Road Cycling - My bars are phat!

I got some specialized phat bar tape with the little gel inserts. Took a bit more effort to install than normal bar tape because you have to be careful the tape doesn't pinch the gel paks in the overlap otherwise they might rupture later.
They don't seem to provide as much support as I thought they would. They make the bars about 1/4" thicker than they normally would and a bit more squishy if you really squeeze it. Road test to come this weekend.

I saw that in Wheelworks a few weekends ago - decided to just get some cork wrap as it was 20 bucks cheaper... I'd be interested in your assessment of the wrap.

I'm not a fan of gel bar tape and saddles.. apart from they becoming brittle after some time, I feel more comfortable w/ cork tapes..

Anyway, I hope it works for you.. :)

Well I'm hoping I can reuse the gel inserts and just replace the tape later.
The thing was 30 bucks but I figure since it came with bar tape, the real cost of the inserts is around 15 or so. Hopefully along with padded gloves, I can reduce the pain and numbness.

Well I'm hoping I can reuse the gel inserts and just replace the tape later.
The thing was 30 bucks but I figure since it came with bar tape, the real cost of the inserts is around 15 or so. Hopefully along with padded gloves, I can reduce the pain and numbness.

I know we talked over PM before. Still having problems like you, I'm thinking about putting chopper bars on my bike....

I know we talked over PM before. Still having problems like you, I'm thinking about putting chopper bars on my bike....

Do you currently have drop bars on your bike?
I put some specialized gel grips on my mtb along with their padded gloves and that eliminated most if not all numbness.
I'm still trying to find a good position on the road bike along with a working combination of padding which I'm going broke doing buying all this gel tape and gloves and whatnot heh.

I use "cork" tape on my bars.
Before wrapping the bars, I place a short section of cork tape on the upper side of the drops, then wrap the bars the normal way.

That way, the bars keep the same diametre, but the little bit of extra cushioning goes a long way in improving the comfort.

Do you currently have drop bars on your bike?
I put some specialized gel grips on my mtb along with their padded gloves and that eliminated most if not all numbness.
I'm still trying to find a good position on the road bike along with a working combination of padding which I'm going broke doing buying all this gel tape and gloves and whatnot heh.


I have the Nashbar trekking bars, which I absolutely LOVE!!! I just noticed that I was still having problems on my last two rides (I've only ridden with those bars about 5 times). I only have them wrapped in innertube, no padding. I should fix that. I know it's not the bars, but the positioning. My doc recommended the gel gloves (I don't wear gloves), but, yeah, I don't have any money, either. That, and I hate wearing gloves. Good luck to you!

I know we talked over PM before. Still having problems like you, I'm thinking about putting chopper bars on my bike....

I just got back from a ride with a buddy, a cellist, who has been having problems with numbness in his hands and fingers after long rides. Not good for a musican. He just replaced his drop bar with a carbon fiber drop bar made by FSA which has a flat top profile. I rode a few miles on it today and I have to say, the flat surface on the tops and hoods feels GREAT (and saves some weight too). It really distributes the pressure well. He's had the bar for his last two rides and reports no problems with post-ride numbness or tingling of his hands. He's very happy. Of course, the carbon bar wasn't cheap... but neither is your health -- and they do make a couple of lower cost models in Al too. I may start saving for one, it felt that good.

I have the Nashbar trekking bars, which I absolutely LOVE!!! I just noticed that I was still having problems on my last two rides (I've only ridden with those bars about 5 times). I only have them wrapped in innertube, no padding. I should fix that. I know it's not the bars, but the positioning. My doc recommended the gel gloves (I don't wear gloves), but, yeah, I don't have any money, either. That, and I hate wearing gloves. Good luck to you!

Those are some sweet bars, they look long enough to put your elbow down on.

2 words - Deda Synapsi. 2 more words - prohibitively expensive.

55/Rad

Lol, thanks for pricing me out :p

I got some specialized phat bar tape with the little gel inserts. Took a bit more effort to install than normal bar tape because you have to be careful the tape doesn't pinch the gel paks in the overlap otherwise they might rupture later.
They don't seem to provide as much support as I thought they would. They make the bars about 1/4" thicker than they normally would and a bit more squishy if you really squeeze it. Road test to come this weekend.
I thought they would help me because I cna't use padded gloves. but they did not. but you enver have to worry about poking a hole in them the gel is a solidd I cut one in half and nothing leaks (G)

but you enver have to worry about poking a hole in them the gel is a solidd I cut one in half and nothing leaks

Hmmm... and here I was just about to warn of the impending dangers of silicone gel implants. :D

To be honest they really do feel like implants heh.

Anyway I went out today with em and my new specialized gloves with the little 'body geometry' padding. Ride was pretty good overall, I was able to go almost twice the distance without my right hand going numb. 15-16 minutes instead of 8, which I know doesn't sound like much but every litttle bit helps. Also, instead of my entire hand going numb, it's now only my thumb, index, and middle fingers. Does anyone with a background in physiology know specifically why half my hand would go numb while the other half won't?

How do you know what implants feel like? NO MATTER WHAT SIZE, real boobies are the best. Yay real boobies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I live next to a hospital and one of the doctors showed me the actual implant.
Don't worry, natural boobies all the way ;)

Someone I ride with bought the new gel pads w/tape. He was also kind enough to buy me some. I did not put them on as I was concerned about the gel making the handlebars too thick for smaller hands. My friend suggested just putting the gel pads on the drops. We rode 200 miles in the last several days. He liked the new gel pads. He has a carbon handlebar. It's nice to have friends with big pockets who like to buy you trinkets.

I recently test rode a couple of bikes with the Specialized gel tape. They were quite comfy but combined with gloves... especially the Specialized BG gloves, they were a bit overkill. I think I'll stick with normal unpadded tape. If you decide to go with padded tape then you might want to consider thinner and possibly unpadded gloves.

Put the "Bar Phat" system on Wifey's ride. She loves it. Seems a bit overkill to me. Opinions vary......

The bar phat gel inserts come in 2.5mm and 4.5mm thicknesses.
I've got a lot of hand pain but I too was worried about it being too thick so I got the 2.5mm version along with specialize's body geometry gloves with the internal padding. They seem to work well so far for me, your mileage may vary.

If I can afford em, I'll get some of those aerobars, plush, like a recliner hehe.

I forgot how many miles, but I think I rode about 7000 miles last year. I was doing a lot of long distance riding. I had trouble with one and than both hands having fingers go numb. My hands were numb for about a month even when I wasn't riding. Do a search on numb hands. Anyway, I remember something about carpal tunnel syndrome. I resorted to using aerobars to relieve the pressure. Saturday on a century ride my left hand was going numb, and my left knee was sore. I lost my right finger nail a couple of weeks ago, and wondered if perhaps I was leaning to the left unconsciously to baby the right hand. That didn't explain the sore knee, so I checked my seat and sure enough, with me taking it apart so much, the seat was too low. After raising the seat, the numbness in my hand went away. Don't know why, but maybe the seat being lower, forces some nerve to be pinched....who knows? It worked for me.

I forgot how many miles, but I think I rode about 7000 miles last year. I was doing a lot of long distance riding. I had trouble with one and than both hands having fingers go numb. My hands were numb for about a month even when I wasn't riding. Do a search on numb hands. Anyway, I remember something about carpal tunnel syndrome. I resorted to using aerobars to relieve the pressure. Saturday on a century ride my left hand was going numb, and my left knee was sore. I lost my right finger nail a couple of weeks ago, and wondered if perhaps I was leaning to the left unconsciously to baby the right hand. That didn't explain the sore knee, so I checked my seat and sure enough, with me taking it apart so much, the seat was too low. After raising the seat, the numbness in my hand went away. Don't know why, but maybe the seat being lower, forces some nerve to be pinched....who knows? It worked for me.

Did you let the hands remind numb for the duration of the ride? It sounds like some serious damage if it's bad enough that you're losing nails. I usually try to rotate my wrist and stretch my fingers for about a minute or so within 5 minutes of my hand going numb.
I thought raising the seat meant you're hunched over more which puts more pressure on your hands?

I lost the thumbnail on a downhill turn into gravel. Yes, you are right, raising the seat would put more pressure on your hands. But maybe it made my back straighter??? After I used the aerobars, I read on RoadBiker.com that one fellow who rode Paris-Brest-Paris and writes a lot of training books, also had trouble with his hands/fingers falling asleep. He got aerobars to solve his numbness also. Putting your arms in the air and shaking them did not resolve the tingling feeling. I knew if I went to the doctor, she would tell me not to ride. Riding long distances can cause problems to the ulnar nerve? Yes, I do move around, but sometimes concentrated riding of 400-500 miles a week is not healthy.