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Learning to ride no-handed has been on my new year resolution list year after year after year and I still haven't done it. I'm 46 so I need to be careful about falling off. Do people have fool-proof techniques for learning to ride no-handed they can share?

Just to clarify after Daniel's comment below I have three bikes, a racer, a commuting bike, and a mountain bike. The mountain bike is twitchy but the other's feel stable.

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A lot depends on the geometry of your bicycle. Some bikes are naturally stable, others are designed to be more "responsive" and the handlebar does not naturally center, requiring a lot of "body English" for no-handed riding to work. –  Daniel R Hicks Apr 10 '12 at 14:58
Try to pick the bike (probably the commuter) that seems most stable, and work with that at first. –  Daniel R Hicks Apr 10 '12 at 20:47
Another tip is that the faster you are going the easier it is to ride no handed. Trying to learn at low speeds will be almost impossible. Even when you're quite proficient, riding no hands at low speed is very difficult. So get some speed up and then practice the techniques mentioned in the answers. –  Mac Apr 10 '12 at 23:30
+1 @Mac, this is called centrifugal inertia AFAIK. It's much easier to feel this on a motorbike, because of the greater mass and speed. –  jv42 Apr 11 '12 at 8:47
I could have written this question myself, only I'm a LOT older. But I do have a though about how I could improve my chances. When I was doing the Physical Therapy for my ankle broken because of clipless pedals, they had me do 'balance' exercises. I was amazed at how unbalanced I was and how I improved over the time. They had me do a few different exercises, mostly balanced on a teeter totter board, first on a 2x2 then on a 3x3 and finally with a piece of 4" PVC (as I recall the dimensions). They would have you balance on the teeter totter in a door way and use your hands on the jamb to keep y –  Joe Feb 24 '13 at 3:05
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3 Answers

up vote 14 down vote accepted

Do it little by little.

Like a learner driver, go find a car park or a quiet road, you don't want to be doing this in the traffic. Ironically, you probably don't want to be doing this on a surface that will give you a soft landing. I suppose a flat playing field might work, but cycling on grass isn't as smooth as cycling on tarmac and you'll need a predictable, flat surface to work with.

The biggest skill to master is steering through weight, not through moving the handlebars. You probably do this anyway, but it's something to work on deliberately while you've got two hands on the bars. Just sway your weight from side to side and try to go in the direction you want - in a moment you'll be steering like this for real, so try and get it going well when you don't need it.

I don't think it's worth going one handed first - this is an all-or-nothing exercise. Get going in a straight line with your hands lightly on top of the bars (if you're on dropped handle-bars) and just relax your hands. Hold them flat on the bars and just lift them. Don't look at them. Just lift them a little. A fraction of an inch will feel like a foot ...

But then just try to do things with the hands off the bars. Do the leaning and swaying from side to side. Just a little amount. Just enough to drift a little off line then get you back going in a straight line. Then once you're happy, try to sit up. The more you practice, the less of a problem this becomes.

You will feel very unsteady as your centre of gravity moves around. The key here is that on most bikes your centre of gravity is quite low, somewhere around your knees, but as you take your hands off the bars and sit up, it rises significantly, so you need to be happy in controlling it and how to react to how the bike is taking it.

Pretty soon you'll be taking corners.

Of course, don't forget that, unless you're on a fixed or have non-standard equipment, the only way to stop suddenly is probably quite painful ...

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Thanks @Unsliced, I'll give that a go –  dumbledad Apr 10 '12 at 18:15
I've actually found it's much easier to sit all the way up then just hovering over the bars. Also the "heavier" feeling the steering is the more stable it will be. My cruiser with wide handlebars and a thick tire rides no handed quite well, but I find road bikes much more challenging. –  Glenn Aug 1 '12 at 15:35
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One thing to mention is if the bike is messed up at all, it's a lot harder to ride no-handed. I have a "beater" I bought for $1 at a garage sale to ride/leave at the train station. It must have a bend in the frame somewhere b/c I can't let go of the bars w/out it pulling. My road bike however, I can go easily and corner no handed.

I think it's easiest to do while pedaling, and to learn to "stear with your hips".

Hope that helps.

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Thanks @Don - all three bikes are old so I may try my wife's as that's had less wear. –  dumbledad Apr 10 '12 at 20:11
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You should find it pretty easy to pedal with no hands for a second. Once you're able to do this, progressively leave your hands off the bars for longer. It's easy to work up to riding no handed comfortably.

Two things you should note:

  1. Riding no-handed is actually pretty dangerous. If you accidentally hit a walnut-sized rock it can turn your handlebars enough to toss you.
  2. Riding no-handed is illegal in some areas, and you can get a hefty ticket (e.g. Ontario).
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Thanks - this is actually the approach I've tried (minus the rock and the police) but I've never gone beyond the 30 - 90 second mark. I never feel in control so when I have to steer I need my hands. –  dumbledad Apr 10 '12 at 20:12
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