Hand soreness: Is it my grips or my gloves?
 

I was having some soreness on my hands, mainly on my plams around my thumb. I bought a pair of Ergon grips (GP1 model) and wow, it made a huge difference. I'm much more comfortable and don't find myself wanting other hand positions. However my gloves are all worn out and falling apart. I bought a pair of Pearl Izumi Gel-Lite Race model gloves. They fit great, don't bunch up anywhere. Problem is this. When I'm on the bike flexing my thumb feels restricted, and after about 3 miles I had to stop and pull off the gloves. My entire hand felt sore to the point I was ready to go home and get my old gloves. I'm wondering if the gloves are too small or the gel padding is too thick. I did feel like the padding was too much, like I couldn't get my hands around the grips properly. Is it possible I need the smaller size for my grips, or can someone recommend a glove that isn't so thick with pading? The gloves I have now are Performance brand full-fingered, with a small amount of gel padding accross the palm. They are a medium and feel just barely too big. However I want to stay away from Performance brand. They seem to be not last very long. My hands are smallish (cursed pisces).

It may not be either- It could be the height relationship between saddle and Bars or the plain fact that you have too much weight on the bars.
Saying that- I have small hands and always have to buy a Large glove. I like them loose around the fingers. Also Gell is not a good idea for comfort. Whether in gloves or saddles. It compacts down after a while and offers little, if any, protection.

It's not your grips or your gloves but rather how you position your hands to carry the weight of your upper-body. Raising the handlebars and using padding is a way to mask a hand-position that pinches median or carpal nerves and blood-flow. But the permanent solution is to learn to position the weight on the meaty outer heal of your palms (not the valley in the middle or on the base of your thumbs):

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...PalmWeight.jpg

You should position the load-bearing sectionn of the palm a little towards the back of the bar so that it's inline with your arm. Then you can remove all tension from your fingers and won't require a death-grip on the bars. Having ALL your fingers free and wiggling relieves a tonne of stress and gives you maximum circulation. I can easily ride 100 miles with no gloves on a bare handlebar when I position the hands optimally (various positions):

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...tionHoods1.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...tionHoods2.jpg
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...sitionTops.jpg

It actually *could* be the gloves. I bought a nice pair when I started cycling and my hands kept getting numb and pained. Took the gloves off and it went away....I haven't worn a glove since.

Gloves too tight? I had a pair of leather gloves that actually shrunk when I sweated and it started pinching off circulation...

Hmmm. I haven't experienced that exact problem. I would recommend Specialized gloves, though. I've used them for about 4 years and haven't had any numbness, soreness, etc...