I was much more comfortable with it when I was younger. I am getting back to it for brief periods, mostly to drink, and after thoroughly checking for traffic. I have to be doing at least 12mph to be comfortable.

On long rides, I stretch my shoulders and back, no hands on bar.

I used to when I was younger. Now that I am older and wiser my hands stay on the bar at all times.

FYI - The older we get the longer the recovery from injury (if ever), riding hands off the bars is just not worth it

I can take my jacket off riding no handed if I'm alone, but won't dare to do it in a peloton like the pros.

OP here - Thanks all. My summary of your comments is -

1. I am not so unusual about this - a lot of you feel uncomfortable (exception noted for Mr. Beanz)
2. Slide backward (I think I do this automatically, but I will experiment with it consciously)
3. Avoid injury - I certainly agree 100% with Planemaker's comment

But there's a lot of comments that it's very dangerous, and that wasn't my recollection. And like I said in the original post, it seems like my Roubaix would be especially stable. "Please pass the Poupon" so I can finish making my ham and cheese sandwich." (I have a great handlebar bag!)

FWIW, my concern is strictly practical. Like taking off gloves or a vest, or using two hands on a sticky zipper, or peeling a banana. And while I am not a racer, I don't like to stop when I'm riding for any reason (yes, I would prefer that even traffic and intersections wouldn't cause me to stop) - Newton had it right on inertia. Plus it is inconvenient on group rides - slowing down, take off vest, and accelerate back up to my pathetic 15 mph average speed, and the group will be 1/4 mile (one minute) ahead.

What's your secret, Mister Beanz?

Hmm, I'd say it's put pressure on the saddle and use it to control the bike. Know that if you swerve your hips a little to the left, it will somewhat "throw" the handlebars in that direction and vice versa, so don't over do it. Big factor, relax, use the trunk of your body to guide the bike.

Sometimes I will use the inner thigh to bring the bike back in the direction I want it to go if it tends to slip away.

All the bikes I have had over the years, only one stands out as an outstanding "no-hander-" A raleigh 3=speed I had when I was young. If it had a coaster brake I wouldnt have needed handlebars. It tracked straight and steered with just a little bit of coaxing. Sadly it got stolen the only day I didnt lock it.

Bikes that wobble when you go no handed either have loose parts or a bent frame. Of course some steer "nervously" that they like to go ANYWHERE if you let go of the bars.

Bottom line- Its whatever your comfort level is. Enjoy the ride.

-SP

That bike had a long fork rake for sure. I remember my old Raleigh 3spd. Headlight, tool kit, saddle bag and chain oiler in chain guard. Got the bike on my Father's birthday.

My '83 Paramount was a no-hander, my CAAD 8 not at all and my new Giant Propel SL3 is an all day no-hander. Shift back on the saddle, relax, use body English and it's lunchtime on the move, just No Texting.

I frequently ride no hands for a posture break but I wouldn't strip off a coat while riding. I like to be ready to grab the bars at a moments notice.

Being able to take off clothing without having to stop is a skills that needs practice, but can be useful if you are in a groove, and importantly. comfortable on the bike (how many time do you find you just can't quite get the sweet spot between shorts and seat after a stop?).

I've taken off leg warmers and arm warmers and a light-wind jacket with minimal detachment from the handlebars. The issue then becomes where to put the items, and usually they go in my jersey's rear pocket until the next stop. Leg warmers can be quite challenging, getting them over my shoes -- and depending on how far I have ridden and/or intensely already, a leg muscle also might start cramping at the most inopportune moment.

Naturally, this is all done on a quiet country road, or a very wide shoulder on a highway.

Over the last few years I have been doing a little experimenting with riding with no hands. I have not progressed very far. I have found that riding fast makes it easy to ride with no hands. Also riding fast makes crashes more severe.

I don't think that I will ever be so comfortable that I would ever consider taking a shirt off while riding.

I keep remembering my attempt at doing a track stand. I was standing and the next thing that I realized was that I was in mid air over the bars and the bike was behind me. I still don't know how this happened. But I remember that the earth was solid.

I don't think it's dangerous as a general matter. I do it just to stay in practice, and have my hands ready to grab the bars in a fraction of a second. I need to be going not too slow, 12mph as someone said is about the lower limit, and not too fast as I don't want to lose control or crash.

A related practice I have been doing lately is to unclip one foot and bring it up and back behind my butt, grabbing it with the opposite hand, to stretch the leg. This is done with one hand on the bars. Saw some pros do this during a long race.

I have never been able to ride no hands. 60+ years of biking and I just can't do it.

Just yesterday on my ride, here came a young stud on his racer boy bike. When he saw me on my trike, he sat up to show me what a "real cyclist" can do by riding no hands. He lost it crashed and pretzeled his front wheel.

Pictures or it never happened.

I'm not comfortable doing it on the road bike and have no reason to practice doing it.

With a bike that tracks ok it just takes practice, no special talents needed. At a decent speed just sit back, relax, steer with your hips but don't oversteer and it will get easier over time.

I'll just mention that in some states it's just plain illegal to ride no hands on public roads. The rule is often stated as you must ride with at least one hand on the handlebars at all times.

For example : California Vehicle code section 21205. No person operating a bicycle shall carry any package, bundle or article which prevents the operator from keeping at least one hand upon the handlebars.

On my Merlin...yep all day without a problem. On my Redline...nope...twitchy front end.
I've watched people doing the unclip/leg stretch for decades...meh...good for them...

When I first bought my bike it felt twitchy to the point where I could not take hands off the bar for for than 2 seconds. It was actually so bad I felt there was some problem. After carefully pondering this situation for a while, I began to take careful measurements over a period of months. I found that the wheels were not in line, one behind the other, and had a slight offset of 3 mm. Furthermore, by using a carpenters level of 16 inches (43 mm) I also found the front and back wheels were not plumb. With more pondering, the problem seemed to be the drop outs were incorrectly inserted in the fork, with one side higher than the other. Once I felt certain this was the problem, I took a round file to the aluminum drop out and filed a bit. I did this several times over a period on months, evaluating stability after each bout of corrective surgery. Now I can take hands off the bar for short periods of time, clearly a big improvement but still less than ideal. The best part is that the bike holds a much better line in corners, particularly when diving into quick switchbacks and feels more stable at speed while descending.

The geometry at the drop out is such that a error of 1/2 mm at the axle produces an error of about 4 mm at the rim. Right now the wheels are exactly in line and plumb. I've concluded the the fork has too much rake so that there is considerable wheel flop. I don't think I'll buy a different fork because I'm not that dissatisfied but it is on my mind.

For me, NO.

I don't know if I can ride no handed any more but I wouldn't if I could, there's no need to take an additional risk to injuring myself or someone else. And I'm not is such a rush that I need to take off my jacket without stopping.

Depends on the bike and the geometry. On my recumbents, no way. My first 10-speed was pretty easy to no-hand. Modern road bikes have more aggressive geometry, which makes it a lot trickier.

For taking off a jacket, I'd rather stop; no matter how well the bike handles no-handed.

At speed, there is much less likelihood of crashing than at low speed. The bike is much more stable, unless there is a flaw that creates shimmy. It does seem counterintuitive. By the same token, a rider also has to keep their wits about them, as to other vehicles, obstacles and surface.