Leo C. Driscoll

I have friends who sadly have given up commuting on a bike or even recreational riding because of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

My own Doc told me that grasping any handlebar (whether straight or dropped) made biking so painful (and dangerous) for him that he very reluctantly became a walker. He even thought of trying recumbent commuting, but in Boston that is mostly an extreme sport.

I was on the verge of suggesting to him that maybe Cane Creek Ergo Control Bar Ends could help make his pain tolerable because he could hold the Ergo Control Bar ends at 90 degrees or 45 degrees instead of grasping grips that are parallel with the handlebar. However, in the absence of any reviews from riders with CTS, I did not suggest that Doc try the new and improved Cane Creek Ergo II product. https://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Bar_End/...t_123874.shtml

I then did a search on Copernic to find out what we know about how CTS impacts cycling and what can help. (Click on attachment for Copernic search results.) I also searched BikeForums and was surprized to learn that CTS really idoes impact bikers. My personal experience is that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome mostly disables those of us who unfortunately ride keyboards for a living and not bikes.

So the question- how do we ride with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? What helps? What can help? What does not help?

patc

I don't have CTS... yet. Too many years at a computer, and too many years holding up heavy cameras mostly with my right hand, have made my right wrist very sore. I've was warned that I am well on the way to CTS if I didn't change habits. About a year ago I completely changed my work environment (including putting in three pointing devices to replace the single mouse). After a few adjustments, the only times my wrist still hurt was after weight lifting, and after cycling.

I got rid of most of the after-cycling pain when I got my new bike last August. It had nice riser bars and I could adjust them to an angle that allowed my hand to rest naturally on them, with no feeling of stretch or strain. (Similar to these https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=). I still feel I need multiple hand positions, though, so I have ordered a set of these https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename= to see how they work for me.

Other things that may help:
-adjust your bike to move weight off your hands
-at stops/red lights take the weight off your hands completely
-periodically take a hand off the handlebar and shake it around


You may also want to consult a sports medicine therapist, they are most likely to have specific ideas.

linux_author

- understand about CTS... after 30 years as a journalist/photojournalist and now a returning cyclist, i have found that good gloves, proper handlebar orientation, good bike fit, and even proper seat foreward/reverse placement has can help alleviate numbness and pain during and after riding...

- my problem was that 'ergonomics' wasn't even in the picture when i was in the industry making a transition from manual typewriters! (best keyboard was Selectric II for me; worst was NBI word processor and Wang VS system)...

- now i'm very careful, but boy howdy, do i feel the pain if i do something wrong!

:-(

late

Hi,
you want padded gloves, but not bumpy. Try Specialized's Bar Phat. If you can find Off the Front Grip Shapes they can help.
The Off the Front website is down at the moment, and I don't know where else you can get them.

Take some tape that tapers towards the edge. Cut pieces to fit the top. Tape the edge at the top and have it hang facing the saddle. Both sides is too much. You will want 4 pieces, you don't need to worry about the corner. Place the Bar Phat gel pad on the bar, and then wrap the bar with a good shock abosrbing tape. The Specialized tape that comes with the Bar Phat is too slippery.

Now if your stem isn't at, or above, the level of the saddle... Raise Dat Stem. ( https://www.rivendellbicycles.com/html/rr_raisestem.html )

Generously pad the bar, raise the stem, and you have a good start. I am assuming you are icing down your wrists after you ride. Right?

Leo C. Driscoll

Intuitively, gloves should make a difference. Just like gel seats definitely help cyclists with numb butts or who ritualistically use PrepH or Tucks or Nelson's (in Europe) at every pit stop.

Gloves are very personal. I have found that PMI (soft leather, "Light") rappeling gloves https://www.botac.com/pmitacrapglo.html and Jojoba (plus Ergo bar ends) and high-rise bars (using Technomic stems) have solved my numb hands problem.

BTW, linux_author, I laughed at your CTS/VS connection. I worked in the Wang VS R&D group in the Pre-Ergonomic Era. I should say in the Wang Anaerobic Era. I thought the constant tingling in my hands was caused by the toxic levels of second-hand smoke in the Herman-Miller open office environment. In those days, only disk drives got any respect ;-) As a newbie engineer, I met Dr. An Wang in an elevator in Lowell HQ and brightly announced, "I've just joined Wang Labs and just arrived from Ireland....." Dr. Wang leaned forward into my face, blew a stream of smoke from his Camel up my nose from macro range and replied, "We sell many computah to third world country."

bostontrevor

I have had issues with RSI on-and-off for the last dozen years or so (way too long for someone of my age, really). As you might expect, most of my solution involved changing up my computing setup, primarily moving from QWERTY to Dvorak. Apart from that, you can do things like raising your stem so that you don't rest so much on your wrists.

I know my rain bike with the drops and aero brake can cause a flare-up while my usual ride with the bullhorns and bar-top lever doesn't.

dmiller91

I'm scared of carpal tunnel too. I was reading through threads because I've had symptoms at night that have now progressed into daytime. I do a lot of high risk things, sit at a computer all day (accountant), lift weights and ride my bike to work (16 miles round trip). What started out as periodic numbness has now become a full time complaint. I just turn 44 Tomorrow I go to see what the doc thinks. I don't want to give up my biking or my weight lifting! I'm seeing more upright handlebars in my future.

Diane

AlphaGeek

I don't have CTS, but I do have a pinched nerve that affects my arms and hands. My solution - a recumbent with under seat steering. It has made ALL the difference...plus it is a blast to ride!

dmiller91

What are bullhorns? I rode with Specialized BG gloves today and that helped. I just bought a new bike too...no drop handlebars on this baby!

https://www.feltracing.com/2005_bikes/2005_sr71.html

bostontrevor

Bullhorns are the common name for a style of time trial and pursuit bars.

Here's a bike with them: https://www.hubjub.co.uk/blog/surlybull.jpg

You can get them with various amounts of drop coming off the stem and various sized ends on the bar. Like here: https://bike.db94.net/lang/langbike-step1.jpg or here https://www.zweknu.org/uploads/sunny_day_1024.jpg