Road Cycling - 30 miles for first time.....numbing in hands.

Hello Everyone.
I went 30 miles today, for the first time. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. I took one break at 15.56 miles from starting point, rested for about 15 minutes, and I took one break at about 7 miles from the finishing point. I have noticed that my littlest fingers will become somewhat numb if I rest on the handlbars a lot. Would an adjustable stem, raised up to a better height, help any? Thanks for any advice. - Ted

Raising the bars up a bit might help. Assuming you have a threadless headset, you can get an extension for the steerer tube (made by Delta and available at Nashbar or Performance) that can raise the bars up to 3 inches. It's adjustable so you can try different heights if you like.

I find most bike come with short steerers. I put an extender on my road bike and am quite happy with it. It seemed to reduce numbness somewhat.

Also make sure you are using good padded gloves. Lots of gel in the palm helps reduce the road buzz that seems to contribute to the numbness.

Thoughts:

1. Watch the "Death Grip" that is fairly typical of folks as they get more experienced. Your fingers need to be loose and your elbows flexed.

2. There are two sides for the padded gel gloves theory.

a. Yes, you need them, BUT,


b. For folks like me with very large hands and a very small handlebar, they make it worse. I get intense pain at the base of my hand with highly padded gloves. My hand is very meaty and naturally padded, and I wear very thin gloves sucessfully.

3. Change your grip often, shake your hands out if you need to. I don't, but my wife does.

Originally posted by The Terminator
I have noticed that my littlest fingers will become somewhat numb if I rest on the handlbars a lot.

I had that same problem last year. Since then, I've:

- moved my grip around the bars more
- kept my elbows bent and lose (avoiding locking elbows)
- tilted my seat back, and moved it up just a bit

This year, I've not experienced any problems. I think that all three of the things I stated above helped. However, I really think that the biggest help was tilting my seat back a bit. This took a bunch of weight off of my hands.

Good luck!!! :)

I think DnvrFox's points are right on. I had the same problem when I started riding more routinely last year. I had just got a new bike and thought it was because I had it sized wrong. But after awhile I learned to lighten up on my grip and to change hand position after periods of time.

Though I think a part of it is also my back has grown stronger and I'm more accustomed to the riding position. I'm not relying on arms to support my weight as much.

Resting your forarms on the tops and letting your hands and wrists dangle off the handlebars helps relieve the aching. You'll need to pratice this.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice. I appreciate it. I will likely get an adjustable stem, I know that my hands did not hurt at all today when I went for a 12 miler on the mountain bike. I thought that it could be the position with more weight on the hands that was contributing to this. best - Ted