This has been an interesting discussion, with many good points. I learned to ride a unicycle as a lad, and I suggest to anyone that wants to improve their no hands riding skills, learn to ride a unicycle.
I offer any of you a ride on my Raleigh Twenty. If you can keep it in a straight line riding no hands, I'll buy you lunch.
Jay Sexton Sebastopol, CA
Date: Sat, 02 Feb 2008 00:38:28 +0000
Message: 7
> From: Jan Heine <heine94@earthlink.net
> 3 Skill/confidence:
> I have seen riders on very nice bikes who could not ride no-hands. I
> can't fathom why not.
I think that this is most frequently the case. In my experience, riders who can ride well with no hands on one bike can do it reasonably easily on any other bike, although they might take a couple of tries to get the hang of it on a bike that's radically different from what they're used to. Riders who insist that they can't ride with no hands seem equally unable (or unwilling) to do so regardless of what bike they're on, within reason. I suspect it's more because they don't completely believe that the handlebars will stay pointing forward as long as they don't do something drastic. Maybe it's because they've had bikes that were difficult to maneuver from the ground, or they've seen bikes that were being wheeled around by the seat suddenly tip because the handlebars swung or something, or because they tried once when they were kids and crashed. I don't think it's because modern bikes have inferior front end geometry.
Emily O'Brien
Medford, MA