[skitza]

As a lad i could ride for miles at a time no handed and fairly comfortably did it on my mtb but as soon as i try my stage winner impression on the road bike i start wobbling and veering like a geriatric!? Am i now officially an unbalanced old fart!?

Topic

[Wardy74]

My tip would be, don’t look
My tip would be, don’t look at the front wheel. Trust your innate balancing skills and don’t try to point the front wheel. Overtaking people whilst holding on to the back of the saddle (which helps with getting the power down) pisses other riders off – just a word of caution. 👿

[skitza]

oddbyedefault pmsl!
oddbyedefault pmsl! :))

[pwmedcraft]

My road bike isn’t too bad,
My road bike isn’t too bad, the Brompton is tricky though. I unintentionally tried it this morning while signalling right to change lanes on Blackfriar’s Bridge. Hit a pot hole and my left hand came off the bars too, swerved sharply into the right lane but fortunately didn’t come off or hit anything.

[Matt eaton]

No-hands on a road bike is a
No-hands on a road bike is a bit harder than other bikes just because of the basic geometry. Fork rake and headtube angles make some difference but the key factor that make it tricky is that the bars are low and the seat is high. This means that you have to sit up a long way compared to the chopper you had as a kid, where your body position doesn’t really change when you let go of the bars. With a big seat-bars drop you might even have to ‘spring’ off of your arms a bit to sit up straight which is a bit of a leap of faith if you’re not 100% confident.

[oddbydefault]

Who else in Bath has ridden
Who else in Bath has ridden through Combe Down tunnel hands-free the whole way,gently flapping arms and pretending to be a bat?

Or is that just me.

[Argos74]

I used ride a mile or so to
I used ride a mile or so to school handless. One right turn, a large roundabout and a tricky right bend. Mind you, I was on a BMX at the time. Used to outrun roadies by taking corners at full pelt.

[chokofingrz]

When I was a fool of about 19
When I was a fool of about 19 years I could ride all the way from the uni back to my student house – a journey of 2km featuring mutiple sharp turns, bollards and the crossing of a major road junction – handless. I’m not saying it was the cleverest stunt, but you’ve got to find something productive to do with your day after a 1pm lie-in!

[giff77]

Couldn’t resist digging this
Couldn’t resist digging this one out again http://youtu.be/jNdsI3MuJ8s

[skitza]

i love this forum!!! So many
i love this forum!!! So many interesting comments and opinions (and links),actually rode for 20 mtrs or so comfortably tonight (no handed!) until i heard a car behind me and bottled, seriously thinking about taking my bike and paying for a bike fit now to see if they change owt and it rides better , my main problem is as this is road bike number one i have nothing previous to work against,

[msw]

skitza wrote:Fork trail?!

skitza wrote:

Fork trail?! explain ?

When I was about 15 and could do no hands for ever I don’t think I ever saw a road bike with straight forks. I think I’m right in saying that a bit of curve makes steering a little less twitchy. Also, the trend for small frames, long stems and enormous saddle to bar drops hadn’t yet happened in the pros (and therefore in the non-pros…) – see http://gerard.cc/2011/07/26/2-points-lubberding/ and more on Vroomen’s site.

Also good point about the saddle being lower on an MTB.

[arrieredupeleton]

You can tell how well a road
You can tell how well a road bike fits you by how easy it is to ride no handed. Weight distribution front/rear innit.

[Shanefutcher]

Its all just practice
Its all just practice really,start by leaving one hand on bars whilst u take off gilet etc then try to progress by doing with both hands.always keep a decent speed and steer with thighs.within 6 months of road biking i could eat a yoghurt etc on my bike.3 years and improving skills

[skitza]

badkneestorm
badkneestorm =D> =)) :))

[ColT]

jezzzer wrote:Headset too

jezzzer wrote:

Headset too tight? Steering needs to move freely so it can turn when you lean the bike.

I was going to suggest this as well. Also check that your front wheel is correctly fitted/aligned. I’d put mine in quickly at some point and it wasn’t properly located in the forks – only by a tiny amount but it made a big difference to the handling.

These are the only two things I’ve had cause me problems.

[jezzzer]

Headset too tight? Steering
Headset too tight? Steering needs to move freely so it can turn when you lean the bike.

[Author]

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