Spire

Hi everybody,
It seems that when I get out on my new roadbike, the palms of my hands (esp the left one) are really hurting from the position of up by the brakes on shifters from the top. The other positions are pretty ok. I even have gloves (the $12 MEC variety). Is there a proper way to hold the bike, and I am not doing it? What is the proper way?

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

S

ljbike

The way to avoid sore hands is to move them around the bars frequently. Leaving them in one place doesn't allow proper circulation. You could also try adding more padding to the bar. Sometimes one layer just isn't enough. But in any case, move your hands more.

MichaelW

I cant the levers inboard a few degrees, and reshape the rubber grip by stuffing strips of inner tube under the rubber hoods. This ensured that the pressure is on the palm on my hand, not the outside edge.
Keep all your fingers on the outside of the bars. I used to hook my 2 smallest fingers behind the drops, but this makes them numb.

velocipedio

Spire...

It depends on the kind of pain, but I find that sore hands on a road bike are usually cause by one or more of three factors:

1. Holding the bars/hoods too tightly. You don't need a white-knuckle deathgrip. One thing I do on long rides, when I have my hands on the tops of the bars, is hold my thumbs over top of the bars so I'm not inclined to clench.

2. Bar rotation/brake hood position. Most road bikes come out of the store set up essentially for criterium races, with the bars and the brake/shift levers rotated down. This can put a lot of pressure on the heel of your hand, particularly on the median nerve. This thread talks a bit about that.

3. Seat angle. If your saddle is angled too far forward, you may be putting pressure on your hands. You might try rotating the tilt of your saddle back 0.5-2 degrees.

Greg

Move your hands around a lot and avoid locking your elbows.

There are a lot of different types of gloves on the market. Find one with lots of padding in the right spot.

What ever you do, do not stop riding. If you do, your a$$ and mid section will swell turning the pain into shame.

Spire

Not bloody likely. If I were to stop riding it would take a while to "swell" at 6"1 and 155lbs, I would need to gain alot ......

Greg

Sounds like we could be long lost brothers.

Do you have side burns?

Spire

Not quite, just down to about the bottom of the ear level, but I have glasses (I will be trying contacts soon)....