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Numb hands?
I rode about 30 miles last night and my left palm was going numb about half way through my ride. I'm riding drop bars, and my hand position is mostly on the tops and hoods of the bars. Also my bars are tilted slightly up, and are position about 2 inches lower than my seat. Everything seems very comfortable, except for my left palm going numb, can anyone suggest something I can change to help alleviate the problem?
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Practice a relaxed grip with your hands.
Your right hand was OK? Change your hand positions often. Gloves with No Padding work best for me. |
Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
(Post 11835127)
Practice a relaxed grip with your hands.
Your right hand was OK? Change your hand positions often. Gloves with No Padding work best for me. |
It is my experience that when my hands are supporting my upper body they get numb as described. I put my bike on the trainer for the first time and realized that I was sliding forward and supporting most of my weight with my hands (not good). A few minor adjustments and all is good now. I was told that on a trainer you should be able to go into the drops and in that position be able to let go of the bars altogether and still be able to support your position. I can do this now and the ride is much more comfy.
I second the recommendation for gloves with no padding or little padding as possible. |
Originally Posted by gunner65
(Post 11835176)
It is my experience that when my hands are supporting my upper body they get numb as described. I put my bike on the trainer for the first time and realized that I was sliding forward and supporting most of my weight with my hands (not good). A few minor adjustments and all is good now. I was told that on a trainer you should be able to go into the drops and in that position be able to let go of the bars altogether and still be able to support your position. I can do this now and the ride is much more comfy.
I second the recommendation for gloves with no padding or little padding as possible. |
Your right hand was OK? lol
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Originally Posted by ArthurIhde
(Post 11835278)
Your right hand was OK? lol
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Originally Posted by texas2wheel
(Post 11835181)
what adjustments did you make?
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There are so many factors that go into play it is difficult to diagnose a problem. The most common tend to be a "death grip" on the bars. Your dominant hand is stronger than the other one either causing your dominant hand to grip harder; or your non dominant hand tries to compensate and grips harder than it is used to. The thing is to try and be cognizant of it if and lighten up.
Saddle height and tilt could also be factors. Handlebar width and tilt can be factors. Stem length and rise can also be factors. |
Unless it's frigged cold in Texas right now, this is a "fit" issue. Not fitness, but how your weight is distributed over the bike.
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Originally Posted by exile
(Post 11836988)
There are so many factors that go into play it is difficult to diagnose a problem. The most common tend to be a "death grip" on the bars. Your dominant hand is stronger than the other one either causing your dominant hand to grip harder; or your non dominant hand tries to compensate and grips harder than it is used to. The thing is to try and be cognizant of it if and lighten up.
Saddle height and tilt could also be factors. Handlebar width and tilt can be factors. Stem length and rise can also be factors. |
Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
(Post 11837045)
Unless it's frigged cold in Texas right now, this is a "fit" issue. Not fitness, but how your weight is distributed over the bike.
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I'm not really sure what the answer is to numb hands, just that it's a fit issue. I had a problem with this very briefly when I was trying to fix something else, but I'd changed enough that it could have been anything. I notice that if I type "bike fit n" into Google, it suggests "bike fit numb hands" as the #1 most common search, but there's a lot of unhelpful results. Some of this may or may not have the answer?
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-amp-Bike-Fit http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...686-Numb-hands http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...n-getting-numb I don't think Saint Sheldon really answers your question, but maybe there's something of use in here? Fingers Numbness of the fingers is a potentially dangerous symptom, often related to carpal tunnel syndrome. This is one of many problems which can result from bad upper body posture. The Two Bump Problem Like your bottom, the heel of your hand has two bumps, with a sort of valley between. There are important nerves which run through this valley, and it is important to avoid excessive pressure here. One common cause of excess pressure on this "valley" is riding on the top corners of drop bars in such a way that the bar presses here. As with saddles, the "two bump problem" can actually be exacerbated by excessive padding! If you use thick foam handlebar grips, and/or gloves with too much foam/gel padding, the "bumps" that are best able to carry weight will press through the foam, but the foam in the middle will press back at the valley. Thus, as with saddles, too much foam/gel can worsen the problem it was intended to correct! Wrist angle. Numbness can also be related to poor wrist positioning. Generally, the wrist should be held so that the hand is pretty much in line with the forearm. If your hand is bent upward from the forearm, the nerves can get pinched, causing numbness. Suspension, tire pressure |
The "fingers" article nailed it, I guess I've been positioning my hands wrong, but I'm going to check my body positioning for proper weight distribution anyways.
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Originally Posted by texas2wheel
(Post 11837056)
in regards to stem length, should the web between my thumb and pointer finger be in the hoods at my natural reach or should it be just out of the hoods?
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when i don't wear gloves i get hand issues on long rides so i always wear gloves and recommend the same
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Another thing you might try if you haven't is different types of bar tape. I was amazed how comfortable cloth tape is, for example. I have a couple of bikes with relatively thick and cushy Bontrager gel tape and while they are comfortable, I recently put "old fashioned" black cloth bar tape on an old Schwinn and absolutely loved the feel. I have lightly padded gloves and when I ride real cushy bars I usually leave them off. On the cloth-wrapped bars, the light gloves are perfect. If you haven't given it a go, try it to see if you like it.
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Thanks for all the help and tips, I appreciate it!
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
(Post 11837300)
I'm not really sure what the answer is to numb hands, just that it's a fit issue. I had a problem with this very briefly when I was trying to fix something else, but I'd changed enough that it could have been anything. I notice that if I type "bike fit n" into Google, it suggests "bike fit numb hands" as the #1 most common search, but there's a lot of unhelpful results. Some of this may or may not have the answer?
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-amp-Bike-Fit http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...686-Numb-hands http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...n-getting-numb I don't think Saint Sheldon really answers your question, but maybe there's something of use in here? |
Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
(Post 11835127)
Practice a relaxed grip with your hands.
Your right hand was OK? Change your hand positions often. Gloves with No Padding work best for me. http://cgi.ebay.com/Zimco-Road-MTB-C...item84b7505648 Worth a shot since they are so cheap. I ended up loving the gloves. But then again im cheap and not picky at all. |
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