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riding no-hands


Shebeen

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why is it that riding nohands is easy on some bikes, and not others?

 

from personal bikes i thought it might have been a rear suspension thing, but my fixie is quite twitchy too when i sit up.

 

geometry, maybe?
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hahaha.. With me its because the headset's bearings are slightly worn and my handlebar has a 'dead' position facing directly forward.

 

 

 

Maybe your headset is a bit too tight???

 

 

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I have also always wondered this, I'm pretty sure that the main factors are the headtube and for far forward the wheel is on the fork (like how older road bikes had bent forward forks).

 

This is just an educated guess as my previous bike was a fairly slack trail bike, which was very easy - and my current bike is a more race centered XC bike that is a lot more difficult.

 

Also, I discovered that if the wheel isn't true and you try ride 'no-hands' the front wheel can get into a very exciting wobble.Tongue

 

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I have also always wondered this' date=' I'm pretty sure that the main factors are the headtube and for far forward the wheel is on the fork (like how older road bikes had bent forward forks).[/quote']

I think is just about it. Specifically, from what I've read, the main variable is the trail, or distance of the front wheel contact point from the projection of the steering (head tube) axis. The further back the contact point, the more stable the bicycle (and the more sluggish it's response will feel).

 

Here's an interesting article on bicycle stability:

http://www.phys.lsu.edu/faculty/gonzalez/Teaching/Phys7221/vol59no9p51_56.pdf

 

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when i read the first post i thought what a strange topic ...but i thought the same ...my kona was a treat to balance ..but my team issue is a twitchy fool....but the knoa has a more relaxed set up over the rear and the rave issue frame is set up for racing and alot more weight is over the front wheel ..next time try lean right back and you find it easier to handle ...

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Always wondered about this as well.

 

Always thought it had something to do with geometry.

 

 

 

MTB, no hands is easy easy.

 

Road bike is very hard and I dont risk it.

 

 

 

Also I have noticed that the faster you are going the easier it becomes.

 

 

 

Why is that? Is the wheel acting like a flywheel then?

 

 

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Woolfie Mine is otherway !

 

Some bikes's head angles are different which might make a difference, On slacker ones the contact patch is behind the axil but ahead of the headtube which In my humble opinion should make it more like reversing with a trailor,  Like my Blur.... Steaper headangle like my Roadbike (yours to Id think : ) the contact patch is underneath the headtube(or nearer to) which pulls it straighter.

 

but also check is your headsets are probably a bit sticky
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No they are not sticky.

 

 

 

How does it work - the steeper your angle the more responsive your bike? Hense racing frames will have steeper angles? or is it the other way around?

 

 

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No they are not sticky.

 

 

 

How does it work - the steeper your angle the more responsive your bike? Hense racing frames will have steeper angles? or is it the other way around?

 

Have a read through the article I posted earlier. It's pretty comprehensive and you can just skim through the pictures and conclusions to get a good idea of what's going on.

It's a combination of the head tube angle and the front fork trail. Interestingly, the gyro effect is almost negligible: he made a bike with a contra-rotating disc to cancel it out and it was still stable.

 

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Bikes with riders over 16 years old are more difficult to ride "hands free". They tend to be more uptight.

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Same bike with semi-slicks and crossmarks, could freehand nicely with the slicks but not the knobly's

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