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Carpal Tunnel / Hand Pain & Numbness

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Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) Looking to lose that spare tire? Ideal weight 200+? Frustrated being a large cyclist in a sport geared for the ultra-light? Learn about the bikes and parts that can take the abuse of a heavier cyclist, how to keep your body going while losing the weight, and get support from others who've been successful.

Carpal Tunnel / Hand Pain & Numbness

Old 03-15-11, 07:21 AM
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From the sounds of it, my Giant cyclo-x bike might be the best bet as far as a bike goes. The part about having a bit wider tire was a factor I considered when I bought the bike. I think the bars that I have on it now might be a bit too wide. They are 46cm wide bars, but I feel like when I am on the hoods, I am resting on the pads of my thumbs versus the centre of my palms. The bike had 42cm bars on it when I got it and they were too narrow, but maybe I went too far to the extreme the other way.

As far as having a short stem with more rise, I have noticed when I am on the hoods, the bars are a bit behind the front axle. Is that an issue at all as far as handling is concerned? I always thought the optimal position was to have the bars blocking view of the front axle when you are on the hoods.
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Old 03-15-11, 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by D-Fuzz
As far as having a short stem with more rise, I have noticed when I am on the hoods, the bars are a bit behind the front axle. Is that an issue at all as far as handling is concerned? I always thought the optimal position was to have the bars blocking view of the front axle when you are on the hoods.
VERY good question!

Stem length doesn't affect quality of handling much at all. I can say this with total certainty because

1. I checked papers and books on frame design (trail distance is THE critical parameter for handling.)

2. When I was a courier as a kid in SF, the standard bike was an MTB stretched with a longer stem. No problem. Time trial riders do even more extreme things with long stems with a negative angle. MTBers often shorten or lengthen stem length considerably.

3. I re-built an MTB for a friend with RSI and fitted BMX bars. By tilting the bars you change the effective stem distance through an insane range - at least 20cm! - and the handling remains excellent. (If the OP wants I can send him the design "formula" - Big Apple balloon tyres and high BMX bars with some backwards tilt on the grips fitted to a classic Kona Lava Dome frame.)

There's also a weird example of a drop bar bike with the stem fitted *backwards* on the CTC site - handling is fine. Shortening a stem will "quicken" a bike's handling a little, but my - and I'd guess your - fear that stability will disappear if, say, stem length is halved turns out to be untrue.
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Old 03-15-11, 11:35 PM
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Originally Posted by meanwhile
1. I checked papers and books on frame design (trail distance is THE critical parameter for handling.)
Trail is certainly one key part of the handling equation. But it's not the only part...

The position and width of the handlebars also has an impact. If you make the stem on your bike 6" or 12" long, you haven't changed the trail but I guarantee it's going handle differently! This is basic geometry: the length of an arc is proportional to the radius. Which is to say: with a longer stem, you have to move the bars further to get the same amount of front wheel movement you'd get with a shorter stem.

The good news is that your body compensates for minor differences in stem length without any problem. I've ridden 100mm and 120mm stems back-to-back on the same bike. I really noticed the difference for the first mile or so, but after that the only way I knew which one was longer was by the amount of lower back pain I experienced at the end of the ride
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Old 03-16-11, 06:17 AM
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Originally Posted by sstorkel
Trail is certainly one key part of the handling equation. But it's not the only part...

The position and width of the handlebars also has an impact. If you make the stem on your bike 6" or 12" long, you haven't changed the trail but I guarantee it's going handle differently!
Yes, I said that - shortening a stem will quicken the handling. What it won't do is seriously reduce the bike's ability to stay upright, because this is based on trail length (and fork angle.)

The good news is that your body compensates for minor differences in stem length without any problem.
Exactly. Cannondale used to make a racer that had a longer top tube and an ultra short stem - 45mm instead of the 120mm typical of bikes with the same angles. No one had a handling problem with the bike.
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Old 03-16-11, 08:31 AM
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It doesn't compensate for the fact that those funky stems look horrible! Or if you get the proper frame geometry for your body you don't need them in the first place. A lot of people buy bikes because someone told them it was a "great bike" then end up having to do all sorts of weird stuff to make them fit.
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Old 03-16-11, 06:31 PM
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That is a concern that I have for sure. I don't want to end up riding Frankenbike. It seems that maybe my bike will be ok with some fine tuning rather than anything too radical though. I am able to riding for an hour now with no noticeable discomfort in my hands. I need to get some more miles on to make sure, but it seems promising.
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Old 03-22-11, 07:33 PM
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My commuter bike is a Specialized Sequoia, 54cm. I had numb hands when I rode it (after the free bike fit from the shop). When I compared it to my other road bike (women-specific bike), I realized that I needed to swap out the handlebars. I needed narrower drop handlebars, and a smaller women-oriented curve in the drops. The rule of thumb for drop handlebars is they should be about the same width as your shoulders.

And this was with a different stem on the bike, so that the top of handlebar was in the right place for me. The brifter levers were in the wrong place :-)

I don't know what size you are - maybe you need wider handlebars, or moustache bars. Maybe you need a different seatpost, to put your behind in the right place. A bike fitter can tell you.

I also have to remember to keep strengthening my trapezius muscles - they fatigue and give me hand numbness when they go into muscle spasms.

That said, my husband has a Lightning P-38 recumbent. He doesn't have carpal tunnel or RSI. He loves having no neck pain after 62-100 miles. We need a bigger garage.
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