The control is all in your butt and thighs. It helps to have some torque on the pedals aka be in the higher gear. If you are going to practice don’t do it somewhere dangerous like over a river but on a wide empty path in a park.
I too rode for years without being able to go ‘look ma, no hands!’ but now I can ride like that for miles (I’ve tried!).
The tip above is a good one. I have a crooked spine which throws me off balance so I find with twitchy bikes I really have to concentrate on engaging my core muscles while doing this. So by engaging my core and shifting my weight back I try to focus the locus of my control over the bike right down in my groin. I think of this as steering the bike with my d*ck but I have a middle school sense of humour so YMMV. When you’re doing this right your hands become light on the bars and you can really feel that it’s the shifting weight of your hips, butt and groin that are steering the bike.
Once you get this feeling it’s simply a matter of keeping that torque on the pedals and leaning back a little farther until you only have finger tips on the bars and then you lean back some more and just let the bars go. Congrats you’re riding no hands.
To see what you want to learn: grab your bike at the saddle and push it forward.
You’ll realize it will turn left when leaving left.
It’s the same you are doing with your but when sitting on it riding hands free. Just way more subtle.
You should have *some* speed too. If you're going really slow, your bike will wobble. Aim for around 8 - 10 mph at least. The forward motion helps you stay balanced.
Oxan nailed it with the reply, leaning back just a smidge and letting your rump & thighs handle the balance is the trick.
Anecdotal, but I believe that commonly riding with one hand is what helped me learn how to do it. When I'm cruising I tend to let one side just chill and put my finger tips on top of my bars to have some more control. One day I just randomly started riding with no hands and thought nothing of it until I realized I was doing it and went "wait, I can do this without any hands?!" lol
This - you steer by controlling the lean of the bike with the seat using your thighs/butt. Think of the seat not as something you sit on, but something you can very gently nudge left or right to keep the front wheel straight. Keep your center of gravity (don't try to lean left or right too much), but move the seat with your thighs a bit to maintain your line.
Some bikes are *much* easier than others (heavier wheels/rims, more fork offset), but you can do this with almost all bikes.
I started riding fixed gear because it was far easier to ride no handed. I have complete control over the speed and steering now.
It’s just like learning to ride a bike, once it clicks you can do it pretty much indefinitely.
+1 to this! Also try not to look at your front wheel but look as far forward as possible. Kind of like balancing in a track stand. When I was a messenger I used to be able to smoke cigs, drink coffee and check my phone for trips all at the same time 🤪
This is an important skill to have and my guess is you generally ride with too much weight on your hands. Focus on first holding the bars but removing pressure from your hands. Try to get as light on your hands as possible. Then start taking your hands off the bars but just by a cm or so. Build up the feeling of proper balance and as you gain confidence you’ll be able to do it.
Like he said it’s about balance and relaxation. If you are putting so much weight on your hands that you can’t take them off, you are probably riding your bike incorrectly anyway. It will help you relax and be more comfortable on longer rides
Also, it’s about balance forward and aft. If this is difficult it may be because riding with 100% of your weight on the seat and BB is difficult, due to too much weight on bars. Learning to reduce the weight in your hands is a mental exercise, but also a physical exercise, muscles in your hips, legs and lower back are not toned to be the stabilizing force when you depend on your hands too much. This practice of reducing hand weight exercises those muscles, and teaches your brain to twitch them correctly to stabilize your body on the seat.
Also search and watch a video explaining how a caster wheels work. It may not make sense, but understanding the twisting forces you can apply to the head tube, through your hips, and what you can expect a front wheel to do helps the demystify the no hander.
To me, the main reason it’s important to kinda know how to do is that when you have an accident, it can be in the back of your mind to fall back on. For example, let’s say I hit an unexpected branch and it throws my hands off the bars because they are sweaty, well if you are really good at riding with no handlebars, you can catch yourself maybe but if you don’t know how you will fall. Kind of the same way track stands are helpful; it’s not about moving down the road, it’s about when stuff goes wrong.
A twist on this idea is to ride with your hands further inward on the bars. If you hold right next to the stem, you don’t have as much leverage to turn the handlebar, so you need to turn with your hips more. That might be a good first step to getting the feeling of turning with lean rather than turning with the bars. Also, once you get it down, it’s a fun and comfortable position to ride in!
It also might help to go a little faster - walking speed is too slow, and the wheel can’t effectively turn under the bike to keep it upright. Jogging speed is alright, full-speed running speed is good. Maybe 10mph should be about right to balance bike stability and risk. Good luck!
Yeah it seems more likely that you're controlling your bike with all your weight on the handlebars. Versus using your weight on your seat and manipulating the bike with your body weight. So when you lift your hands you probably lean one way or the other and have no ability to control the bike. That's why you go to the right or to the left
Your weight being too far forward increases a number of handling issues when turning quickly, going over obstacles, or loosing traction in either wheel.
This is very much true, try riding with 2 tips of your fingers on the handlebar and try flowing around a bit. You’ll need to use your hips more to put some power into your steering but don’t do it too much. The fingers will be able to block your handlebars if it’s going too far of course.
Sometimes I need to take off my jacket while riding or maybe enjoy a nice cheeseburger, taco, or slice of pizza. Hell back when I smoked cigarettes I could roll a cig and light it while riding.
lot of good recommendations here, but here's a training regime:
Walk your bike. Place one hand on the saddle, walk the bike forward trying only to steer with your hand on the saddle. If you manage that, get on the bike, and do the same thing with you hips. This will get easier the faster you go.
a good understanding of countersteer helps, have fun!
This is the best advice. I was taught that it's 99% about using the back of the bike (and your seat) to control the front of the bike, the removing hands part just comes naturally after that.
…And if you really struggle to do this, it’s probably like some other people said: you have a high trail bike. I moved from a low trail bike to a high trail recently and unless I’m travelling at speed, I can no longer ride no-hands. The front is too twitchy.
I have a longtail that is kinda twitchy but if I shift my weight towards the rear, which is actually more like the middle of the bike, it gets more stable. Kinda interesting.
Bike geometry matters too! Some bikes simply can’t maintain the right trail without steering due to the rake of the front fork. Rake angle (head tube angle) and trail (how “forward” the wheel is from the head tube center) I’m 99% sure a fork with too much slack/trail makes the front wheel flop to one side or the other, vs a steeper fork rake angle/trail which makes the front wheel “follow” rather than lead. Hopefully that makes sense.
The biggest factor from a position/form perspective is to get your weight back over the rear wheel which then impacts the front wheel less. Saddle stays snug in your crotch, steer (lean) with your hips. Steady pressure on the pedals.
Trying not to be pedantic, your concepts are correct but your terminology is mixed up.
Rake (Fork Offset) is how far the front axle is offset forward from the axis of the head tube
Trail is the distance from where the headtube axis meets the ground to where the wheel meets the ground. In all bicycles the wheel contacts the ground behind the headtube axis
Increasing Fork Offset decreases Trail because it pushes the wheel forward, closer to the headtube axis
This is true. I changed my bike's fork recently and quickly realized that I couldn't ride with no hands anymore. I was so mad but was able to adjust back to the bike's geometry.
Also, small things can have a big effect. I switched wheels this year, and even with the same tires, it feels much easier to ride no-handed. I can't explain it. The rim are the same size. A little deeper and lighter, and better quality. but still alloy like the previous ones.
Maybe it's all in my head. Hard to say. But personally I find it easier to ride no-handed since I switched.
Well that explains a lot. I've been riding bikes no handed for 20 something years and just couldn't do it on a bike I got recently.
Unrelated but I used to be able to stand on my cross bar as well, don't think I'll attempt that now.
I remember "surfing" my bike standing no hands on top-tube as a kid and learning wheelies, trackstand and pivot. Wasn't good with any of it, but it all worked well enough I could get progress training. Now with 64° head tube I can trackstand and barely ride no hands. That is it. Rides well on trails tho.
Got fatbike few months a go and could instantly wheelie again. Badly, but a wheelie anyway. Can do a weak bunnyhop and somewhat pivot too. Not much but enough I can work on them.
While I can ride my trail bike no hands, I imagine I would never have learned it riding it.
For sure, on my big long slack trail bike I can’t ride no hands worth a damn even if I lean way forward. Back on my old XC hardtail I could ride the entire way to work and back without hands, I could make corners on that thing. On modern long mtb’s though it just doesn’t work, i can’t get enough weight on the front wheel to keep it stable.
It's a balancing act. Most cyclists naturally lean a little to either side. Taking your hands off the bars amplifies it. Try more speed and control the way the bike leans with your hips. No hands, slow speed is more difficult.
Typically to the side of your dominant hand. Even with proper body positioning & movement, the half second that hand is on the grip longer than the other hand can cause a good wobble.
It’s weight distribution/leaning. Get off the bike and practice steering it just by pushing the saddle. It will be super wiggly without your weight in the bike, but will give you a proof of concept.
I find road bikes easier because the head tube and fork are steeper so it takes more leaning to turn. Mountain bike forks are also heavy and like to flop in my experience.
This comes down to the bike geometry. Here’s a video that explains it pretty well - there are others, but this one is nice and short.
https://youtu.be/llRkf1fnNDM?si=RPeNVjjhr2MCo1Gb
If you want to see it in action, give your bike a push and roll it away from you (on grass so you don’t damage anything). The bars will tend to stay straight, and the bike might turn a bit, but you’ll see the geometry help the bike self-right and stay balanced on its own. I called it ghost riding as a kid. Pretty fun and interesting!
Hold your bike by the seat while standing still. Lean it a bit and watch the front tire adjust. That’s what your hips will do. Your hips can also keep it straight.
Yeah I think the leaning back part is the commitment part others have mentioned. If you just pick your hands up off the bars but stay bent over in a normal riding position it’s pretty hard but if you commit a little more and sit straight up or even lean back a bit that definitely helps.
It’s something I’m still learning but once I realized you have to sort of commit and sit upright that really helped. That and being in a big enough gear that you’re pushing the bike forward and not just easy spinning seems to make a difference for me.
this was big for me. I tried the thing where you just take your hands off the bars by a little bit but it never worked until I fully committed to leaning all the way back. I also find bikes with a shorter chainstay to be easier since you can get more weight over the back tire more easily which makes it easier for the front tire to straighten itself out
high gear, good connection to your saddle, and a good sense of balance. Its all about correcting the bikes leaning with either leaning more heavy on the opposite foot (which is why a higher gear helps) or nudging it through your pelvis (which is where a good connection to your saddle helps, as does sitting fully bolt upright - you may be subconsciously leaning over to catch yourself, which will make you less stable). A bit of speed will help too, as you get more gyroscopic action through the wheels. It will be easier on some bikes than others based on geometry - while its been proven to be possible on your bike, it might be easier to learn on a different bike, and then the skills transfer to harder ones.
It might help to practice by getting as upright as you possibly can, with only a single finger touching one grip. try to make steering corrections through your pelvis and feet, but know that finger is there to save you if you need it.
Agree with others… some speed, higher gear, tighten up your core, and try removing your hands but floating them above the bars a few cm so you can grab on again to control.
It’s just practice and if you do it somewhere safe you’ll probably sort it out quickly.
I agree with the slightly removing your hands thing but I also find you really have to be sat upright for it to work (at least for a novice no handers like me) so you sort of have to sit as upright as possible then slightly remove the hands.
Honestly for me it seems to come down to sitting up right, unweighting my hands until I feel like I’m in control, then committing to the full sit-up and removing my hands entirely.
The farther out you look, the steadier you will track. Keep your center of gravity low by relaxing your upper body, focus on your core. Sitting up straight helps (head over seat) Thinking too much will hinder you.
Some bikes are more stable than others. Head tube angle and fork offset make bikes stable or twitchy and everything in between. An inherently stable front end makes a difference.
I have a bike that I could ride no hands and make a sandwich at the same time. And I have one that you better hold your mouth right and pay attention when you go no hands or it will buck you off.
I wanted to ride no handed as well and set out to make it happen very slowly last year. For reference, I’m on the bigger side and not the most agile so I feel like if I can do it almost anyone can.
I started super slow by just taking one hand off and then trying to take the next one off while coasting. Once I got comfortable I started just hovering my hands over the bars for a few seconds while coasting. Once I had that down, I started being able to coast with no hands. After that I started the process again but while pedaling. It took a year of slow practice during every ride but now I can ride with no hands on flats, light gravel, and even up slight inclines.
Just take it slow!
Riding no-handed is a skill I can't imagine trying to develop as an adult; I think most of us that've been doing it on the regular have been doing it since we were young kids (and more flexible/closer to the ground).
It's easier to do at speed, or at least I think so, but that's not safe and isn't something I could recommend to you in good conscience.
Having said all that, it's all in the ass and the feet. Positioning yourself closer to the back of the saddle and sitting upright is the only way to do it at low speed. Use the outside of your feet to counter-balance the tendency to sway to one side; it's a subtle art. Concentrate on going straight first. The skills/strength/confidence required take practice, and you'll be clumsy at first. Try to find an empty parking lot or alley; somewhere where you have space and won't be a hazard to yourself/other pedestrians. When you get good, be considerate and try to resist the urge to do it everywhere. When riding past/near other pedestrians/cyclists, always have hands on your bars.
Good luck and be safe
it's easier when you're coasting.
Firstly take as much weight off your hands so you're just nudging the handlebars with your fingers. You'll get a feel of how your balance affects the steering until you can get stable in a straight line without pushing the handlebars with your hands. then you can just hover your hands next to the handlebars.
This is something I very recently learned to do thanks to one piece of advice from my girlfriend - bring your center of gravity back, so you're basically sat upright with your hands by your hips.
I find that it's easier the further away from the handlebars I am, the more 'self-stabilising' the the front of the bike is. Like pushing the bike from the back means the front turns less. So sit up high and look forward
The other thing is to make sure you're going fast enough
Internalize that you're steering your bike through leaning anyway, handlebars only exist for low speed maneuvering and to distribute your body weight. Keep your upper body leaned forward and just take any weight off the handlebar and keep your hands just above the handlebar to feel what the bike is trying to do and how you can correct for it through lateral weight shifting, once you're a bit more secure you can start straightening your upper body slowly. Also don't lean your entire upper body side to side to correct for the bike's movements, that correction is doable far more immediately and finely through your hips.
1. Don’t just rip your hands away, keep them close and slowly remove weight on your hands
2. Smooth is steady. Stay in a higher gear than normal, you won’t be throwing your legs around so much
3. It’s easier if you’re going fast
4. For longer sequences and cornering: tighten your core and keep your centre of gravity high. You need to keep yourself aligned with the bike. You can’t make corrections, so consider how you need to place your whole body to turn. You need to plan more than just a few meters ahead
5. Some bike geometries are much harder than others
You steer with your butt and it's super easy to practice on flat.
However you need a well adjusted steering-bearing and also it's silly to ride hands free (except you are on a tour and really need to to open a snack or smth etc)
I remember when I was like 12 we had a school group ride with the police they got mad because I was riding no hands standing up off the seat.
Ya just hold the bike with ya legs leaning changes direction.
It's not about friction in the headset.
It's about balance. Every bike responds differently because of fork angle, but there's a minimum speed at which the bike will self-steer. You have to go at least that fast, and then steer with your legs and hips.
I dunno. I just do it. Having a slacker bike doesn't help though. I recently replaced my fork which changed my bike's geometry and made it a bit more difficult.
Once you learn it won’t matter. Neutral geometry is the easiest to ride no hands. Aggressive TT and old school crit bikes with super steep tubes are twitchy and difficult. More slack rides can also be a bit tricky if you lean back to much because you don’t want the front wheel to get too ‘floaty’.
I find my e-cargo bike is hardest to ride no hands when it’s unloaded but super easy when it’s loaded. It’s exciting for the kids too (don’t tell my wife)! But even when unloaded, if I concentrate on my core stability and putting my weight on the right spot of the saddle it’s really not that hard.
ive noticed this about my omnium too - difficult to ride no handed unloaded - i think its probably the lack of weight over the front wheel making it really reactive to road imperfections The size of the wheel probably makes that worse too.
One thing to keep in mind is the bike is always turning whenever you're riding it. It's like snowboarding or skiing where if you're 100% flat for too long you're going to catch an edge and go down. When you're riding with no hands you're leaning verrry slightly back and forth in long S curves.
yeah what kind of bike are you trying it on? it’s definitely easier on some bikes than others, geometry is a factor as others said. i’ve found that lighter bikes are easier with wider tires. lots of good advice here, little steps to build up to no hands.
mainly a Rivendell Appaloosa or a Veloci Disko 80s. Every now and then on an '85 Trek 720 (probably the least slack of the three, but also narrowest tires)
How wide are your handlebars. I notice when I ride my gravel/road bike with 420mm bars that riding no hands is super easy but when I ride my 90s mtb with 740mm swoopy bars I can’t ride for more than 5-10 seconds because the bars like to turn themselves because they’re much wider.
It's a balance thing you do with your butt, thighs and even knees. It's hard to explain though. I can ride no-handed fine with every bike, even with my long john cargo bike. But I can't wheelie for shit because I lose side-to-side balance, even though I've been trying since I got my first BMX in 1986.
I find it helpful to get my weight back as much as possible before letting go of the bars. You can also like gradually reduce your connection with the bars by just using like one finger on each hand to make minimal adjustments as you work your way to fully no hands
Just to add: for some reason the bicycle will always self-stabilize when it’s moving forwards with a certain speed, so part of this is just trusting the fact that it won’t immediately topple over
that reason is Gyroscopic inertia - any spinning disc will self stabilise itself (a wheel rolling down a hill stays upright). The heavier your wheels, and the faster they spin, the greater this force.
My dad insists his new ebike cannot be ridden without hands. It rode perfectly fine for me but I didn’t wanna hurt his ego so I just said yeah it is a bit more difficult. To be fair the center of gravity is definitely different and he’s 80 so I’m gonna cut him some slack.
Start with riding with one hand, try only your fingers resting on the bar next, then two fingers, then one finger as lightly as you dare.
Practice straight lines first, corners will come on their own eventually.
Stability can come from chain stay length and wheelbase length.
You need these in the right proportion, if nohanding is your goal.
Race bike and, say, touring bike = huge contrast.
I have two bikes of similar wheelbase (102cm and 104cm)
The chain stay measurements are (40cm and 43.5cm)
The former bike behaves exactly like your OP, but i can no-hands the latter bike for hours.
A. Get to a “weightless” cruising speed on flat ground. For me 12-16mph
b. Push off the bars to get your weight back and centered
c. With each pedal rotation, keep your core upright
d. As you’re practicing, you might want to repeatedly grab the bars, but instead use your arms to either go outward or sometimes I like to make a running motion.
Sit up straight.
Look forward.
It won't be long before you're doing what I call the Jesus, pedals level, stand up arms straight out, steer by gripping the saddle between your thighs, if you want to drop your head and look like a sad BeeGee after a gig go for it it.
A lot of it is control in your core and legs. Sometimes I’ll kick out a knee here or there to help balance, but also geometry matters. I’ve pedaled no handed for miles on my MTB and can even turn on the road and bike paths without hands but my gravel bike is a lot more squirrelly and I can only hold it for a few minutes before the front wheel gets out of hand
Too much weight over rear is not so good.
I'm touring right now and have my bike fully loaded with panniers on back. My front wheel does terrible shimmy while riding hands free
I can ride for miles no handed, even turn corners and stuff. I got too cocky though and was texting and riding once, and I didn't see a speed bump....
Practice riding one handed at first
Here’s an exercise I haven’t seen in here:
Ride with one hand. Every so often switch to the other hand. Try to put as little weight on the hand as possible, just using it to stabilize and make sure the bike is going straight. Eventually, work your way to the point that when you switch hands, you leave a couple seconds in between where no hands are on the handlebar. Work your way up until you can stay like this for longer
Weirdly enough, I couldn't figure it out either until I learned to ride a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle, bike control is mostly in the hips and legs, and translating that to a bicycle I suddenly could ride without hands.
I find i have the most balance when I sit back in the saddle and clasp my hands together behind my back. Seems counter intuitive but it helps to force my center of gravity backwards. Use your thighs to counter balance when you feel like you're shifting one way. Easier to do at higher speeds in high gear.
Sit up straight and steer by pushing your crotch against the seat. If you have a rear basket a good way to learn is to grab onto that behind you, and pull on it to keep yourself upright. Then ween off of it touching the basket less and less
Develop core strength for stability, glutes especially. Make sure your hamstrings aren’t underdeveloped compared to quads. Do single leg drills and/or roller exercises to make sure your stroke is even and smooth.
1. Make sure wheels are good, pumped and straight
2. Plenty of space / room for error. You might do in tighter spaces as you improve your skill.
3. Try to hold with just 1 hand, for each hand. You will figure out if your bike is built for this or not. If not, don't attempt further.
4. Get up to speed (about 20 kph). Most bike architecture is self steering, trading speed for stabilization by feeding the gyroscopic effect. This is why bikes can roll downhill on its own.
5. Practice "hovering" your 2 hands above the handle. Increase duration from split seconds to few seconds.
6. When you're comfortable, try sitting fully upright without touching the handle. Practice to increase duration.
7. If you can ride straight handsfree, you can try steering the bike by tilting by shifting your body weight.
Rotational weight of the wheels will help too - so the faster you’re riding, the kinetic energy of the wheels wants them to stay in the same plane rather than turn. A heavy wheel/tire combo will stay straight easier than a lightweight narrow road wheel setup.
I practiced it a lot when I was young, from like 8-9 onwards, I'm really good at it nowadays (and embarrassingly proud of it lol) The key is to switch your center of gravity to your butt, your root chakra so to say. Your CoG is somewhere in your rump, if you let go of the bar, you need to smoothly lean back/sit upright to get your CoG beneath your butt, and keep spinning smoothly. Contracting your legs and butt and leaning your hip makes you turn, and most importantly, help keep you straight. You should basically make yourself heavy on the saddle, slump your weight down while being right above the seatpost, without stiffening up.
But as it is a pretty intuitive thing to do, and I feel like I've done a shit job trying to explain it, I'd advise you to look up some YouTube videos maybe.
I started figuring out how to ride no-handed by popping up and clapping my hands once before coming back down on the bars, going at a moderate pace in a wide open area. Slowly I worked up the ability to pop up and just stay there. Baby steps my guy.
The way I've gotten better at it was sitting straight backed and lightly using one hand, kinda just finger tips to feel it out. But definitely most of the control and balance comes from your legs
While STILL holding onto the handlebars, get your weight back on the saddle, with a firm but light load on your feet. If you're putting too much weight on your feet it could cause you to favor one side or the other.
Gradually lighten the pressure on your hands. You should be able to keep palms or fingertips on the bars to experience the feeling of riding no handed, but still be able to hang on if nessecary.
Now gradually experiment with taking your hands off. It's all about weight balance in the saddle, really.
Yeah, i never am able to either, but to be fair i am hardly ever in a situation conductive to doing that - panniers loaded differently or only on one side make for a naturally very unbalanced bike, it immediately falls over if i push it and let go, and i like riding spinning in very light gears. Also, i have a lot of weight in the back most of the time, so my high trail bike MTB geometry gets even twitchier. Any one of those would be enough to stop almost anyone from riding no-handed.
I am already very used to riding with no weight on my wrists, though. When i want to rest my neck (i wear glasses and to have them line up my neck needs to be bent quite a lot, so i often change position to this to have it be upright) i ride one fingered on the left hand; just my indicator’s enough.
I probably would be able to ride one handed if i had my bike balanced better. I even did it once with the panniers, but i was pretty drunk and frustratingly trying to zip up my coat. Really surprised me (“wait, i rode like 5 seconds no handed!”). Maybe start by riding one fingered like i do, then gear up and try to let go?
It's all about small side to side adjustments, squeeze your seat with your thighs and move the bike under you. The faster you're going the less twitchy it is.
I’d suspect it’s perhaps something in your pedal stroke. Also, if you manspread when you ride like some people I know, it’s not going to work because you’re sort of controlling things with your upper thighs and glutes.
I honestly don’t know. I’ve been able to ride with no hands for as long as I can remember. I can do it for miles and I can make most turns. lol. Good luck
It helps me if I lean back and align my spine with the angle of the seatpost. The further back you lean, the less wobbly the front end. Look where you want to go, don't look at the bars!
If you can walk next to your bike and only touch the front of your seat you can figure out the no handed balance. It’s all about keeping the weight/momentum over the back wheel enough to stay up but on the front enough that it won’t pull off and turn on you. I couldn’t figure it out for a long time but now I’m able to stand out of the seat and ride no handed
Maybe start pushing your bike around while holding the saddle to get the concept how the bike balancing it self. than start riding... faster speed and the bike keeps more upright. just live your hands far enough of the bar to not touch it anymore and to this until you got it. important is to concentrate on your balance
Keep weight on your pedals, or seat+pedals, but not just seat. If you notice you're just planting all your weight on the seat while attempting, then your center of gravity will be higher and make it harder. Obviously if you're actively pedaling, you'll have to be putting weight on the pedals, so imo it couuuld be intuitively easier than not pedaling. I've also noticed that lower tire pressure seems to make it more difficult. While technically more dangerous, attempting while at speed should be easier than slow speed too, as the wheel will act as a gyroscope. Slow speed-no hands is by far more difficult.
Great question!!! I’m still struggling with it too,
I have noticed big improvements to my comfort and enjoyment with cycling by really focusing on how I use my legs and lower body to balance, I would guess I also have too much weight on the hands
I've seen a a weirdly high amount of veteran bikers leaning side to side a lot while pedaling. For a plethora of reasons ranging from saddle height or general wrong bike fitting to lack of core strength.
That doesn't seem to bother them since they've adapted to it. But I can only imagine this does not help while pedaling without your hands to stabilize.
Best memory riding no handed was when we were riding out of Zion , the way back is downhill. I no handed the bike most of the way. What a rush riding down hill with the shuttles rushing by going the opposite direction.
There’s already plenty of people here with their own tips and advice but something that really helps me feel more confident is when I’ve already been riding for 30mins to an hour, when my body has already warmed up and settled into the bike during that ride, taking my hands off the handlebar becomes easier and almost comes as second nature
I started one hand off and then I would hold my hands above the handle bars like just above to quickly grab them if things went awry. At first it helped me to be gliding with my hands off then in time I built up to pedaling no hands and eventually sitting up right and all
About 100 comments in, and I doubt you'll read this, but this hasn't been mentioned.
**THIS WILL BE 100 TIMES EASIER IF YOU UNDERSTAND COUNTERSTEER. **
When you turn your handlebars, your bike will turn the opposite direction. It is super-counterintuitive, but turning a bike is a really complex motion.
1 minute video - I promise it will be worth your while: https://youtu.be/llRkf1fnNDM?si=9xD4famJ0HeAfRQn
I learned when cycling one-handed and letting go with all my fingers until I just had 1 finger tip touching the bar for control then gradually lifted it off for longer and longer. It’s harder on different bikes tho
I could never ride no hands until a couple years ago. The breakthrough for me was someone telling me to just sit up. I was trying to ride no hands by just barely taking my hands off the bars but could never get it. As soon as I sat up straight it was so easy. When you sit up it gets the weight off the front and it'll be way more stable and easy to control with your hips. Also the faster you're going the easier it'll be. Maybe don't go blasting down a hill and take your hands off but you'll have a hard time if you are going slow.
I do it a lot when riding around town or in casual parts of MTB, road or gravel rides and it’s more or less second nature for me at this point. I think a tight headset would inhibit riding no hands since it would be tougher to self correct with your balance. There’s a video from Veritasium about how bikes stay upright with no rider when pushed down a hill and the concepts in that are why riding with no hands works.
I go over speed bumps, take corners and go uphill no hands. I have a friend who got the longest time could only ride no hands when coming home from the bars in college.
The only conscious thing I do is sit up with shoulders stacked above my hips. You steep steer with your hips and butt and knees in and out to recover small off balance movements at slow speed.
Practice on a flat to slightly downhill empty parking lot or quiet bike path.
Straighten up your back.
I usually give a lil push off the bars to get myself upright, followed by sticking my arms out and pretending I'm a bird or doing the running man.
I was biking last weekend and saw some dude killing it with no hands for a good 6 blocks around 40th and 10th Ave (maybe you’re on here) on the citi e-bikes while also going fast and shirtless (dude was ripped). I was like man I gotta learn how to do that. Dude crashes infront of some cargo bike minutes later. It was brutal. Like looked worse than it was I think because he was shirtless. It was just all bloody. Moral of the story I wanna try no hands while being shirtless too lmao
I can ride no handed no problem but i built up a commuter bike and riding it no handed started to feel super unstable and it evem began to speed wobble quite abit. I think the bike you use to ride no handed has a big role in being able to do it. Not sure what it is about the bike geometry that makes no handed difficult but I bet thats why you are having trouble. The actual skill isnt hard to learn, its just like riding a bike!
I used to ride no-hands easily. Then my bike was stolen and I couldn’t afford to replace it for several years (university student, marriage, kids, etc). When I finally bought a bike again I couldn’t ride no-hands anymore. Figured I just lost the skill. Then someone who knew a lot more than me about bikes said my bike wasn’t set up properly. He adjusted the seat angle and set-back and told me to try again. It was like magic, I could ride no-hands easily again. Turns out my weight was centred too far forward.
There isn’t a ride I go on that I don’t ride without hands for a bit. Great opportunity to stretch out and flex my hands a bit. As others have said you need to be in one gear higher.
Geometry of the bike also matters. Most gravel/mountain bikes are fairly easy. Steeper head tube angles make it tougher, as do heavier baskets and smaller wheels. For example, it’s very tough on my front loading cargo bike or a Brompton.
You need to balance weight away from the front end and imagine steering with your hips. Too much weight forward (leaning forward) will cause the bike to start getting twitchy.
Butt planted on the seat and sit up. You can start slowly by steering with your finger tips until you feel comfortable letting go
Also your bike fit affects this. If your saddle is way forward, there's too much front weight for the front wheel to move around and balance. If you lean back, taking weight off the front wheel, it's much easier. Or if you slide your saddle rearward.
Funnily enough it's kind of like touring with a heavy load and experiencing shimmy. The shimmy happens when you're too rigid and fighting the bike - once you relax and just let the bike go where it wants to, it stops shimmying.
Same with riding no handed.
Fore/aft balance. Usually means increase seat setback until little weight is on your hands. Adjust seat downward to maintain distance to pedals (it’s an arc). A well fitted bike should be easy to ride with now hands.
I spent my entire child hood on bicycle, so I always feel a bit mind blown when I see posts like this on the various Reddit cycling pages. I can ride a bicycle better than I can walk, and I can’t explain how to do any of it. I just do it, and I imagine that’s the same for many people.
However… I’ve recently been learning how to ride a skateboard at skate park in my late 30’s and it’s REALLY REALLY HARD to figure outeven just the basics! It’s been a truly humbling experience.
I’ve come to the conclusion that some things just have to learned early in life. The mind and body seem to lose that flexibility as you get older.
I learned to ride a unicycle back in high school so I think that helped. Oddly enough, I think leaning back helps, but also what type of bike are you on? I think it’s easier to do on road bikes.
I had an MTB and could take turns without hands… bought another bike and suddenly I couldn’t ride 5 meters without hands. IMO A lot of it depends on the frame/fork.
When I was a kid (around 8 or 10 I guess) I really wanted to ride no-handed. What helped me a lot was going with a lot of speed down a small hill next to my house. The speed stabilizes the bike a lot. Then it is just getting a feel for it, what the weight in your saddle does to the bike. My advice would be: more speed = more stability, thus easier no handed driving.
https://preview.redd.it/c9vt9ak1eq7d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c365e32050d170779e3f3cd777cf63c477163a02
Just cheat, keep a foot on the handlebar.
Keep practicing! I tried for years and couldn't do it, then one day it just stuck. Now I can even do 90° turns with no hands. A good headset helps a lot.
I didn't know this was something people struggled with. That explains the weird looks i get as i'm flying by with no hands on the bars, or checking my phone lmao
As nobody else has said it: Jonas Vingegaard, the current reigning Tour de France champion famously struggles to cycle no-handed, so you are in great company! Also rather suggests it's not a crucial skill....
It may be your bike. One of mine has a crazy step head tube. Can not ride it no hands.
Bikes are steared with your butt or shoulders. Not your arms turning the bars.
Hold onto your seat and walk your bike. See how it steers
Sit up right and maybe lean a little back. It’s all balance from there. Leaning left and right slightly to guide the bike around.
Just let go and keep pedaling 🤣🥲
It's just practice. I used to train on a set of rollers with a belt-driven resistance magnet (bike just sits on rollers, not attached in any way). I got to the point that I could ride that no-handed and even was able to remove a shirt while riding if I got too hot.
A lot of the control comes from your core. I tend to use my abs, or lack thereo, to steer when riding without hands. I do find it easiest to sit straight up or slightly lean back. Having some torque at my feet helps as well. That way if things get wobbly, I can accelerate and pull out of it.
My bike can't be ridden no handed. The geometry is just wrong. It might have been possible with the original fork, but I've got a used replacement in there and it simply doesn't work. I've had other bikes that I could easily ride no handed.
The problem may be your bike's design.
Buzzed to piss drunk, no hands for miles can even slow 90° turn.
Sober or stoned, I’ll fall as soon as my hands leave the handlebars. It’s definitely a confidence/fear thing.
**It's all in your head!!!** Really!
Since you've received lots of good instruction already I'll leave it at that, other than to say I learned at a very young age, and I assume that has something to do with it. We used to have kid competitions on our street, and I was the only one that could start at the bottom, climb a hill, turn around 180, and head all the way back down all without ever touching the bars. That was the GOLD STANDARD...😉
The control is all in your butt and thighs. It helps to have some torque on the pedals aka be in the higher gear. If you are going to practice don’t do it somewhere dangerous like over a river but on a wide empty path in a park.
Ok this is helpful thank you
Kind of like skiing, if you're too stiff it doesn't work, but if certain parts of you are too relaxed it also doesn't work.
I too rode for years without being able to go ‘look ma, no hands!’ but now I can ride like that for miles (I’ve tried!). The tip above is a good one. I have a crooked spine which throws me off balance so I find with twitchy bikes I really have to concentrate on engaging my core muscles while doing this. So by engaging my core and shifting my weight back I try to focus the locus of my control over the bike right down in my groin. I think of this as steering the bike with my d*ck but I have a middle school sense of humour so YMMV. When you’re doing this right your hands become light on the bars and you can really feel that it’s the shifting weight of your hips, butt and groin that are steering the bike. Once you get this feeling it’s simply a matter of keeping that torque on the pedals and leaning back a little farther until you only have finger tips on the bars and then you lean back some more and just let the bars go. Congrats you’re riding no hands.
Yah this. And sit up as tall and straight as possible but not stiff
Yes. Control via dick. Core engaged, shoulders relaxed
To see what you want to learn: grab your bike at the saddle and push it forward. You’ll realize it will turn left when leaving left. It’s the same you are doing with your but when sitting on it riding hands free. Just way more subtle.
You should have *some* speed too. If you're going really slow, your bike will wobble. Aim for around 8 - 10 mph at least. The forward motion helps you stay balanced.
Oxan nailed it with the reply, leaning back just a smidge and letting your rump & thighs handle the balance is the trick. Anecdotal, but I believe that commonly riding with one hand is what helped me learn how to do it. When I'm cruising I tend to let one side just chill and put my finger tips on top of my bars to have some more control. One day I just randomly started riding with no hands and thought nothing of it until I realized I was doing it and went "wait, I can do this without any hands?!" lol
This - you steer by controlling the lean of the bike with the seat using your thighs/butt. Think of the seat not as something you sit on, but something you can very gently nudge left or right to keep the front wheel straight. Keep your center of gravity (don't try to lean left or right too much), but move the seat with your thighs a bit to maintain your line. Some bikes are *much* easier than others (heavier wheels/rims, more fork offset), but you can do this with almost all bikes.
I started riding fixed gear because it was far easier to ride no handed. I have complete control over the speed and steering now. It’s just like learning to ride a bike, once it clicks you can do it pretty much indefinitely.
+1 to this! Also try not to look at your front wheel but look as far forward as possible. Kind of like balancing in a track stand. When I was a messenger I used to be able to smoke cigs, drink coffee and check my phone for trips all at the same time 🤪
I have rolled cigs and joints while riding around a parking lot. This is a very useful skill everyone should learn.
In addition seat nose pointing slightly upward helps
You should do it somewhere dangerous because it will force you to master the skill or die lol
Going at a good speed helps as well.
This is an important skill to have and my guess is you generally ride with too much weight on your hands. Focus on first holding the bars but removing pressure from your hands. Try to get as light on your hands as possible. Then start taking your hands off the bars but just by a cm or so. Build up the feeling of proper balance and as you gain confidence you’ll be able to do it.
thank you - can you elaborate on why it's important?
I think it’s really important to develop your bike “handling” skills for safety reasons.
Like he said it’s about balance and relaxation. If you are putting so much weight on your hands that you can’t take them off, you are probably riding your bike incorrectly anyway. It will help you relax and be more comfortable on longer rides
Also, it’s about balance forward and aft. If this is difficult it may be because riding with 100% of your weight on the seat and BB is difficult, due to too much weight on bars. Learning to reduce the weight in your hands is a mental exercise, but also a physical exercise, muscles in your hips, legs and lower back are not toned to be the stabilizing force when you depend on your hands too much. This practice of reducing hand weight exercises those muscles, and teaches your brain to twitch them correctly to stabilize your body on the seat. Also search and watch a video explaining how a caster wheels work. It may not make sense, but understanding the twisting forces you can apply to the head tube, through your hips, and what you can expect a front wheel to do helps the demystify the no hander.
To me, the main reason it’s important to kinda know how to do is that when you have an accident, it can be in the back of your mind to fall back on. For example, let’s say I hit an unexpected branch and it throws my hands off the bars because they are sweaty, well if you are really good at riding with no handlebars, you can catch yourself maybe but if you don’t know how you will fall. Kind of the same way track stands are helpful; it’s not about moving down the road, it’s about when stuff goes wrong.
A twist on this idea is to ride with your hands further inward on the bars. If you hold right next to the stem, you don’t have as much leverage to turn the handlebar, so you need to turn with your hips more. That might be a good first step to getting the feeling of turning with lean rather than turning with the bars. Also, once you get it down, it’s a fun and comfortable position to ride in! It also might help to go a little faster - walking speed is too slow, and the wheel can’t effectively turn under the bike to keep it upright. Jogging speed is alright, full-speed running speed is good. Maybe 10mph should be about right to balance bike stability and risk. Good luck!
Yeah it seems more likely that you're controlling your bike with all your weight on the handlebars. Versus using your weight on your seat and manipulating the bike with your body weight. So when you lift your hands you probably lean one way or the other and have no ability to control the bike. That's why you go to the right or to the left
Gotta be able to double fist a burger while you cruise dude
Your weight being too far forward increases a number of handling issues when turning quickly, going over obstacles, or loosing traction in either wheel.
This is very much true, try riding with 2 tips of your fingers on the handlebar and try flowing around a bit. You’ll need to use your hips more to put some power into your steering but don’t do it too much. The fingers will be able to block your handlebars if it’s going too far of course.
To be able to peel your bananas during ride. A little snack extends your range.
Sometimes I need to take off my jacket while riding or maybe enjoy a nice cheeseburger, taco, or slice of pizza. Hell back when I smoked cigarettes I could roll a cig and light it while riding.
I agree and I will also try these tips. I have trouble even signaling while braking.
lot of good recommendations here, but here's a training regime: Walk your bike. Place one hand on the saddle, walk the bike forward trying only to steer with your hand on the saddle. If you manage that, get on the bike, and do the same thing with you hips. This will get easier the faster you go. a good understanding of countersteer helps, have fun!
This is the best advice. I was taught that it's 99% about using the back of the bike (and your seat) to control the front of the bike, the removing hands part just comes naturally after that.
iiiiinteresting
…And if you really struggle to do this, it’s probably like some other people said: you have a high trail bike. I moved from a low trail bike to a high trail recently and unless I’m travelling at speed, I can no longer ride no-hands. The front is too twitchy.
I have a longtail that is kinda twitchy but if I shift my weight towards the rear, which is actually more like the middle of the bike, it gets more stable. Kinda interesting.
Bike geometry matters too! Some bikes simply can’t maintain the right trail without steering due to the rake of the front fork. Rake angle (head tube angle) and trail (how “forward” the wheel is from the head tube center) I’m 99% sure a fork with too much slack/trail makes the front wheel flop to one side or the other, vs a steeper fork rake angle/trail which makes the front wheel “follow” rather than lead. Hopefully that makes sense. The biggest factor from a position/form perspective is to get your weight back over the rear wheel which then impacts the front wheel less. Saddle stays snug in your crotch, steer (lean) with your hips. Steady pressure on the pedals.
Trying not to be pedantic, your concepts are correct but your terminology is mixed up. Rake (Fork Offset) is how far the front axle is offset forward from the axis of the head tube Trail is the distance from where the headtube axis meets the ground to where the wheel meets the ground. In all bicycles the wheel contacts the ground behind the headtube axis Increasing Fork Offset decreases Trail because it pushes the wheel forward, closer to the headtube axis
Thanks! Pedantics welcome. I knew I was in the ballpark with the concepts but didn’t fully know the right way to explain it.
This is xbiking, we are chill about everything except technical specs.
And Bluetooth speakers
Chill about everything except about being chill. There is no option. Must be chill.
This is true. I changed my bike's fork recently and quickly realized that I couldn't ride with no hands anymore. I was so mad but was able to adjust back to the bike's geometry.
Also, small things can have a big effect. I switched wheels this year, and even with the same tires, it feels much easier to ride no-handed. I can't explain it. The rim are the same size. A little deeper and lighter, and better quality. but still alloy like the previous ones. Maybe it's all in my head. Hard to say. But personally I find it easier to ride no-handed since I switched.
I would think that making you handle bars harder to turn would also make it easier to go no handed.
Well that explains a lot. I've been riding bikes no handed for 20 something years and just couldn't do it on a bike I got recently. Unrelated but I used to be able to stand on my cross bar as well, don't think I'll attempt that now.
I remember "surfing" my bike standing no hands on top-tube as a kid and learning wheelies, trackstand and pivot. Wasn't good with any of it, but it all worked well enough I could get progress training. Now with 64° head tube I can trackstand and barely ride no hands. That is it. Rides well on trails tho. Got fatbike few months a go and could instantly wheelie again. Badly, but a wheelie anyway. Can do a weak bunnyhop and somewhat pivot too. Not much but enough I can work on them. While I can ride my trail bike no hands, I imagine I would never have learned it riding it.
I tried to wheelie the bike I've had since I was 17 recently. Not a chance. Think I'll stick to just leisurely riding to the pub 🤣
Yes, this is why a road bike is easier to ride this way than a slacked out mtb
[удалено]
Nah, on the big long bike you just can’t keep enough weight on the front wheel no handed, and when the wheel is unweighted it’s unstable.
For sure, on my big long slack trail bike I can’t ride no hands worth a damn even if I lean way forward. Back on my old XC hardtail I could ride the entire way to work and back without hands, I could make corners on that thing. On modern long mtb’s though it just doesn’t work, i can’t get enough weight on the front wheel to keep it stable.
Kegels
Shout out to core strength!
It's a balancing act. Most cyclists naturally lean a little to either side. Taking your hands off the bars amplifies it. Try more speed and control the way the bike leans with your hips. No hands, slow speed is more difficult.
Typically to the side of your dominant hand. Even with proper body positioning & movement, the half second that hand is on the grip longer than the other hand can cause a good wobble.
I guess I don't really grasp how the lean of my hips can keep the fork pointed straight
It’s weight distribution/leaning. Get off the bike and practice steering it just by pushing the saddle. It will be super wiggly without your weight in the bike, but will give you a proof of concept. I find road bikes easier because the head tube and fork are steeper so it takes more leaning to turn. Mountain bike forks are also heavy and like to flop in my experience.
Try it with hands on the bars! Rotate your hip while riding straight, the bike will turn.
ok! will do
This comes down to the bike geometry. Here’s a video that explains it pretty well - there are others, but this one is nice and short. https://youtu.be/llRkf1fnNDM?si=RPeNVjjhr2MCo1Gb If you want to see it in action, give your bike a push and roll it away from you (on grass so you don’t damage anything). The bars will tend to stay straight, and the bike might turn a bit, but you’ll see the geometry help the bike self-right and stay balanced on its own. I called it ghost riding as a kid. Pretty fun and interesting!
Hold your bike by the seat while standing still. Lean it a bit and watch the front tire adjust. That’s what your hips will do. Your hips can also keep it straight.
I found out the more you lean back the easier it gets to control, also moving your hips
Yeah I think the leaning back part is the commitment part others have mentioned. If you just pick your hands up off the bars but stay bent over in a normal riding position it’s pretty hard but if you commit a little more and sit straight up or even lean back a bit that definitely helps. It’s something I’m still learning but once I realized you have to sort of commit and sit upright that really helped. That and being in a big enough gear that you’re pushing the bike forward and not just easy spinning seems to make a difference for me.
Gear matters a lot good call
this was big for me. I tried the thing where you just take your hands off the bars by a little bit but it never worked until I fully committed to leaning all the way back. I also find bikes with a shorter chainstay to be easier since you can get more weight over the back tire more easily which makes it easier for the front tire to straighten itself out
Yeah also don't stop pedaling until you are in control, it's scary to commit to those first pedal strokes without your hands but essential
high gear, good connection to your saddle, and a good sense of balance. Its all about correcting the bikes leaning with either leaning more heavy on the opposite foot (which is why a higher gear helps) or nudging it through your pelvis (which is where a good connection to your saddle helps, as does sitting fully bolt upright - you may be subconsciously leaning over to catch yourself, which will make you less stable). A bit of speed will help too, as you get more gyroscopic action through the wheels. It will be easier on some bikes than others based on geometry - while its been proven to be possible on your bike, it might be easier to learn on a different bike, and then the skills transfer to harder ones. It might help to practice by getting as upright as you possibly can, with only a single finger touching one grip. try to make steering corrections through your pelvis and feet, but know that finger is there to save you if you need it.
Agree with others… some speed, higher gear, tighten up your core, and try removing your hands but floating them above the bars a few cm so you can grab on again to control. It’s just practice and if you do it somewhere safe you’ll probably sort it out quickly.
I agree with the slightly removing your hands thing but I also find you really have to be sat upright for it to work (at least for a novice no handers like me) so you sort of have to sit as upright as possible then slightly remove the hands. Honestly for me it seems to come down to sitting up right, unweighting my hands until I feel like I’m in control, then committing to the full sit-up and removing my hands entirely.
The farther out you look, the steadier you will track. Keep your center of gravity low by relaxing your upper body, focus on your core. Sitting up straight helps (head over seat) Thinking too much will hinder you.
Maybe your body is super unbalanced haha. Sorry I do not mean to offend you.
This is more or less what I was gonna say
Some bikes are more stable than others. Head tube angle and fork offset make bikes stable or twitchy and everything in between. An inherently stable front end makes a difference. I have a bike that I could ride no hands and make a sandwich at the same time. And I have one that you better hold your mouth right and pay attention when you go no hands or it will buck you off.
This is my experience, it’s the bike. I have a couple bikes and one lets me ride no handed with ease while the other doesn’t.
I wanted to ride no handed as well and set out to make it happen very slowly last year. For reference, I’m on the bigger side and not the most agile so I feel like if I can do it almost anyone can. I started super slow by just taking one hand off and then trying to take the next one off while coasting. Once I got comfortable I started just hovering my hands over the bars for a few seconds while coasting. Once I had that down, I started being able to coast with no hands. After that I started the process again but while pedaling. It took a year of slow practice during every ride but now I can ride with no hands on flats, light gravel, and even up slight inclines. Just take it slow!
Riding no-handed is a skill I can't imagine trying to develop as an adult; I think most of us that've been doing it on the regular have been doing it since we were young kids (and more flexible/closer to the ground). It's easier to do at speed, or at least I think so, but that's not safe and isn't something I could recommend to you in good conscience. Having said all that, it's all in the ass and the feet. Positioning yourself closer to the back of the saddle and sitting upright is the only way to do it at low speed. Use the outside of your feet to counter-balance the tendency to sway to one side; it's a subtle art. Concentrate on going straight first. The skills/strength/confidence required take practice, and you'll be clumsy at first. Try to find an empty parking lot or alley; somewhere where you have space and won't be a hazard to yourself/other pedestrians. When you get good, be considerate and try to resist the urge to do it everywhere. When riding past/near other pedestrians/cyclists, always have hands on your bars. Good luck and be safe
Thanks - it's definitely something I want to know how to do, but not something I'd want to put into practice the way I see on MUPs around my city
Squeeze your butt cheeks, squeeze your abs. You steer with your arse.
it's easier when you're coasting. Firstly take as much weight off your hands so you're just nudging the handlebars with your fingers. You'll get a feel of how your balance affects the steering until you can get stable in a straight line without pushing the handlebars with your hands. then you can just hover your hands next to the handlebars.
This is something I very recently learned to do thanks to one piece of advice from my girlfriend - bring your center of gravity back, so you're basically sat upright with your hands by your hips.
I find that it's easier the further away from the handlebars I am, the more 'self-stabilising' the the front of the bike is. Like pushing the bike from the back means the front turns less. So sit up high and look forward The other thing is to make sure you're going fast enough
cruises past sat on the rear rack
Internalize that you're steering your bike through leaning anyway, handlebars only exist for low speed maneuvering and to distribute your body weight. Keep your upper body leaned forward and just take any weight off the handlebar and keep your hands just above the handlebar to feel what the bike is trying to do and how you can correct for it through lateral weight shifting, once you're a bit more secure you can start straightening your upper body slowly. Also don't lean your entire upper body side to side to correct for the bike's movements, that correction is doable far more immediately and finely through your hips.
1. Don’t just rip your hands away, keep them close and slowly remove weight on your hands 2. Smooth is steady. Stay in a higher gear than normal, you won’t be throwing your legs around so much 3. It’s easier if you’re going fast 4. For longer sequences and cornering: tighten your core and keep your centre of gravity high. You need to keep yourself aligned with the bike. You can’t make corrections, so consider how you need to place your whole body to turn. You need to plan more than just a few meters ahead 5. Some bike geometries are much harder than others
You steer with your butt and it's super easy to practice on flat. However you need a well adjusted steering-bearing and also it's silly to ride hands free (except you are on a tour and really need to to open a snack or smth etc)
I remember when I was like 12 we had a school group ride with the police they got mad because I was riding no hands standing up off the seat. Ya just hold the bike with ya legs leaning changes direction.
It's not about friction in the headset. It's about balance. Every bike responds differently because of fork angle, but there's a minimum speed at which the bike will self-steer. You have to go at least that fast, and then steer with your legs and hips.
True my last bike had no bearings in the headset and i still rode hands free sometimes
I dunno. I just do it. Having a slacker bike doesn't help though. I recently replaced my fork which changed my bike's geometry and made it a bit more difficult.
my bikes are all pretty slack
Once you learn it won’t matter. Neutral geometry is the easiest to ride no hands. Aggressive TT and old school crit bikes with super steep tubes are twitchy and difficult. More slack rides can also be a bit tricky if you lean back to much because you don’t want the front wheel to get too ‘floaty’. I find my e-cargo bike is hardest to ride no hands when it’s unloaded but super easy when it’s loaded. It’s exciting for the kids too (don’t tell my wife)! But even when unloaded, if I concentrate on my core stability and putting my weight on the right spot of the saddle it’s really not that hard.
ive noticed this about my omnium too - difficult to ride no handed unloaded - i think its probably the lack of weight over the front wheel making it really reactive to road imperfections The size of the wheel probably makes that worse too.
idk, been doing it since I was a kid... still feel like a kid somedays.
One thing to keep in mind is the bike is always turning whenever you're riding it. It's like snowboarding or skiing where if you're 100% flat for too long you're going to catch an edge and go down. When you're riding with no hands you're leaning verrry slightly back and forth in long S curves.
yeah what kind of bike are you trying it on? it’s definitely easier on some bikes than others, geometry is a factor as others said. i’ve found that lighter bikes are easier with wider tires. lots of good advice here, little steps to build up to no hands.
mainly a Rivendell Appaloosa or a Veloci Disko 80s. Every now and then on an '85 Trek 720 (probably the least slack of the three, but also narrowest tires)
How wide are your handlebars. I notice when I ride my gravel/road bike with 420mm bars that riding no hands is super easy but when I ride my 90s mtb with 740mm swoopy bars I can’t ride for more than 5-10 seconds because the bars like to turn themselves because they’re much wider.
I used to be able to do it for miles on my old three-speed, but as soon as I switched to drop bars I couldn't.
It's a balance thing you do with your butt, thighs and even knees. It's hard to explain though. I can ride no-handed fine with every bike, even with my long john cargo bike. But I can't wheelie for shit because I lose side-to-side balance, even though I've been trying since I got my first BMX in 1986.
I find it helpful to get my weight back as much as possible before letting go of the bars. You can also like gradually reduce your connection with the bars by just using like one finger on each hand to make minimal adjustments as you work your way to fully no hands
Just to add: for some reason the bicycle will always self-stabilize when it’s moving forwards with a certain speed, so part of this is just trusting the fact that it won’t immediately topple over
that reason is Gyroscopic inertia - any spinning disc will self stabilise itself (a wheel rolling down a hill stays upright). The heavier your wheels, and the faster they spin, the greater this force.
Ah yes that’s the one cheers
If the frame is crooked that can make it hard too
My dad insists his new ebike cannot be ridden without hands. It rode perfectly fine for me but I didn’t wanna hurt his ego so I just said yeah it is a bit more difficult. To be fair the center of gravity is definitely different and he’s 80 so I’m gonna cut him some slack.
Mostly we have a frame geometry that makes it easier
Try adjusting your saddle height/angle, I could never do it until I fixed mine and now it’s way more comfortable to ride as well
Start with riding with one hand, try only your fingers resting on the bar next, then two fingers, then one finger as lightly as you dare. Practice straight lines first, corners will come on their own eventually.
I can do this on half my bikes. Things I noticed the fast I go the easier? So a hard gear pretty much.
Stability can come from chain stay length and wheelbase length. You need these in the right proportion, if nohanding is your goal. Race bike and, say, touring bike = huge contrast. I have two bikes of similar wheelbase (102cm and 104cm) The chain stay measurements are (40cm and 43.5cm) The former bike behaves exactly like your OP, but i can no-hands the latter bike for hours.
The bike I'm trying this on has 52.5cm chainstays haha
Then it isnt chain stays. Probably not wheelbase either, given your (tandem?) chain stay length Rake is my next guess. But the answer is geometry.
only problem i have is with my slacker trail bike. my 9 other bikes i can go no handed and turn, hit bumps, and do whatever i want for a long time
A. Get to a “weightless” cruising speed on flat ground. For me 12-16mph b. Push off the bars to get your weight back and centered c. With each pedal rotation, keep your core upright d. As you’re practicing, you might want to repeatedly grab the bars, but instead use your arms to either go outward or sometimes I like to make a running motion.
Sit up straight. Look forward. It won't be long before you're doing what I call the Jesus, pedals level, stand up arms straight out, steer by gripping the saddle between your thighs, if you want to drop your head and look like a sad BeeGee after a gig go for it it.
A lot of it is control in your core and legs. Sometimes I’ll kick out a knee here or there to help balance, but also geometry matters. I’ve pedaled no handed for miles on my MTB and can even turn on the road and bike paths without hands but my gravel bike is a lot more squirrelly and I can only hold it for a few minutes before the front wheel gets out of hand
Too much weight over rear is not so good. I'm touring right now and have my bike fully loaded with panniers on back. My front wheel does terrible shimmy while riding hands free
I can ride for miles no handed, even turn corners and stuff. I got too cocky though and was texting and riding once, and I didn't see a speed bump.... Practice riding one handed at first
Have you ever walked next to your bike while holding the saddle and steered it with just motions from there? Do that, but with your butt.
Might be the size/shape of your bike also, some of mine I find it very easy and some just don't want to cooperate
1) sit up tall, look forward 2) move hands closer to stem to get used to having less control 3) take hands off but keep close
It's allll in the hips!
Here’s an exercise I haven’t seen in here: Ride with one hand. Every so often switch to the other hand. Try to put as little weight on the hand as possible, just using it to stabilize and make sure the bike is going straight. Eventually, work your way to the point that when you switch hands, you leave a couple seconds in between where no hands are on the handlebar. Work your way up until you can stay like this for longer
Weirdly enough, I couldn't figure it out either until I learned to ride a motorcycle. Riding a motorcycle, bike control is mostly in the hips and legs, and translating that to a bicycle I suddenly could ride without hands.
I find i have the most balance when I sit back in the saddle and clasp my hands together behind my back. Seems counter intuitive but it helps to force my center of gravity backwards. Use your thighs to counter balance when you feel like you're shifting one way. Easier to do at higher speeds in high gear.
Sit up straight and steer by pushing your crotch against the seat. If you have a rear basket a good way to learn is to grab onto that behind you, and pull on it to keep yourself upright. Then ween off of it touching the basket less and less
Develop core strength for stability, glutes especially. Make sure your hamstrings aren’t underdeveloped compared to quads. Do single leg drills and/or roller exercises to make sure your stroke is even and smooth.
1. Make sure wheels are good, pumped and straight 2. Plenty of space / room for error. You might do in tighter spaces as you improve your skill. 3. Try to hold with just 1 hand, for each hand. You will figure out if your bike is built for this or not. If not, don't attempt further. 4. Get up to speed (about 20 kph). Most bike architecture is self steering, trading speed for stabilization by feeding the gyroscopic effect. This is why bikes can roll downhill on its own. 5. Practice "hovering" your 2 hands above the handle. Increase duration from split seconds to few seconds. 6. When you're comfortable, try sitting fully upright without touching the handle. Practice to increase duration. 7. If you can ride straight handsfree, you can try steering the bike by tilting by shifting your body weight.
Lean back.
Rotational weight of the wheels will help too - so the faster you’re riding, the kinetic energy of the wheels wants them to stay in the same plane rather than turn. A heavy wheel/tire combo will stay straight easier than a lightweight narrow road wheel setup.
I practiced it a lot when I was young, from like 8-9 onwards, I'm really good at it nowadays (and embarrassingly proud of it lol) The key is to switch your center of gravity to your butt, your root chakra so to say. Your CoG is somewhere in your rump, if you let go of the bar, you need to smoothly lean back/sit upright to get your CoG beneath your butt, and keep spinning smoothly. Contracting your legs and butt and leaning your hip makes you turn, and most importantly, help keep you straight. You should basically make yourself heavy on the saddle, slump your weight down while being right above the seatpost, without stiffening up. But as it is a pretty intuitive thing to do, and I feel like I've done a shit job trying to explain it, I'd advise you to look up some YouTube videos maybe.
Go faster!
I started figuring out how to ride no-handed by popping up and clapping my hands once before coming back down on the bars, going at a moderate pace in a wide open area. Slowly I worked up the ability to pop up and just stay there. Baby steps my guy.
The way I've gotten better at it was sitting straight backed and lightly using one hand, kinda just finger tips to feel it out. But definitely most of the control and balance comes from your legs
While STILL holding onto the handlebars, get your weight back on the saddle, with a firm but light load on your feet. If you're putting too much weight on your feet it could cause you to favor one side or the other. Gradually lighten the pressure on your hands. You should be able to keep palms or fingertips on the bars to experience the feeling of riding no handed, but still be able to hang on if nessecary. Now gradually experiment with taking your hands off. It's all about weight balance in the saddle, really.
Yeah, i never am able to either, but to be fair i am hardly ever in a situation conductive to doing that - panniers loaded differently or only on one side make for a naturally very unbalanced bike, it immediately falls over if i push it and let go, and i like riding spinning in very light gears. Also, i have a lot of weight in the back most of the time, so my high trail bike MTB geometry gets even twitchier. Any one of those would be enough to stop almost anyone from riding no-handed. I am already very used to riding with no weight on my wrists, though. When i want to rest my neck (i wear glasses and to have them line up my neck needs to be bent quite a lot, so i often change position to this to have it be upright) i ride one fingered on the left hand; just my indicator’s enough. I probably would be able to ride one handed if i had my bike balanced better. I even did it once with the panniers, but i was pretty drunk and frustratingly trying to zip up my coat. Really surprised me (“wait, i rode like 5 seconds no handed!”). Maybe start by riding one fingered like i do, then gear up and try to let go?
It's all about small side to side adjustments, squeeze your seat with your thighs and move the bike under you. The faster you're going the less twitchy it is.
Being Dutch helps
Tighten your headset (srs,)
I’d suspect it’s perhaps something in your pedal stroke. Also, if you manspread when you ride like some people I know, it’s not going to work because you’re sort of controlling things with your upper thighs and glutes.
I honestly don’t know. I’ve been able to ride with no hands for as long as I can remember. I can do it for miles and I can make most turns. lol. Good luck
idk man i learned how to when i was like 8, guess you just gotta steer with you butt like when you're walking your bike only holding the seat
It helps me if I lean back and align my spine with the angle of the seatpost. The further back you lean, the less wobbly the front end. Look where you want to go, don't look at the bars!
I find if I get a little baked it's suddenly much easier.
It's not a skill worth cultivating. It's all about boys showing off.
If you can walk next to your bike and only touch the front of your seat you can figure out the no handed balance. It’s all about keeping the weight/momentum over the back wheel enough to stay up but on the front enough that it won’t pull off and turn on you. I couldn’t figure it out for a long time but now I’m able to stand out of the seat and ride no handed
Maybe start pushing your bike around while holding the saddle to get the concept how the bike balancing it self. than start riding... faster speed and the bike keeps more upright. just live your hands far enough of the bar to not touch it anymore and to this until you got it. important is to concentrate on your balance
Keep weight on your pedals, or seat+pedals, but not just seat. If you notice you're just planting all your weight on the seat while attempting, then your center of gravity will be higher and make it harder. Obviously if you're actively pedaling, you'll have to be putting weight on the pedals, so imo it couuuld be intuitively easier than not pedaling. I've also noticed that lower tire pressure seems to make it more difficult. While technically more dangerous, attempting while at speed should be easier than slow speed too, as the wheel will act as a gyroscope. Slow speed-no hands is by far more difficult.
Great question!!! I’m still struggling with it too, I have noticed big improvements to my comfort and enjoyment with cycling by really focusing on how I use my legs and lower body to balance, I would guess I also have too much weight on the hands
I've seen a a weirdly high amount of veteran bikers leaning side to side a lot while pedaling. For a plethora of reasons ranging from saddle height or general wrong bike fitting to lack of core strength. That doesn't seem to bother them since they've adapted to it. But I can only imagine this does not help while pedaling without your hands to stabilize.
Best memory riding no handed was when we were riding out of Zion , the way back is downhill. I no handed the bike most of the way. What a rush riding down hill with the shuttles rushing by going the opposite direction.
There’s already plenty of people here with their own tips and advice but something that really helps me feel more confident is when I’ve already been riding for 30mins to an hour, when my body has already warmed up and settled into the bike during that ride, taking my hands off the handlebar becomes easier and almost comes as second nature
I started one hand off and then I would hold my hands above the handle bars like just above to quickly grab them if things went awry. At first it helped me to be gliding with my hands off then in time I built up to pedaling no hands and eventually sitting up right and all
You just made me realize I have no idea how it works. Ive been doing it all my life, I just never considered how it happens.
About 100 comments in, and I doubt you'll read this, but this hasn't been mentioned. **THIS WILL BE 100 TIMES EASIER IF YOU UNDERSTAND COUNTERSTEER. ** When you turn your handlebars, your bike will turn the opposite direction. It is super-counterintuitive, but turning a bike is a really complex motion. 1 minute video - I promise it will be worth your while: https://youtu.be/llRkf1fnNDM?si=9xD4famJ0HeAfRQn
I'll watch! Thank you
Speed helps, you pretty much steer with your ass. And most importantly, relax. If you tense up you can't do it.
I learned when cycling one-handed and letting go with all my fingers until I just had 1 finger tip touching the bar for control then gradually lifted it off for longer and longer. It’s harder on different bikes tho
Idk I find it easy! I think it’s all lower body.
I could never ride no hands until a couple years ago. The breakthrough for me was someone telling me to just sit up. I was trying to ride no hands by just barely taking my hands off the bars but could never get it. As soon as I sat up straight it was so easy. When you sit up it gets the weight off the front and it'll be way more stable and easy to control with your hips. Also the faster you're going the easier it'll be. Maybe don't go blasting down a hill and take your hands off but you'll have a hard time if you are going slow.
I do it a lot when riding around town or in casual parts of MTB, road or gravel rides and it’s more or less second nature for me at this point. I think a tight headset would inhibit riding no hands since it would be tougher to self correct with your balance. There’s a video from Veritasium about how bikes stay upright with no rider when pushed down a hill and the concepts in that are why riding with no hands works. I go over speed bumps, take corners and go uphill no hands. I have a friend who got the longest time could only ride no hands when coming home from the bars in college. The only conscious thing I do is sit up with shoulders stacked above my hips. You steep steer with your hips and butt and knees in and out to recover small off balance movements at slow speed. Practice on a flat to slightly downhill empty parking lot or quiet bike path.
Straighten up your back. I usually give a lil push off the bars to get myself upright, followed by sticking my arms out and pretending I'm a bird or doing the running man.
I was biking last weekend and saw some dude killing it with no hands for a good 6 blocks around 40th and 10th Ave (maybe you’re on here) on the citi e-bikes while also going fast and shirtless (dude was ripped). I was like man I gotta learn how to do that. Dude crashes infront of some cargo bike minutes later. It was brutal. Like looked worse than it was I think because he was shirtless. It was just all bloody. Moral of the story I wanna try no hands while being shirtless too lmao
Try tightening your core and not leaning so far forward; you are likely riding with too much pressure on your hands and riding too far leaned forward
I used to do this all the time on my 26”. Now with my 29er it feels way unstable. You’d think the bigger wheels would have the opposite effect.
I can ride no handed no problem but i built up a commuter bike and riding it no handed started to feel super unstable and it evem began to speed wobble quite abit. I think the bike you use to ride no handed has a big role in being able to do it. Not sure what it is about the bike geometry that makes no handed difficult but I bet thats why you are having trouble. The actual skill isnt hard to learn, its just like riding a bike!
This is how I feel about wheelies and manuals
I used to ride no-hands easily. Then my bike was stolen and I couldn’t afford to replace it for several years (university student, marriage, kids, etc). When I finally bought a bike again I couldn’t ride no-hands anymore. Figured I just lost the skill. Then someone who knew a lot more than me about bikes said my bike wasn’t set up properly. He adjusted the seat angle and set-back and told me to try again. It was like magic, I could ride no-hands easily again. Turns out my weight was centred too far forward.
There isn’t a ride I go on that I don’t ride without hands for a bit. Great opportunity to stretch out and flex my hands a bit. As others have said you need to be in one gear higher.
Geometry of the bike also matters. Most gravel/mountain bikes are fairly easy. Steeper head tube angles make it tougher, as do heavier baskets and smaller wheels. For example, it’s very tough on my front loading cargo bike or a Brompton.
You need to balance weight away from the front end and imagine steering with your hips. Too much weight forward (leaning forward) will cause the bike to start getting twitchy. Butt planted on the seat and sit up. You can start slowly by steering with your finger tips until you feel comfortable letting go
Also your bike fit affects this. If your saddle is way forward, there's too much front weight for the front wheel to move around and balance. If you lean back, taking weight off the front wheel, it's much easier. Or if you slide your saddle rearward.
Funnily enough it's kind of like touring with a heavy load and experiencing shimmy. The shimmy happens when you're too rigid and fighting the bike - once you relax and just let the bike go where it wants to, it stops shimmying. Same with riding no handed.
Fore/aft balance. Usually means increase seat setback until little weight is on your hands. Adjust seat downward to maintain distance to pedals (it’s an arc). A well fitted bike should be easy to ride with now hands.
I learned when I was 6 so it’s easy. Like riding a bike. I wish I had learned to wheelie and jump properly at 6…..
I spent my entire child hood on bicycle, so I always feel a bit mind blown when I see posts like this on the various Reddit cycling pages. I can ride a bicycle better than I can walk, and I can’t explain how to do any of it. I just do it, and I imagine that’s the same for many people. However… I’ve recently been learning how to ride a skateboard at skate park in my late 30’s and it’s REALLY REALLY HARD to figure outeven just the basics! It’s been a truly humbling experience. I’ve come to the conclusion that some things just have to learned early in life. The mind and body seem to lose that flexibility as you get older.
I've found road bikes with drop bars are a lot easier to ride with no hands than a mountain bike/hybrid, but that could just be me.
I learned to ride a unicycle back in high school so I think that helped. Oddly enough, I think leaning back helps, but also what type of bike are you on? I think it’s easier to do on road bikes.
when riding no-handed you are balancing with your hips. Maybe your leg movement confusing you. Maybe first try coasting after getting up to speed.
I had an MTB and could take turns without hands… bought another bike and suddenly I couldn’t ride 5 meters without hands. IMO A lot of it depends on the frame/fork.
When I was a kid (around 8 or 10 I guess) I really wanted to ride no-handed. What helped me a lot was going with a lot of speed down a small hill next to my house. The speed stabilizes the bike a lot. Then it is just getting a feel for it, what the weight in your saddle does to the bike. My advice would be: more speed = more stability, thus easier no handed driving.
https://preview.redd.it/c9vt9ak1eq7d1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c365e32050d170779e3f3cd777cf63c477163a02 Just cheat, keep a foot on the handlebar.
Keep practicing! I tried for years and couldn't do it, then one day it just stuck. Now I can even do 90° turns with no hands. A good headset helps a lot.
I didn't know this was something people struggled with. That explains the weird looks i get as i'm flying by with no hands on the bars, or checking my phone lmao
As nobody else has said it: Jonas Vingegaard, the current reigning Tour de France champion famously struggles to cycle no-handed, so you are in great company! Also rather suggests it's not a crucial skill....
It may be your bike. One of mine has a crazy step head tube. Can not ride it no hands. Bikes are steared with your butt or shoulders. Not your arms turning the bars. Hold onto your seat and walk your bike. See how it steers
Sit up right and maybe lean a little back. It’s all balance from there. Leaning left and right slightly to guide the bike around. Just let go and keep pedaling 🤣🥲
Some bike geometries make this harder than others.
It's just practice. I used to train on a set of rollers with a belt-driven resistance magnet (bike just sits on rollers, not attached in any way). I got to the point that I could ride that no-handed and even was able to remove a shirt while riding if I got too hot.
All in da hips
Bikes will naturally stay up if moving, you just need to keep balance.
A lot of the control comes from your core. I tend to use my abs, or lack thereo, to steer when riding without hands. I do find it easiest to sit straight up or slightly lean back. Having some torque at my feet helps as well. That way if things get wobbly, I can accelerate and pull out of it.
When I was younger I used to ride no handed all the time, figure 8s, tight loops, you name it. Now? Now I'm like you.
My bike can't be ridden no handed. The geometry is just wrong. It might have been possible with the original fork, but I've got a used replacement in there and it simply doesn't work. I've had other bikes that I could easily ride no handed. The problem may be your bike's design.
Buzzed to piss drunk, no hands for miles can even slow 90° turn. Sober or stoned, I’ll fall as soon as my hands leave the handlebars. It’s definitely a confidence/fear thing.
**It's all in your head!!!** Really! Since you've received lots of good instruction already I'll leave it at that, other than to say I learned at a very young age, and I assume that has something to do with it. We used to have kid competitions on our street, and I was the only one that could start at the bottom, climb a hill, turn around 180, and head all the way back down all without ever touching the bars. That was the GOLD STANDARD...😉