No hands

M

MailSeanBell

Active Member
Well... I didn't think it was possible the first time I rode this bike but... I did a little no hands today.

Specifically, in a wide open parking lot, going at a slight downhill in a straight line at 17km/h with no attempt to adjust anything or change the cadence of the pedals I was able to go for a few seconds without hands.

So I thought I would share how I got there.

I spent about 10 mins going in circles, I started wide and got smaller and smaller till I couldn't balance. I'm no where near the demo video tight corners but it's coming. But I think that by doing all these circles and figure 8's I found some new balance and then spontaneously, I went straight and let go and the legs just kept going and the bike just went straight.

What a feeling!

(of course, the part I didn't mention was after I did this for 5 min's I got cocky and dropped my hands to my side and sent the bike into massive gyrations and dropped my foot off the pedal and jammed my ankle into the ground and nearly capsized because... well.. that wasn't the cool part... be careful!)
 
JimParker

JimParker

Member
This may sound corny but my wife and I may have just set a new world record...

We road a half mile side-by-side "no-hands" except we were holding hands. I was on a Freerider and she was on a Sofrider. We also practiced our "no hands" start, which is definitely easier on a slight downhill. I love riding no-hands, but you all be careful out there... falling down is NOT part of the learning process. Try it just a little bit at a time and work your way up. I don't know why it works for me, but if I point my toes forward, it's easier.

Jim Parker
 
M

MailSeanBell

Active Member
Easy come easy go...

I havn't been able to do it since that one magic night... must have been just the right air temp etc...

Wow.. cruzbike work records!
 
Peder Torgersen

Peder Torgersen

Guru
JimParker wrote: This may sound corny but my wife and I may have just set a new world record...

We road a half mile side-by-side "no-hands" except we were holding hands. I was on a Freerider and she was on a Sofrider. We also practiced our "no hands" start, which is definitely easier on a slight downhill. I love riding no-hands, but you all be careful out there... falling down is NOT part of the learning process. Try it just a little bit at a time and work your way up. I don't know why it works for me, but if I point my toes forward, it's easier.

Jim Parker
Click to expand...

My father knows I’m very interested in bikes. When he was young he lived 2 years in Copenhagen it must have been before 1950. There were 2 things that impressed him when he first came there. The first was young couples riding on bikes and holding around each other with one arm and the other arm on there bike. It was like synchronized cycling they had good speed made turns together holding each other he was very impressed. The other thing he mentioned was that many were able to stop at a light and without having to put there feet down. He had never seen that before. That would be very practical to be able to stand still at a light. I have seen it done on a trike and a unicycle. Are any of you capable of standing still on your bike without putting your feet down? Have you seen someone do it on a 2 wheeler? When you go back to around 1950 in Copenhagen there were not many cars. Most of the adults used a bike for transportation and many were very good riders. The average person was in good shape things have changed with cars but Copenhagen is still a good city for cycling. http://www.dagbladet.no/art/livsstil/danmark/2620873/ I don’t think the young couples hold around each other today when riding? But they still fall in love. Copenhagen was rated earlier this year as the best big city to live in. The Cruzbike models are special they are FWD and you can ride without hands if you want to after some training.

Peder
 
JonB

JonB

Zen MBB Master
Peder Torgersen wrote: My father knows I’m very interested in bikes. When he was young he lived 2 years in Copenhagen it must have been before 1950. There were 2 things that impressed him when he first came there. The first was young couples riding on bikes and holding around each other with one arm and the other arm on there bike. It was like synchronized cycling they had good speed made turns together holding each other he was very impressed. The other thing he mentioned was that many were able to stop at a light and without having to put there feet down. He had never seen that before. That would be very practical to be able to stand still at a light. I have seen it done on a trike and a unicycle. Are any of you capable of standing still on your bike without putting your feet down? Have you seen someone do it on a 2 wheeler? When you go back to around 1950 in Copenhagen there were not many cars. Most of the adults used a bike for transportation and many were very good riders. The average person was in good shape things have changed with cars but Copenhagen is still a good city for cycling. http://www.dagbladet.no/art/livsstil/danmark/2620873/ I don’t think the young couples hold around each other today when riding? But they still fall in love. Copenhagen was rated earlier this year as the best big city to live in. The Cruzbike models are special they are FWD and you can ride without hands if you want to after some training.
Click to expand...
Well, they sort of do. Some bike with one hand holding the mobile phone to the ear. And the other hand at the handlebar. Others bike with both hands typing a SMS and no hands on the handlebar. Naturally noone puts out a hand while turning.
I rarely see people standing stil on their bike with no feet on the ground.

I tend to keep both hands on my handlebar, especially when turning.
 
M

moose

Member
Sean..........for me that's one of the things about the Cruzbike that makes it special to ride. I have ridden up to an hour hands off many times and practice it everyday I ride. I ride hands off on some of the open back roads we have in huge numbers here in Kansas. I practice a lot at our fair grounds.
We have two miles of paved and unpaved roads that go around the fair area. Including some in and out of barns, around poles, and trough gates. Once you really learn how.............and if I can anybody can.............it's a real kick to see what can be done. This has helped me become a much better rider overall......because the number one priniple is that you first steer with your feet and then with your hands. You will notice that when you first learn to ride and panic and take your feet off....... your bike becomes slugish and hard to handle. Put your feet back on and aplly gentle preasure and the bike is easy to handle. When I ride hands off I amm aplying some of this foot technique. My controll has vastly improved because of it. Once you really learn to master fwd you will find it hard to go back to rwd. When I ride these days........ I ride feet first and then hands.........soon as learned that fact my riding improve a great deal.
Best of luck!
Moose
 
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