mijome07

I have a brand new Bianchi Bay City hybrid/fitness bike. I'm 5'9 and the 18.5" bike fits me good. I'm not white-knuckled on the grips [riser bars] and my saddle is not tilted foward or too high.

Getting bar ends is not an option. Maybe I should get some drop bars with bar end shifters. I recently bought an 80's Univega road bike and I like the multiple hand positions.

Anyone have any tips or answers to why this happens? Maybe it can be the bike geometry? I'll appreciate your comments and/or expertise.

mathletics

Your bars are too narrow or too wide.

ilikebikes

My bars are the same width as my shoulders and I still get wrist pain AND tingly numb sore hands! and thats with padded gloves! Im going to try to shorten my stem and add a pair of riser bars too!

markw

Check to make sure your seat isn't tilted nose down. Use a level, or put a broomstick across the top and then a level on that. If your seat is tilted down, you'll constantly be sliding forward and putting pressure on your hands. It doesn't take much, but then again, it's been so long now I've forgotten how much pain a normal bike is to ride/fit.

Roody

Try moving the saddle forward a smidge but keep it level.

charles vail

Besides checking for a level saddle you need the bars higher. I currently have my drop bars 3-4 cm above the height of the saddle and I don't get numb hands anymore. I have a shorter reach so above the saddle works for me. If you are average or long armed, level with the saddle might work better. Straight bars don't offer enough variety of positions also. I ride on the hoods mostly since the "handshake position" is better for eliminating pressure on the nerve in the palm of your hand. You don't see many or any long distance cyclists riding flat bars.

Roody

Most cyclists get numbness and tingling in their hands, not wrist pain like the OP is getting. The numbness and tingling is often caused by bike fit, putting too much weight on the hands, and/or not varying hand position often enough.


I'm wondering if this wrist pain could have a totally different cause?

unkchunk

What's the handlebar height relative to the saddle height? I had intense hand pain (not numbness) and found the key was to get the handlebar height above the saddle height. Not so easy to do with many bikes today.

charles vail

My wife has a ganglion cyst in her wrist that keeps her from putting any weight on her hands.
The O.P. might also be bending the wrist 90 degrees instead of keeping it straight also.
The best solution would be to try a performance recumbent and eliminate the weight on the hands entirely.

zoltani

Give the albatross bar a try. I just switched my flat bar out for one of these and so far i like it a lot.
You can find them here https://www.rivbike.com/products/list...stems_and_tape

joelpalmer

That's a big one for me when I take my road bike out. I feel great in the drops but have a little too much of a gut to stay there when I'm breathing heavy, and I end up on the hoods but leaned too far forward (wrists bent) and they can hurt for days after. Part of it is non-fit, and as soon as the better LBS has time to fit the bike (craigslist purchase) I'm hoping that will fade.

charles vail

I can relate to the gut thing..........maybe you can move your brake hoods higher up on the curve of the bar.
I purchased a noodle bar from Rivendell with a more traditional curve and a flat ramp behind where the hoods mount and this has proven to be very comfortable. With a higher bar position you can also ride the drops for longer, even with a gut. It may not look like your racing the TDF but you will be more comfortable in more positions and get more use out of your drop bars. Quite a few cyclists over the age of 30 have less flexibility and are better served with a higher bar position. The way most bike shops set bikes up has more to do with appearance and "racer thinking" than comfort.
Check out:
www.Rivbike.com
on bike fit.

My page my bikes:
https://www.myspace.com/eccentriccyclistcharlie

robcycle

Something that has been touched on obliquely is bar sweep. Basically, it's how far back toward you the ends of the bar point. On a drop bar its 90*, on a riser, its likely to be allot closer to 5*. Some have found that greater bar sweep puts their hands in a more "natural" position, and that it is more comfortable. The demonstration that I have seen is to hold a pencil in each fist, close your eyes, and pretend you're riding your bike. When you open your eyes, you will generally see that the pencils make an angle much greater than 5*.

You said that bar ends are not an option. Is this a style thing, or just not possible?

Fit and positioning are certainly the things to verify first, but if these don't work, you might consider other bars. Suggestions, the albatross was already mentioned, as well as the noodle bar, the on-one mary and midge bars could offer several different hand positions, moustache bars can be comfortable, Titec now makes an al bar based on the Jeff Jones bar, treking bars are also an option.

I apologize, some times I get to talkin ....

-Rob.