Road Cycling - Newbie's wrists hurt. Help!

I just got my first road bike, a Giant OCR 1 in a small sized frame. The handlebars are set high, even with my seat so I'm not too leaned over (yet). I'm 5'3". (I was previously riding a Specialized crossroads hybrid.) I've gone for two rides so far on the Giant, 22 miles, and 25 miles which are currently sizable rides for me. I want to ride more but my wrists hurt like crazy and my hands are going numb! This is happening even 3 miles into the ride. Whats a girl to do? I'm starting to be jealous of the others I see riding comfort bikes! Don't want to go back to the old bike. Any advice? :(

Are you wearing padded gloves?
Could be that your wrists just need to get broken-in (pardon the pun), and used to supporting your weight at a different angle.

sounds like you're putting too much weight on your hands. Did you get fitted by the shop you bought the bike at? If so, go back to them and have them make some adjustments.

Even though the bars are high, it sounds like you are putting too much weight on them through your hands. Might consider raising them even further until you get some more miles behind you. Strengthening your lower back and abs will do wonders for taking weight off the hands. Good luck.

55/Rad

just echoing 55's thoughts. raise that handlebar. also, when you place your hands on the handlebar, make sure your wrists are straight, such that you could place a ruler over the top of your hand and forearm and it'd be straight. this relieves the muscles being used if u have ur wrists at an angle.

sd

I have a different thought. Perhaps moving the bars higher also brings them closer to you. (typical of the adjustable stems) The fact that the bars are "closer" to you may also be causing your wrist pain. The angle of which your wrist supports your weight is important. If raising the bar does not help, adjust it level (ZERO RISE) and begin adjusting from there.

Like others have said, take it back to the shop and have them make adjustments. The OCR1 is a nice ride. You should be able to enjoy it! :D

Alter your hand placement on the bars as you ride too, don't just keep your hands on one part of the bar the whole time. loosen your grip and let the bike absorb the shock.

A couple of things to look at:
Are your elbows locked or well flexed.
Are you riding with a good "wrist set", your wrist should not be bent, this will concentrate stress rather than transmit it though the joint.
Are your bars too wide. Std male bars ere usually 42cm, and they are available down to 38cm. Riding with wide bars forces you to triangulate outwards.
Are your bars a sensible hight when compared to the saddle. A usual range would be fropm 3" below, to level.
Are your bars a sensible horizontal distance from your saddle. measure your old bike, and compare saddle-nose to the web of your hand (ie brake hoods).
You may want to do some shorter rides 'till you get used to the new bike.

NB the std cruising position when usingdrop bars is on the hoods, not the drops.

I'd also look at the tilt of your saddle... too much forward lean will make you hold yourself up with your arms, and your wrists/hands/elbows will suffer.

Thanks to you all who replied to my cry for help! I will try all of those things and will definitely go back to the bike shop for an adjustment. I just hope, hope, hope that I haven't bought a bike that's too big for me at 5' 3". (It comes in an extra small too). I am having a small case of buyer's remorse because of the wrist pain. The guy at the bike shope seemed to think this bike fitted me, and actually did a bike fitting (which did not take long). A friend who knows bikes seemed to think the bike fit me as well. I just wonder if I would have less wrist pain on a smaller bike. I want to ride! :)

Thanks to you all who replied to my cry for help! I will try all of those things and will definitely go back to the bike shop for an adjustment. I just hope, hope, hope that I haven't bought a bike that's too big for me at 5' 3". (It comes in an extra small too). I am having a small case of buyer's remorse because of the wrist pain. The guy at the bike shope seemed to think this bike fitted me, and actually did a bike fitting (which did not take long). A friend who knows bikes seemed to think the bike fit me as well. I just wonder if I would have less wrist pain on a smaller bike. I want to ride! :)

you can rest assured your bike isn't too small. as a rule, the bigger the bike, the more comfortable it is, since this raises the handlebar. (obviously a bike that's _way_ too big would be too much, but that's not the case here) i'm pretty confident simply raisin' the bar will fix your probs.

sd

I had similar problems when I got my new bike a couple of months ago. I couldn't stand to ride for more than 4 or 5 miles because of the pain and numbness. After several adjustments, it's much bettter. Here's what worked for me:

1) changing gloves. My old gloves had gel in them and were very comfortable on my hybrid. But on the road bike I was putting more weight on my hands, and the gel pockets felt like rocks between my hands and the handlebars. I got a pair with less cushioning, and feel more comfortable.

2) moving the handlebars farther out and lower. We tried moving them higher and closer to get me into a more upright position, but it didn't help. The owner of the LBS observed that I seemed to be scrunched up on the bike, and so we moved the bars farther out. It gives me more room to stretch out, and I feel better. After trying that for a while I still felt a little cramped on the bike, so we lowered the handlebars.

3) changing my posture. I'm still working on this one. Basically, I'm trying to support the weight of my torso with my back and abdominal muscles, rather than holding myself up with my arms.

These things might not work for you, but they helped me. Definitely take the bike back to your bike shop and tell them what's happening and ask for some help with the fit.