Can you cycle upright?

fryup

I always envied guys who can cycle upright with both hands off the bars, peeling a banana, having a drink even changing a shirt mid cycle.

Is there a technique to this? is it just plain confidence in your own ability cause i keep losing my nerve trying to do it

endacl

Just sit up. There’s no magic involved.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

easier said than done

John_Rambo

Is your bike set up right for you? Unless there's something up with positioning of the saddle, stem length etc... this should be fairly natural and easy to do.

endacl

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

easier said than done

Do it without tensing up.

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^^

easier said than done

endacl

Sorry. That’s all I got...

benneca1

buy a set of rollers and practice indoors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WCUN7-nezQ

saccades

Practice with the saddle a bit nose up until you get the hang of it, some bikes have twitchier noses than others, I stuggled on my Pompino and bmx but no bother on any of my other bikes through the years.

TotalReality

Sit back,back straight and pedal smoother and you'll crack it,then you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about

robyntmorton

You really need to just find somewhere quiet, try it until you get comfortable, and not be afraid to look like an idiot falling over.

I really need to take my own advice, as it's a skill I don't possess either.

s15r330

fryup wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^

easier said than done

No, it is literally sit up and pedal. The front wheel wants to carry on straight.

artanevilla

It's momentum that's keeping you from falling over not your hands. Sit up, the bike will keep going forward.

endacl

robyntmorton wrote: »

You really need to just find somewhere quiet, try it until you get comfortable, and not be afraid to look like an idiot falling over.

I really need to take my own advice, as it's a skill I don't possess either.

And don’t practise clipped in!

DanDublin1982

endacl wrote: »

And don’t practise clipped in!

Hah. Just about to post that.

peasant

cython

I used to have a block about this for years, finally started arsing about enough with it while commuting (hard shoulder in the Phoenix Park kind of places, not just in the middle of traffic!) and it suddenly clicked. As others have said, sit up on a straight and flat stretch of road. Ensure you're in an appropriate gear that you can keep a decent cadence, as hopping your hips (low gear) or mashing (high gear) will cause your weight to move more, and destabilise you a bit. As a stepping stone perhaps try to cycle as much as you can with basically fingertips on the bars (i.e. taking your own weight onto your core and lower body) but eventually you will need to just do it, in much the same way as ripping a bandaid off.

endacl

Solution found!

Plastik

As others have said, sitting straight up is the key. If you are nervous, hunched over, and reaching for the bars for fear of falling it becomes much harder. Get up to speed. Sit up as straight as you can with your fingertips barely on the bars, and then sit up straight. Keep pedaling.

Wishbone Ash

Mercian Pro is the best I've seen at it. He's the type of rider who can easily remove or put on a jacket while on a descent in Wicklow and take a few photographs while he's at it. :cool:

I used to be able to do it as a child/teenager but seem to have a mental block now. It's a deficit I keep intending to remedy.

secman

I find it easier on a heavier Bike, it's much easier on my steel frame, less easy on the Alu frame, the trek with carbon wheels just seems too light.... and there's the fear factor... it cost too much... and it's carbon

plodder

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I used to be able to do it as a child/teenager but seem to have a mental block now

Same here. Could turn on a sixpence with no hands as a kid but taking it up again recently, I don't have that confidence or sense of balance.

I've tried it again though and I think to start it helps if you are free-wheeling and you can use your knees against the cross bar as an extra balancing force. Get used to that and you can start pedaling then I think.

secman

plodder wrote: »

Same here. Could turn on a sixpence with no hands as a kid but taking it up again recently, I don't have that confidence or sense of balance.

I've tried it again though and I think to start it helps if you are free-wheeling and you can use your knees against the cross bar as an extra balancing force. Get used to that and you can start pedaling then I think.

When we were kids we didn't have a mortgage !

fryup

^^^^^^^^^^^

and we had no fear/sense

Mech1

get one of the local kids you trust to give it a go on your bike, you will see how easy it can be.

eeeee

I can do it now, but didn't event try to do it till this year (apart from on rollers). Now I can take off a jacket/cardigan, put it in my bag on the commuter. Grand on the road bike. Haven't tried it on the track bike yet.
It's not as hard as you think. I can steer around potholes/manholes on the commuter whilst stuffing a jacket into my bag, doesn't take long to get it.
It's harder to go no handed on rollers than on a bike! I only do it for short periods on rollers. Ugh it's nearly roller time again boo!

Wishbone Ash

nee wrote: »

...cardigan..

WTF? :eek: Is it for your pipe and tobacco?

Apologies but if there a item of clothing that should be banned from this earth..........

eeeee

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

WTF? :eek: Is it for your pipe and tobacco?

Apologies but if there a item of clothing that should be banned from this earth..........

Ah now I love a good cardigan. Colour, pattern and cut are key. #CardigansFTW!

wherearewe45

Ya I was surprised how easy it was when I first tried it. Have a bit of speed for momentum, smooth flat ground and it comes surprisingly easily

Beasty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXQskfi6j1s

plodder

nee wrote: »

I can do it now, but didn't event try to do it till this year (apart from on rollers). Now I can take off a jacket/cardigan, put it in my bag on the commuter. Grand on the road bike. Haven't tried it on the track bike yet.
It's not as hard as you think. I can steer around potholes/manholes on the commuter whilst stuffing a jacket into my bag, doesn't take long to get it.
It's harder to go no handed on rollers than on a bike! I only do it for short periods on rollers. Ugh it's nearly roller time again boo!

Unfortunately (for me), I think age (and not just having a mortgage) has something to do with it. Unless you maintain these fine motor skills from a young age, they are harder to re-acquire when older.

eeeee

plodder wrote: »

Unfortunately (for me), I think age (and not just having a mortgage) has something to do with it. Unless you maintain these fine motor skills from a young age, they are harder to re-acquire when older.

I only tried it this year and don't remember any hands free cycling as a kid! Maybe I did, I don't remember.

Seen one of the guys on track* cycling hands free, on his new bike, and he's in his 70's. He won a medal at the weekend in the 60+ category at the masters. Serious life goals with that guy!

*hands free cycling on track is verboten

dahat

I have always found it easy on the work hybrid but only last few months have I tried it on the road bike. it took a little while but I can now do the nessecary free handed, gillet, food and take pictures.
It's almost child like buzz cycling free handed at times.

Pkiernan

Equivalent to a motorist driving with his hands off the wheel and feet up in the air away from the brakes!!

:-)

magicbastarder

I only recently relearned the skill of cycling while sitting upright. Perhaps there's a level of psychology involved, but I don't think it's simply just a case of sitting up, there is an element of balancing skill which cycling with hands on the bars doesn't give. But when I started practicing, it came quickly enough. I'm certainly not at the level I could change a jacket while moving though.

Wishbone Ash

nee wrote: »

...Seen one of the guys on track* cycling hands free, on his new bike, and he's in his 70's. He won a medal at the weekend in the 60+ category at the masters....

Beasty kept that very quiet!

2 Wheels Good

Good core strength also helps with balance. Also, make sure your saddle is level.

gaffmaster

I always found this next to impossible. Changed to shorter cranks recently, and suddenly I can do it (just about). I think the longer cranks were throwing my balance off.

thekooman

ive a leg length discrepancy but this year i practice on every spin and have gradually got more confident in putting on/off gilet, etc. even yday i had an itch on my head so i got the helmet off and on without stopping.
the key is to get straight up in one quick movement... and put weight on back of the saddle. the saddle does need to be level (or nearly)

cdaly_

I do recall sitting up in a paceline peeling an orange back in 2015. This was in the middle of a 1000km audax and losing the paceline was not an option!...

thekooman

gaffmaster wrote: »

I always found this next to impossible. Changed to shorter cranks recently, and suddenly I can do it (just about). I think the longer cranks were throwing my balance off.

so basically your saddle was too high? :P

daragh_

cdaly_ wrote: »

I do recall sitting up in a paceline peeling an orange back in 2015. This was in the middle of a 1000km audax and losing the paceline was not an option!...

Skillz!

I can't do it. On a long list of bike related things I fail at. Off Camber turns, proper bunny hops, CX remounts, sprinting.... it goes on and on.

TheBlaaMan

Unless the headset is set up pretty 'loose' you should be able to do it easily enough - its a confidence thing. Some bike geometry's make it easier than other to be fair.

Pick a very slight incline and a gear that ensures you are having to put a bit of pressure on the pedals to keep going at a reasonable rate - there's no point in thinking that you going to do it much below 15kmph - sit up , as upright as you can, keeping a light grip on the top of the bars and then finally just with the tips of your fingers before you let go. The further you lean back, the better. Keep pedalling.

outfox

I think it might be easier to learn this while free wheeling down a very gentle incline, like 1-2 %. This is how I learnt this as a teenager. Once you've that mastered, it's just a small step to introduce pedalling.

guanciale

I can do it on my CX bike for much longer than one of my roadbikea. On that bike thenhead tube is pretty short - not sure if thats the reason but it feels less stable than the CX bike.

Gerrup Outta Dat!

No. I even wobble a bit when I try to look behind me, which is why I got a rear-view mirror. Practice makes perfect, I suppose.

Rambling Man

No. I've awful bike handling skills. I know this and stay safe by trying nothing fancy and always giving myself time and space to make adjustmemts, drink, switch to the drops etc. And my sponsors understand that I can't straighten the jersey when I win a stage.

magicbastarder

guanciale wrote: »

I can do it on my CX bike for much longer than one of my roadbikea. On that bike thenhead tube is pretty short - not sure if thats the reason but it feels less stable than the CX bike.

Iirc, it's too do with the trail - the more trail, i.e. the further the front axle sits in front of the line you'd draw down through the head tube, the more stable the bike will feel.

tomasrojo

That's it, I think. The longer the distance between the line of the fork and the point of contact on the road (essentially the point of application and the fulcrum), the greater the leverage, so the stronger the self-correcting effect.

gaffmaster

thekooman wrote: »

so basically your saddle was too high? :P

Hehe. No because I raised the saddle to accommodate for the extra 5mm of difference and fully benefit from the extra hip aperture (probably not the right word for this).

gaffmaster

magicbastarder wrote: »

Iirc, it's too do with the trail - the more trail, i.e. the further the front axle sits in front of the line you'd draw down through the head tube, the more stable the bike will feel.

Interesting!

I've seen this referred to as 'rake' before:
edit: Slightly different. It's the rake that creates the trail.