Originally Posted by
ganchan
By the way, does riding with a backpack increase the amount of palm discomfort for those riding flat-bar bikes? Because I'm sometimes a little unhappy in that department as well....
Not for me. The only problem I had with my stock handlebar was fatigue from having only one grip position - usually by the midpoint of my 12-13 mile commute. I alleviated the fatigue by palming the grip and brake levers and/or leaning back a bit so that my hands were pulling on the grips.
I now have a trekking/butterfly handlebar which allows a lot more grip positions - so no more hand fatigue.