lot of the time I will take one hand off bar and turn body around and put free hand on seat to get a real good look like when I have to cross a street to make a left turn and need to see a ways back for oncoming traffic.

I can ride "nohands" ,,but as opposed to "back in the 50's" I have to pay more attention, and, I stop to get a drink...Bud

Hermes, thanks for the reminder on the chin to the shoulder. Given that I'm forgetful about such things, I had gotten out of the habit. It does work.

I ride no hands to stretch to give the derriere a little different point of view and to stretch out the arms like wings for a few moments. Also will ride no hands to get a big slug of gatorade from the bike bottle, especially to empty it completely.

This is the trick I was taught for safely looking back:

Place your left hand on your hip and keep you right hand on the handlebar. Turn you upper body and head to the left and look back over your shoulder.

Doing this seems to prevent me from drifting off course while looking backwards.

That is interesting, I have to lean left also, sometimes to a pretty dramatic degree. I don't remember needing to do that as a kid. Maybe it is something to do with the derailleur hanging off to the right vs balloon tired single speeds as a kid. As for watching the traffic I second/third/fourth...the mirror. I'm not going to try to swing my body around riding no hands.

Thats great that you are 75 and still riding

Have you looked into trying some basic yoga exercises to increase flexibility in your spine?

When I first started riding again a few years ago, I had a Giant Rainier. No matter how much adjustments were made, if I let go of the handles for any length of time, it would start to shake and I would be down.

Two years ago I changed to a GT Peace 9r Multi and from day one I could let go, sit up and pedal. I could ride all day with no hands now. For me it was the bike Not to open up the safety zealots, but I have from time to time, pulled out the Blackberry and fired off an email or text while peddling

As far as the twisting to look back thing. That is a technique that keeps the bike from veering into traffic or off course. If you hold the bars with both hands and just swivel your neck, you will have a natural tendency to veer the directing of the neck crane.

Another thing you can do to keep things stable is to put a knee against the top tube. Whether this is needed depends on the bike.

I can't find the video of the girl that rides her bike all the way to school no hands, and makes cereal and eats it on the way. Anyone?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9mJ2hXryGc


This video has been posted to this forum before, but it seems appropriate here.

I'm the original poster. I didn't expect THIS much response - thanks guys. There are some suggestions here that I'm going to try. As to mirrors, I went thru about 4-5 before settling on the handlebar one I have now. It is piss-poor compared to the excellent mirrors on cars. I can barely trust it to watch for overtaking bike traffic, let alone cars. I did try the helmet mirror but couldn't make it work and gave up on it.

No I don't want to ride with no hands (though it would be a nice show-off trick for an old man). What I want to do is turn and survey traffic without losing balance and veering off course. That's why I brought no-hand riding into the question, it probably shows my lack of balance. And yes, my body-swivel capability is restricted by age.

I ride no hands just to stretch for a bit and to change my water bottles out. I tried using a mirror, but I kept kinking my neck so I gave it up. I don't twist my whole upper body like I use too, now I just put my chin on my shoulder like Hermes said. Before that I just held the bar near the stem with one hand and turned my upper body. Leaving go of the left hand all together. You just have to practice and it will get easier, good luck.

Just one more

I think everyone's got a tight (er) and a loose (er) side. Even when I was a keen proto-racer in UK as a teenager, I always looked over my left shoulder even though traffic drove on the left and the overtakers were on my right. Might be worth thinking about which is your happy side - bound to be one. Doesn't change much, I've found, after 40 years.

Other thing, about stability - shifting your hands closer to the middle, closer to the stem, when you look round will reduce leverage wobbles

Enjoy, stay safe

I know what you mean about the mirrors. I finally ended up using a motorcycle mirror that I happened to have in my parts bin. It's heavier but works so much better than the bicycle mirrors I tried that it's well worth it.