Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Profile Airwings = pain

So I took my fixie out for its longest ride yet...35 miles. It's got Profile Airwings bullhorns, which have a good bit of drop to them. I've got some Deda synthetic bartape on there, which is reasonably comfy. Still, I can only really grip the bars either really close to the stem (before the dropped section) or out towards the ends of the horns comfortably. With my hands gripped around the sloping drop section, the big thumb muscle on my palms really aches...

Are all dropped bullhorns this bad?

Edit: There's a pic of em...

Never had that problem with mine, maybe you are putting too much weight on your hands/wrists? You could raise your stem and see if that helps.

Another vote for raising the stem. I had a similar problem. Flipping the stem and changing the bar angle a bit made a huge difference.

is this your first long ride on the horns? maybe its your body just adjusting to something new. if after the 2nd or 3rd ride and it still hurts then maybe its better to raise the stem a bit and/or adjust the horns to point a little upwards.

your body will have time to adjust over 35 miles. i'd raise it up and see how you like it.

come to think of it, this morning i had a short ride on bullhorns (first time) and the palm muscles near the thumbs were aching a little. on the ride back it wasn't hurting anymore.

i have to ride longer to see what's my body's reaction from the move from drops to horns.

It's a quill stem, so flipping is not an option. I thought I raised the bars enough but I will raise a little more (currently the seat-to-bar drop is 2"). I just now remembered that I didn't wear my gloves today so that could be it. Maybe I just need more time to get used to the horns. I've never had this problem with drops with a 2" seat to bar drop.

Have you tried moving your seat back a bit? This might take some of the weight off your arms and hands.

Have you tried moving your seat back a bit? This might take some of the weight off your arms and hands.

+1 i see so many bikes locked up with seat positions and angles that make me think there are either many people that don't ride their bikes or many people with sore thumbs and wrists, my bullhorns are probably the most comfortable decision i made for my bike

I can't wait until the next trend is flipped bullhorns.

I can't wait until the next trend is flipped bullhorns.

seen 'em on polo bikes - flipped toward the rider.

I can't wait until the next trend is flipped bullhorns.

http://www.geocities.com/rpc180/FG_log/8x6_FG_Log9.jpg

this is rpc180's bike, and he didn't keep em like that. but it seems like it'd work...

I think the problem is the way the bars angle down from the stem to the bullhorn part. I had those and it sucked so I switched. Profile make a "stoker" bar that goes flat out from the stem to bullhorn part and gives you that position to ride in most of the time

http://www.geocities.com/rpc180/FG_log/8x6_FG_Log9.jpg

this is rpc180's bike, and he didn't keep em like that. but it seems like it'd work...

That'd be cool for a bar/grocery bike

Another position on these is where the bar bends forward. Put your thumb inside the bend and then fingers wrap around the bar. I find that really comfortable and ride my bars in that position most of the time.

I find the sloping part of the bar uncomfortable - it doesn;t seem like a natural position. This is even more true for bars with a more severe drop.

I've actually seen 2 different cruiser set-ups with back-flipped bullhorns.

+1 i see so many bikes locked up with seat positions and angles that make me think there are either many people that don't ride their bikes or many people with sore thumbs and wrists, my bullhorns are probably the most comfortable decision i made for my bike

soyboy, can you please post a pic of your horns on the bike. it may help in setting up mine and the others as well. :D

I feel bad digging this up and distracting everyone from that sweet purple Cannondale but I ended up angling the seat back 1 degree from perfectly flat and that fixed everything. Figures.

Oh yeah and the drop on the Profile Airwings isn't nearly as severe as on the Cannondale. I can see why the owner chose to flip it :)

congrats on your new found comfort

good that it was an easy fix

sometimes pain is sly

don't feel bad. its a good tip.

hmmm... i raised the angle of my horns a little higher and it feels better. i'll also try your tip if i start feeling some pain again. so far so good.