Hands Free .....

[I like Skol]

Ah! I just twigged, it's the annual 'I can do none handed' thread
Sorry I didn't spot it sooner, I'm a bit slow today

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I wonder if it has anything to do with the head angle on one of my, MTB's it's easy the other one not so

 

[Mrs M]

I’ve just started to be able to do it again. I can ride hands free quite confidently on my road bike and MTB, but not so on my hybrid or on my Kingpin. It’s quite liberating being able to do it again.

I managed it last week on a ride to work
First time in a long time!
Had a big grin on my face and forgot I was on my way to work

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Just seen two yuff's on 29er MTB's riding around the Aldi car park on their back wheels bloody show-offs thinking it makes them look cool!!

 

[HLaB]

Just watched the BBC morning about cycling in London , Will Norman is the main man for cycling in London , he’s being interviewed along side a Superhighway on the Embankment , there were cyclists riding along presumably going to work , the cameraman turned his cameras onto the cyclists riding , one bloke is riding hands free of his handlebars and on his mobile. !! 😂😂

Are you jealous of the cyclist, I am; I'd love to have that skill

 

[ColinJ]

Just seen two yuff's on 29er MTB's riding around the Aldi car park on their back wheels bloody show-offs thinking it makes them look cool!!

I quite fancy trying that, but I'm sure that I would end up flat on my back with a saddle embedded in my groin!

 

[united4ever]

Is the technique close to that required to riding a unicycle? Never tried a uni but sometimes go hands free for 30 seconds to stretch my back.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I quite fancy trying that, but I'm sure that I would end up flat on my back with a saddle embedded in my groin!

I have tried & no idea how they manage to get the front wheel up that high, they were very good & made it look effortless, haven't they anything better to do with their time, when I was their age, I'd already been down pit for 3 years, I had a wife & 6 kids, I had no time to practise wheelies.

 

[Algarvecycling]

In Amsterdam and Copenhagen I've seen cyclists doing all manner of things hands-free; carrying their groceries, large objects etc using both hands and negotiating corners with ease. Riding hands-free is common. I learnt from my BMX days as a kid. I have yet to master wheelies on my road bike though, something a number of my mates can do. MTB easy, road bike...not so much, for me anyway. If you grew up cycling nearly every day from quite a young age then on-bike skills are just picked up as a matter of course.

 

[RidingBSOisnotacrime]

This thread reminded me the day that I was told off by a member of local cycling club while I was riding with my family (definitely not with the CC). I was a little bit ahead of my kids and wife and because I was riding at a very slow speed for about half an hour on my road bike, my back needed a stretch. I left the bar and stretch. Then I heard someone couple of hundred feet behind me was screaming as if his a.se is on fire. Put your hands on the bar! Put your hands on the bar! Hands on the bar! Because it is was so loud and alarming I immediately put my hands back on the bar. Well a few seconds later he was next to me and I realised that there was a younger and good looking woman next to him. They passed by and he said "Behave!" I have earnt my lesson I will never ever join a CC

 

[Ajax Bay]

wonder if it has anything to do with the head angle

Has to do with head tube angle and offset (perpendicular distance from the axial line of the steerer tube to the axial centre of the hub). And body position: confident leaning back: no hovering over the bars 'just in case'.
See the graph on steering characteristics in this post: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/why-did-headsets-change-from-1-to-1-1-8.220129/page-7#post-5772333