Solis91

Hey guys, this has been bugging me on a sleepless night. Anyways I am currently going through a small problem here. I am having problems with the palm of my hands, I feel like they are too uncomfortable after a certain period of time. I honestly feel that it is my handlebar height, I do not have enough steerer tube. I have come up with a few different options for myself and I'd appreciate some advice to which is most practical.

Buy the same fork ($80), lbs reinstall race crown and star
Deal with it
Or possibly look into padded cycling gloves? Around 32 at rei

A little about me:
Big time commuter id label myself as, my ride is a surly steamroller built up. I have compact drop bars, and I've been riding for a few years, so I usually have my saddle height/tilt adjusted properly to fit myself comfortably. Now why the short steerer tube?last year I had asked my lbs to cut my steerer tube, and they had gone just a little lower than what I had asked because I was hoping for a little wiggle room. But nope! Just a tad too low, but I'm in shape, flexible and it wasn't too big of a concern. Well about a month later, I was hit by a car and had to take some time off from cycling, I was unmotivated to get back and riding. Fast forward to the present, these last few months I found why I love riding again. Although with a bit of weight gain and not as fit as I was in the past, endurance and flexible, I find that I am having a weight distribution problem which is too low . If I could I know that now would be perfect to raise the bars like I had hope! Anyways, hopefully you guys can help me out with your opinions and advice. Thanks

puckett129

Not sure about the cause of your achy palms, but you could get one of these to give yourself a little more height.

blacknbluebikes 

Nashbar has a decent set of very affordable gloves. Nashbar Crochet Gloves - Normal Shipping Ground
You don't need to spend $30+ to test, nor $80 to restack your steering - yet, anyway.

Search the forums extensively. There is an awful lot of conversation over the years on various hands and finger issues.
Tingling, numbness, soreness, carpal tunnel, etc. etc. Dig around. The most important thing I've learned over the years is to spend most of the time with my weight on the heals of my hands, not the fingers, not the joints, not the -v-, not the center of my palm. When you do a regular old push-up, that point where you put your weight at the heal of your palm? That's the position for the majority of my riding time now. Fixed my discomfort issues. BTW, I do ride with those Nashbar gloves, though I really like my Chiba's. Chiba also makes wheelchair gloves and their products have much higher design spec, IMO.

Leisesturm

It's heels, not heals, unless you are the o.p. The o.p. wants healing, not heeling. Those Nashbar gloves will be useless for what the o.p. is trying to accomplish, but they are perfect for my needs. Thank you for the heads up. They are actually identical to a pair of Joe Weider weighlifiting gloves that I had for years and actually used for weight lifting and discovered that they made very fine summer time cycling gloves. My wife put them in the wash... bad idea. Don't even wear them in the rain if you can help it. But, enough about us. The o.p. hmmmm. putting Trekking bars on is not, IMO a practical option apart from the sacrilege of it. If they have compact bend bars presently, trekkers will require new brake levers and cables and all that goes with that. A stem extender is a very valid solution and is probably the most practical. It must be said, however, by the o.p.'s own admission they are post injury, and out of shape. Is it the bike that should be modified, or is it the rider that should be modified? A stem extender and padded gloves might bring a measure of comfort to cycling that will allow fitness to increase to the point where they are no longer necessary. But usually not. Cycling, the way most of us do it, is not, in and of itself, enough to change ones body enough to matter. An off bike fitness and cardio program has got to be part of a post injury recovery. FWIW.

H

huizar

I have this problem also, but find that with the right gloves and bar tape combo I get pretty good relief on long rides. I also took some of the pressure off by angling my stem upwards. Here are the gloves and tape I like:

Amazon.com: Cinelli Cork Tape: Sports & Outdoors
Men's ELITE Gel Glove - Pearl Izumi

Hope that helps!

Edit: Also, at REI, they have a really good return policy (if you're member at least). You can try the gloves out on a few rides and if you don't like them, they can be returned! Really helpful in that sense.

Leebo

Get a taller stem?

Solis91

Thanks for the responses so far. The stem riser is a good idea and I can look into those gloves that provided the link thanks.

Well I've got some good news, after putting in much more time in the saddle I realize that I only have palm problems when I'm carrying a load on my back.(backpack) I guess the added weight I tend to just lean more forward than I normally do instead of evenly distributing the weight. Also saddle tilt adjusting helped as well.

Now ow should padded gloves do the trick to help relieve the extra weight going forward? My more obvious and second solution would be to get a rack. Only my frame does not have any dropouts or rear screws in the seat stay.
Would a front rack be more suitable for me? Do front racks go on the axels or do they use dropouts as well?

ClarkinHawaii

I got a set of these

Amazon.com : Sunlite Road Drop Bar Foam Bicycle Grips, 4 Piece Set : Bike Grips And Accessories : Sports & Outdoors


They are basically foam rubber tubes designed to slide onto handlebars. I wasn't about to remove all the stuff from the handlebar, so I used a pair of long-bladed scissors to make one lengthwise cut through a tube (sort of like gutting a fish) Then place the opened-up tube over the desired part of the handlebar with the cut opposite where your hand will be. Then wrap with sticky electrical tape from Walmart, sorta like handlebar tape. Very cushy, doesn't look bad. cheap, effective.

jyl

Pipe insulation from the hardware store is cheaper and pre-slit. And will look equally, um, bad.

You can use cushy bar tape (try cork tape), double wrap your bars, wear padded gloves, change hand positions from time to time.

You can also raise the handlebar. If you ride >15 mph, you are giving yourself more work, since your aero drag is greater when you sit more upright.

You can also try sliding your saddle rearward. Why? Stand with your back to a wall, and lean your torso forward at the hips, you will fall forward unless you support yourself with your hands (on a chair for example). Now stand away from the walk, and lean your torso forward, while also pushing your butt backward. You don't need the hands as support, or at least not as much. Your core muscles are holding you in the torso forward/butt back position and that position is balanced.

Or, if your hands were fine before the time off, then you can just accept today's discomfort as the symptom of needing to work yourself back into shape. Maybe do some core exercises.

Walter S

Also make sure your grip is not too tight. And do some stretches where you force your palms to open fully (spread your fingers out as wide as you can). And then bend each finger backwards. I get relief from that.

TransitBiker

Where is the pain exactly and what exactly does it feel like? If it's a nerve thing, it's important that you rectify the issue ASAP. If it's just soft tissue irritation, less of a concern & a simple adjustment in grip or such could fix it.

- Andy

sci_femme

a. wrap the bars for comfort and wear non-padded gloves.

b. work on core strength.

c. check the overall fit.

Good luck

SF

hermanchauw

Do your prehab and rehab: roll/massage, joint mobility, stretch.

The best posture is useless without proper physical preparation. You would get residual tension regardless.