First time out with clip shoes

[gretchen]

I have always been able to ride no handed with my hybrid forever...just crusing along, steering and the whole bit. Then....I got a "speedy-big-girl-bike" and the first time out over in the park district parking lot i had to talk my new road bike into taking me for a ride with no hands. WOW, what a difference those little skinnies make! Not a whole lot to balance on! And so, i continue to look like a nut case talking to my bike trying to go more then 10 feet!

[Veronica]

In addition to the skinny tires, the geometry of your road bike is probably different than the hybrid.

V.

[GrandPrix]

So I've "mastered" starting and stopping with my clipless....now working on steering with one hand removed....any tricks here other than practice? i'm a righty and for some reason it's easier to remove my right hand.... i need to work on this 'cause it's tough to signal cars when i'm turning left - often i don't and just wait for an opening and try to make eye contact....better than signaling and falling over ; ) thought i'd ask in this post since the discussion seems to have shifted that way.... OH - and would love to be able to reach down and drink water while on bike....

: )

[gretchen]

So happy to hear someone else is a little uneasy with the one handed thing!
I can reach for my water bottle but i don't know if i've even tried to go one handed for a longer period of time (should i?).
Ok another question...about hand signals... I'm one of those who, because i grew up without a helmet, didn't wear one until i got my speedy bike! And hand signals?...they were for the dorks at school.
Now that i'm in the "serious" club (the ones that ride on bikes from stores other then Target or Sportmart) I have agreed to wear a helmet, sunglasses (because the helmet looks totally horrible without them! Vanity) and i even use signals. BUT..I'm not sure if i'm doing them right. I watched some other bikers to see what they were doing and they don't do the left arm bent at a 45 degree angle thing to signal right. They did a "cool" right arm casually out to the right side thing as to say "Hey, dude, I'm about to turn right so back off". And the left turn was the same only out to the left...only, mind you, ever so casually out from the side. Not the dorky left arm sticking straight out like a sign post. (God forbid!). So, anyone know the "proper" signal routine?
Hey, we're into signals now, aren't we?

[Veronica]

I do the right/left arm straight out thing too. I don't know if it looks cool. But it's convenient.

V.

[pedalfaster]

Originally posted by gretchen
they don't do the left arm bent at a 45 degree angle thing to signal right. They did a "cool" right arm casually out to the right side thing as to say "Hey, dude, I'm about to turn right so back off".

I think the reason turn signals have "evolved" to this is that mose car drives have NO FREAKIN' clue what the "old" hand signals mean. Pointing exactly where you intend to go, while making direct eye contact seems to work best with your average clueless motorist.

[fultzie]

When i was little, we learned hand signals as part of "safety day" at school. The hand signals we learned were (and these are in the Illinois Rules of the Road driver's ed book too ):
left fist/palm out and up for turning right
left fist/palm out and down for stoping
left fist/palm out for turning left

now i do the pointing thing too, and put my open hand on my back when i intend to stop (kinda like brake lights). pedalfaster's right, i think it's easier for cars to understand.

it's easier to ride one-handed if you move the hand staying on your bars closer to the stem, i've found. i almost never reach down for water until i'm reaaaally thirsty (the whole lack of coordination thing!), at least, which is bad (already dehydrated at that point). so i carry a camelbak, even road riding. makes it easier to stay balanced, too!

[annie]

I agree with all the pointers. I put my arm out, point with one finger is the directions I'm going, and STILL be very careful and TRUST NO CAR ! Once crashed, twice shy!

fultzie has it exactly right when she says to hold close to the stem when you are going to ride with one hand on the handlebars. Put that hand right next to the stem and you will have more control. And practice, practice, practice. Do it when there's no traffic. You really should be able to grab either bottle without looking down and put them back the same way. It takes quite awhile to get the hang of it. Helps greatly if your bike is the correct fit. But it can absolutely be done, at least while road riding. MTBing is another story altogether! Camelbak all the way there.

It's really not a bad idea to get comfortable riding with no hands, too. Watch the bike racers sometimes. They take off jackets, eat lunch, peel off arm and leg warmers. It's amazing. I've managed to take off arm warmers, and even a jacket a couple of times but I am not comfortable with it. I wouldn't want anyone close to me when I attempt it! Usually, I just stop, and WISH I was better at the no-handed riding.

[Cdalekat]

Gretchen, speaking of vanity, my friend snickered at me the first time she saw me with my helmet on because of the visor on it. So I took the visor off, and she stopped snickering.... I look *terrible* without the visor.... so I leave it on... besides, it's nice for the sun.

[Dogmama]

I, too, use the arm-straight-out method. I buy really bright gloves too - as suggested in an Effective Cycling Class - so that it might catch -Joe-coffee-drinking-cell-phone-talking motorist's eye. I signal very aggressively & don't much care what I look like because I don't want to look like I'm underneath a car.

[gretchen]

It wasn't until this Spring, since I'm off the safty of the bike trails with my old bike and on the road with "Slick", sharing it with cars ( ! YIKES ) that i realized what the whole safty thing was all about. I have only had one really scarry moment so far when a stupid van thoguth i looked like i might need some encouragement to hug the curb! I swear that van almost touched me. It was really moving too!

It sure makes you a different kind of driver now, doesn't it, when you're around other bikers.... GIVE THEM LOTS OF ROOM! and smile a lot, oh, and admire their bikes...cuz you know how proud they are of them. : ))))))

[doctorfrau]

Gretchen ,

One-handed?? Don't feel bad. I can sort-of, but only long enough to say-- take off my sunglasses. Eating or finding my water bottle would definitely be inviting disaster!!!! At my level, it is much safer for everyone within 50 yards, for me to just STOP before I reach for anything!!

I too am nervous about leaving the safety of the rail-trails and becoming potential road-kill. Not wanting to blow a zillion bucks, I found a blaze-orange mesh hunting vest at Wal-Mart today, that I can just velcro over my shirt. It was 5 bucks and it weighs almost nothing, but will hopefully make me a bit more visible. I also slapped some reflective tape on it, to up the ante a bit.

[Hillhugger]

I just came back from a triathlon-training-camp in Florida and quickly wanted to share one event that happened during one of the rides in regards to single-handed-cycling:

A couple of our guys were riding in a single file on the side of the road. The first rider took one hand off the handle bar to point out sand in the path for the others. Unfortunately he didn't see the little pebble and lost control - he crashed. Thank God he fell to the right side, away from the traffic. A truck came up behind him and literally tore the bike to pieces. Our guy was very lucky and ended up with only a couple of minor scrapes and bruises - his bike on the other hand was a complete write-off...

So, whatever you do, be very careful out there.

Later I learned from our coach that it is against the law in Florida to bike with only one hand or without hands at the handle bar.

Be safe and have fun!!!

[pedalfaster]

Originally posted by Hillhugger


A couple of our guys were riding in a single file on the side of the road. The first rider took one hand off the handle bar to point out sand in the path for the others. Unfortunately he didn't see the little pebble and lost control - he crashed. Thank God he fell to the right side, away from the traffic. A truck came up behind him and literally tore the bike to pieces. Our guy was very lucky and ended up with only a couple of minor scrapes and bruises - his bike on the other hand was a complete write-off...

So, whatever you do, be very careful out there.

Later I learned from our coach that it is against the law in Florida to bike with only one hand or without hands at the handle bar.

Sorry to hear about the crash. Thank goodness the rider was ok; bummer about the bike!

This *would* have been a good opportunity for the coach to discuss bike handling technique, rather than lecture the riders about (often useless ) laws regarding bicycles.

The reality is that if a cyclist rides more than "casually" there will be situations where she has to take one (or both) hands off of the bars. How is one supposed to signal intentions to automobile drivers for instance?

Ok rant off...

I've watched plenty of riders navigate gravel, rocks, sticks, potholes, roadkill etc etc with one or no hands. Yes, it takes practice and skill.

For riding one-handed (and actually for riding with both hands too) it's very important to keep that "circle" (thumb touching one of your fingers) around the bar, with the elbows loose. The elbows absorb the shock and keep the bike from bouncing all over the place should you hit something. Knees should be loose and relaxed as well; this becomes even more important when riding hands-free. Think of your elbows and your knees as your suspension.

And since you mention that it was a tri-camp, a word about aero bars. Aero bars are great for time-trialling and triathlon (of course) but they really don't belong in group rides or pacelines, unless the rider is uber-experienced and smooth on the bike. I mention this because the extra weight often makes the steering on the front end all wonky. I've convinced most of the tri-women I train to remove their aero bars for general riding, and just put them back on a few weeks before their events to reacquaint themselves with that position. So if you are new to riding and want to master one-handed riding...ditch the aerobars

[Hillhugger]

Hi Pedalfaster,

our coach actually took the time to discuss handling and technique during a seminar we had the same evening of the event.

Our unfortunate guy is one of the elite bikers and knows how to handle his bike very well. I guess it was just a freak accident and trust me - he learned his lesson.

I agree with you, there are a lot of "useless" laws out there. In my opinion one should rather use common sense when it comes to hands on handle bars.

I personally haven't tried those aero bars yet so I can't comment on those.