Tips on riding no-handed?

I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?

Smokey

I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?

If you're trying to ride no-handed while coasting, try again while pedaling.
For some that can dramatically improve stability. If you're using 23c tires,
try bumping up to a 25c, which slows down handling slightly.

You might also check out your saddle positioning. If you've got an issue
with your back while riding, a seat that's tilted down at the nose could be
contributing both to the back issue and your problem riding without hands.

Then again, some people just can't get the knack of riding no-hands... and
for them, it can be really frustrating watching the person who's able to
pull a windbreaker out of their pocket and put it on without ever wobbling
or slowing down to do so.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Smokey wrote:
I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?

Smokey


It may take a while to learn the balance on a bicycle. On your
motorcycle you may very well be going faster than on your bicycle which
can make balancing easier. It will come in time. I just realized a
couple of weeks ago that I can ride / no hands / after riding now for
almost three years as an adult.

Lots of things can make it difficult or impossible, among them :

Indexing of the head tube bearings - the thing steers straight until you really
knock it hard off that position, and then overshoots the mild correction your
really were trying to achieve.

Some asymmetry in the frame - though you can often compensate by leaning, and
this will be obvious. Deliberately mounting the front wheel at an angle one
way or the other may alleviate the condition.

The way no-handed riding is achieved depends on more front wheel mass ahead of
the head tube axis than behind it. An exceptionally light front wheel may
give you very little mass there by comparison. (The mass ahead produces
a very necessary temporary countersteer when you introduce a correction.)
--


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

"Smokey" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?


Start at high speeds and work your way down. Make sure the road is smooth
and flat or very slightly downhill.
Put your pedals in the mid position (one forward one back) with slight even
pressure on both.
Try to look at a point far off in the distance, not your handlebars or feet.
Above all relax and pretend you are cycling normally.

Soon you'll be able to keep pedalling and even steer a bit too by leaning
very slightly left or right.

Z

On Aug 31, 7:35 am, "Zimmy" wrote:
"Smokey" wrote in message

ups.com...

I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?

Start at high speeds and work your way down. Make sure the road is smooth
and flat or very slightly downhill.
Put your pedals in the mid position (one forward one back) with slight even
pressure on both.
Try to look at a point far off in the distance, not your handlebars or feet.
Above all relax and pretend you are cycling normally.

Soon you'll be able to keep pedalling and even steer a bit too by leaning
very slightly left or right.

Z

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I've got a Lemond Poprad with
35c Avocet Cross K tires on it. It's never been wrecked or laid down
at any speed. I've had back issues for more than 20 years, which
culminated in a four disc fusion late last fall. Consequently, I have
to run my bars higher than the stock Poprad position. I'll give your
tips a try.

Smokey

On Aug 31, 12:14 am, Smokey wrote:
I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?


Adding to the list of good tips, some things to watch out for: a
maladjusted headset that's not smooth will make no-handsing next to
impossible, and frame geometry can also make a bike easier or harder
to go hands free. However, the angles of a Proprad look to be very
friendly to sitting up and munching from the mussette bag. Don't
forget to pedal!

Smokey wrote:
On Aug 31, 7:35 am, "Zimmy" wrote:
"Smokey" wrote in message

ups.com...

I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?
Start at high speeds and work your way down. Make sure the road is smooth
and flat or very slightly downhill.
Put your pedals in the mid position (one forward one back) with slight even
pressure on both.
Try to look at a point far off in the distance, not your handlebars or feet.
Above all relax and pretend you are cycling normally.

Soon you'll be able to keep pedalling and even steer a bit too by leaning
very slightly left or right.

Z

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I've got a Lemond Poprad with
35c Avocet Cross K tires on it. It's never been wrecked or laid down
at any speed. I've had back issues for more than 20 years, which
culminated in a four disc fusion late last fall. Consequently, I have
to run my bars higher than the stock Poprad position. I'll give your
tips a try.

Smokey

Another thing I that helps, is to avoid fixating your gaze on the
handlebars. Sit up straight and look down the road. Don't worry, the
handlebars will still be right where you left them. ;-)

--

Paul D Oosterhout
I work for SAIC (but I don't speak for SAIC)

Just A User wrote:
Smokey wrote:
I'm still a novice at bicycling and there are a lot of skills I
haven't mastered. One of them is riding no-handed. I can easily do it
on a motorcycle, but not on my Lemond. I've tried several times and
once did manage to go about 20 ft. but usually veer to one side or the
other almost immediately. I'd like to be able to sit up and stretch my
back from time to time while I'm riding. Anyone have any tips?

Smokey


It may take a while to learn the balance on a bicycle. On your
motorcycle you may very well be going faster than on your bicycle which
can make balancing easier. It will come in time. I just realized a
couple of weeks ago that I can ride / no hands / after riding now for
almost three years as an adult.

On a motorcycle, you have much larger, heavier gyroscopes (aka wheels),
which makes a huge difference in being able to balance sans hands. A
higher speed may help as you'll get more gyroscopic effect from the wheels.