General Cycling Discussion - thumbs - what did I do wrong and how to correct?

Ok, I lowered my seat just a tad. I don't know if there is a cause and effect relationship. I've been noticing more tingling and buzzings in one thumb. I know the question may have been asked many times, but I'll ask.

If the top of one thumb is bothering you, how do you change your positioning? Lower seat, raise seat, change handlebar height? Or what?

FYI- changing gloves does not make a difference. 3 different pairs of padded gloves and same effect.

I don't have anything useful for top of the thumb. If you're sure it's related to cycling, check to see that the brake levers and shifters don't neet to be repositioned after the seat adjustment. I'm not expecting much from this idea, but it's cheap and easy, and who knows - it might help.

Ok, I lowered my seat just a tad. I don't know if there is a cause and effect relationship. I've been noticing more tingling and buzzings in one thumb. I know the question may have been asked many times, but I'll ask.

If the top of one thumb is bothering you, how do you change your positioning? Lower seat, raise seat, change handlebar height? Or what?

FYI- changing gloves does not make a difference. 3 different pairs of padded gloves and same effect.


When you lower the saddle, it moves it forward a bit, too. This will move you forward, putting more weight on the bars. I suggest moving the saddle back, just a tad. Whenever you adjust your fit in one direction, it throws everything else off so make the adjustments small and go back and forth, closing in on the best fit. Raising the bars will reduce the pressure on them as will shortening the stem or raising its angle. A good rule of thumb is that while sitting on the bike and your hands are on the flat part of the bars, you should be able to remove your hands and still hold yourself up.

Try varying your hand positions on the bars, ride no hands where it's safe to do so. Make sure you aren't holding the bars with a death-grip; I've ridden with closed fists resting on the bars or my forearms on the bars and holding the brake cables.

Bbattle called it right...but keep in mind that we're talking mm of adjustment here...a cm at most.

or...did you happen to remove your thumb from your okole before moving the seat? :p :D

thanks, I think the seat is close to back as far as it can, but I'll recheck. I messed up and changed the drop of that thingy holding the handle bars and changed the angle of the bars a tad. I don't know how it will work out, but a 14 miler today was fine.

The biggest factor is how you position your hands on the bars. Reducing weight on the hands is only reducing the symptoms, lessening the effects of the problem, but doesn't solve the actual problem itself. You're most likely putting weight on nerves of various kinds and may be cutting off circulation as well. The solution is to not put the weight, be it high amounts or low amounts of weight, on those spots.

I'll bite, where exactly are "those spots"

When your hands are on the corners or hoods, the bar is placed in the groove in the centre of the heel of the hand where there isn't much natural padding, and where the median nerve comes out of the carpal tunnel in the wrist and splits into separate branches for the thumb and fingers. Maybe your bar is digging into your palm there and pressing on the sensory nerve supply to the thumb.

When your hands are on the corners or hoods, the bar is placed in the groove in the centre of the heel of the hand where there isn't much natural padding

This is exactly why I've been having such good luck with my "reverse" chopped road bars. I find that I ride in the corner with the outside edge of my palm riding on the rearward portion while the padded area of my hand beneath my fingers is resting on the cross portion of the bars. This bar gives me twice the comfort level of any other bar I've used. I've been able to greatly increase my mileage since mounting the bar.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j72/martinheldt/letourbars.jpg

I'll bite, where exactly are "those spots"Cooker's got it right. The "valley" in the middle of the heel of your palm is the worse spot to place weight. It's easy to do that because the bars and brake hoods naturally "fall" into this valley. I think you want to concentrate the weight to rest on the outside of your palm. Found some pictures in this thread thumb pain and double wraping (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=151158):

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Cycling/HandPalmWeight.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Cycling/HandPositionTops.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Cycling/HandPositionHoods1.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/DannoXYZ/Cycling/HandPositionHoods2.jpg

I had some pain in my hands too, but it was in the soft webbing between the thumb and forefinger. What I was doing was gripping the corners of the bars just above the brake-hoods. I'd have my fingers wrapped around the outside of teh bars and my weight would gradually slide my hands forward until it hit the brake-hoods. But it would continue to slide forward and down until it put a lot of pressure on teh soft flesh between the thumb and forefinger. From Cooker's picture, looks like I may have been pinching a nerve in that area as well. And over time, it would hurt my thumb by bending it back as well... ouch.. :(

thanks, I'll give the heel approach a try tomorrow.

thanks, I'll give the heel approach a try tomorrow.

And of course vary your hand position from time to time on longer rides.

Yeap, after researching ulnar and carpal nerves, I understand what I was doing wrong. So far feels funny not to put pressure in obvious spots, but my hand likes it more.