Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Numb hands

My hands tend to get numb after about 10 miles. I am a tall guy (6' 4") so I do lean over a lot. I have Nike gloves that I do not think have gel padding. I just ordered Pearl Izumi P.R.O. Glove, 2008. I hope these well help. Is there anything else I can do?

Bring the bars up a bit, make sure the saddle is level to avoid supporting your weight with your hands, and work on your core muscles.

I don't know what a LeMond Chambery is, but what Tom says is good. Are you also moving your hands to different positions? I change my had postion to not have any severe bends at the wrist.

Move your saddle forward to sit more upright. I found the Specialized Body Geometry Gel gloves to work well for relieving ulnar nerve pressure. Too bad these tricks didn't help due to what I've discovered is mild carpal tunnel syndrome.

If all else fails, come to the dark side and go recumbent.

Specialized Body Geometry Gel gloves

+1 I picked these up a couple weeks ago and I'm surprised how much more comfortable my hands are compared to the Cannondale gloves I was wearing before.

Tom got most of it. If it is a threadless stem, you can get a stem extension, too, to raise the bars. And you could get aero bars. One more thing is a lighter grip might help. It is not good for the hands if you have a death grip on the bars. Are you going on the "Horrible Hundred"?

no "horrible hundred" for me this year. I am riding the Tour De Tow in Bartow, Fl this weekend. I am riding the 50 k. I just signed up for the Tour de Cure 2009 in Venice, Fl on March 1st......I entered the 100 mile ride on that one. Not sure if I can make a 100 miles, but I will attempt it anyway. I will in Roanoke Rapids, NC over Thanksgiving week, any good spots to ride in that area?

http://main.diabetes.org/goto/trippn1

i am experiencing cramps but in my toes..After about 15 miles in, i had to stop,take my shoe off and limp for a couple minutes until it went away.....course, when i got home, the foot cramp returned.

All the fitting advice given above is correct: moving the saddle forward, moving the bars up, etc. But just playing all willy-nilly with moving things around on your bike isn't going to get you the best overall fit.
Moving your saddle forward changes the bend in your knee at the bottom of your pedal stroke and distributes more weight to your feet. Moving the bars up raises your shoulders, but also shortens the distance between the saddle and the bars. There's a lot to consider when making tweaks to your bike configuration.

I saw in your sig that you're training towards your first metric century, and I'm guessing you'll look to progress to an imperial and maybe further in the future. Spend the money on getting a fitting done at your LBS now, and you'll be glad you did when you're out on a long ride. You don't have to go for their top-dollar licensed racer fitting, either... Talk to them at the shop, tell them what the issue is and what type of riding you're doing and get a basic fitting.

Besides the suggested issued related to bike fit, there is also riding position and core strenght to work on.

For riding, be sure to keep your arms relaxed. I still regularly catch myself holding onto the bike with too tight a grip and my arms not loose enough. Rember that you need your arms to work as a shock absorber. They should therefore not be stiff, but loose. Also remember to change your hands around on the handlebar frequently. This will help prevent problems.

For core strength I found that doing crunches and situps realy help. I do the crunches the way I learned in Pilates class... you don't want to hurt your back, you want to work the abs. The stronger your core the easier the riding gets. I've been a bit lazy lately with the upper body workout, and I could feel the difference in my last long ride.

Happy riding,
André

cycling and pain (http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html) available @ http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners/index.html

I cannot stress enough having your hands, wrists, and forearms in alignment.

Mr. Danw,

Thank you for the link.

I get numb hands too -- but only when it's cold (meaning, here, under about 8 degrees celsius). I just put it down to the cold but perhaps it's body position as well. I might try raising the bars a little.

Like the others said, it's all about bike fit. I have my fork uncut so that it's as high as possible. I don't use gel gloves and don't experience numbness of the hands. I only wear gloves to wipe glass and prevent slipping form sweat. Most gloves nowadays are expensive and barely have a strip or tow of gel anyways. I get as much joy from a $12 as I do a $35 (speaking form experience) My opinion, PI is the worst! Once you find the right position, you won't notice the gloves other than for the reasons I mention.

Just bought the wife a $35 pair of Pearl Izumis last Saturday, they suck. $35 pair of Trek last Sunday, they suck too! A week later, a pair of $12 Peformance gloves, she loves them!:D...Reason is that most glove makers have cut back on the gel. There are about 3 or 4 ribs that pinch her hand as she grips the bars. The Performance had less gel but are far more comfy. We almost divorced over the expensive gloves but after viewing the redness and pinchmarks her hands, I see what she means. So we are happy again but the gloves still suck!:D

Lemond Chambery:thumb:
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/103008C.jpg

Keep your elbows bent. Don't rest your weight on your hands with stiff arms. I find myself doing that on longer rides when I get tired and then my hands start to bother me. I agree with Beanz on the gloves. I bought a $25 pair of Pearl Izumus after my $8 Performance Crouchet gloves ripped after a year. The Pearl Izumes suck and my hands bother me more. Needless to say I went back to the Performance gloves.

As long as the back of my hands and top of my forearms are "in plane" I get no hand numbness.

I'm not a clydesdale, but I just want to suggest that gloves aren't the answer if you have numbness. All that will do is give you cushier numbness (kind of like what a padded saddle does to your butt). You have a fit issue, with too much weight on your hands for your riding style or intensity. Try saddle just a bit more back to re-balance yourself on the bike, and also try raising your bars a bit (and if you do, you will probably need to get a stem that puts the bars correspondingly farther out so you don't end up too scrunched. This way, you maintain the same overall body angles, just pivoted back a bit.