Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - My hands go numb.....

So today was my longest ride since I got back on a bike. I've been back on for a week now after I'd guess 12 years off. I rode for 45 minutes this morning and I noticed that after about 30 minutes my right hand went completely numb.......I'm guessing this isn't normal??

I've been dealing with similar issues and want my legs to be the first to call it quits and not my butt feet or hands. Is it a road or mountain bike? Do you wear gloves? Getting your bars at or slightly higher than seat height should help. As I'm doing, you may have to play with different gloves, stems, grips or bar tape and maybe even handlebar shapes/bends until you are comfortable. I'm still searching for my ideal but getting my bar level with the seat has made the biggest comfort improvement so far.

The same thing happens to me and to help relieve it I sit back in my seat some moving the weight off my hands. You may also check to see if your bike needs adjusted I/E stem height type of handlebars etc.

Overall fit on the bike, and core strength are the two things that (usually) will help regarding numbness of the hands, forearms, and pain in the shoulders and neck. Commonly, it's because a rider is putting too much weight on their hands, and not enough on their backside and feet.
Raising or getting a shorter stem will likely help to alleviate the problem.

(Intentionally vague, because it's not possible to really solve someone's fit problems w/o seeing them ride.)

When I got my GT Peace 9r earlier in the year, I was way to bent for my short stubby bod. My hands would go numb and my back was killing me. I put on a set of Ergo Grips and a 1.5" riser on the stem and viol la, no mo pain.

I still get an occasional sleepy hand, but i just raise up and shake it off, or take a break and it always goes away.

Good Luck
Jay

I found the best thing to help with numb hands in the long run is to not let my hands/arms do most of the support work for my upper body. I've raised the handlebars a bit and let my back and abdominals do most of the support for my torso.

It's just something more to work at. Find yourself gripping too tight and leaning too far forward just relax your hands and arms a bit and let your torso take up the slack. It helps you get that svelt look faster.

Very normal. Google median nerve. 'Comes down from your elbow.

Very normal. Google median nerve. 'Comes down from your elbow.

Disagree.

Numbness is a symptom of a problem; most likely a fit problem as others have suggested. It's not a good idea to dismiss it as "Very normal."

I guess I better write to Avenir and tell them to quit making those gloves that are designed to take the pressure off of the median nerve, the ones I was asked to test drive. Silly me.

BTW - GREAT album. In fact, I just ordered a copy from Amazon because you reminded me of it. Most of my original vinyl burned (or melted) in a house fire years ago.

Beck, Bogert, Appice LIVE IN JAPAN is cooler. Very rare.

Thanks, Carmine be da man.

Beck, Bogert, Appice LIVE IN JAPAN is cooler. Very rare.

Thanks, Carmine be da man.

Thanks for the tip - I'll poke around and see if it can be had for less than the 60 bucks Amazon wants...and Carmine Appice is a tremendous talent.

As for numbness: If you say "very common", then I agree...but there's nothing "normal" about it at all (sorry for the semantic nit-picking).

You should avoid putting a lot of pressure on your hands as a rule of cycling. Also, invest in a pair of gel gloves, the pads are situated to take the pressure off of you nerves.

I have bad carpal tunnel in my hands from years behind the computer. I also found I am getting some numbness but I'm so use to dealing with it I wrote it off as that. Good to know that it might be a fit problem!

For detailed information on your problem look here (http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html). There are some good articles on numbness.

Numb hands is a common problem... most likely a bike fit issue which you should be able to mitigate by making saddle and/or bar adjustments. Also on longer rides you should make sure you mix up your hand positions. This helps me. A rule of thumb (?) is you should be able to let go of the bars and not fall forward.... if you do, you have too much weight on the bars (causing hand numbness). The general idea is to balance your weight between the saddle, bars and peddles. Also, the more you ride the more your hands get used to normal hand pressure. But persistent numbness indicates a fit problem.

As suggested above by Mr Danw, check out his recommended site..