Well grips actually. I started tweaking on my saddle position and bar position and now my butt feels a little better but my hands are killing me, because of the weight shift from less on my butt to more on my hands.

I am considering Ergon GP3s. Link here.

Thoughts?

I think there was a discussion on the hybrid sub fourum about these. On my phone, so harder to search. Will try and post a link later.

I have had those grips for the last two years and they are better than the regular grips... But my hands still start to get numb after awhile so I don't think they are the cure for numb hands...

A little over a week ago I installed Ergon GP5s. I haven't had a chance to use them on long trips yet, but so far I love them for my 13 mile round trip commute. They offer a few more position an the GP3s, however I probably only use the positions that I would have if I had GP3s 95% of the time -- so you are probably fine with the GP3. That said, for me, I'd still go with the GP5s despite the extra money/weight if I were to do it again.

Oh, I should add, I normally ride with gloves and with my old grips (which really weren't bad for commuting) if I forgot to put them on I'd realize it pretty soon and want to pull over a put them on. Today I did almost my whole morning commute before I looked at my hands and noticed I forgot my gloves, so even in the "stock" position I find them to be very comfortable grips.

I'm thinking of these before a bar end:
https://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/st...2750_-1_catNav

you need to keep tweaking your bar/stem/saddle position. Your hands should be "light" while riding the bike. No death grip and they shouldn't be completely supporting the weight of your torso. If you're hips aren't in the right place to support your torso a new set of grips will not fix the problem.

To be fair I have always had hand issues. My hands have been numb before the seat changes but now it is just more pronounced. I think the wing portion of the grips is what I am most interested in because it spreads the weight over more than just the point on my hands where the round grips sit now. There is certainly still weight on my saddle and all the weight is not on my hands. I do use Pearl Izumi gloves as well.

they're the best. they come by default on the best German touring/trekking/expedition bikes. i don't have a person preference for a particular model, but feel that they are money well spent.

I have Ergon GC3s on two of my bikes and I'm very happy with them though it must be noted that they don't stand up to impacts with jaywalkers super well.

Found you could not fold the bars down and latch, on my Brompton, with the GC3(GR5),
without loosening the clamping bolts, So I got the GR3's shorter ends , which are fine.

my preferred 'grip' is open palm, so the set works OK..

I agree with the above comment.

Do a simple experiment. Stand with your heals against a wall and place a chair in front of you to place your hands on the seat like they were handlebars. Bend at the waist only and place your hands on the chair. Without the chair as you start to bend you will want to fall forward your feet are your balance point and your center of gravity will be ahead of that point and your hands have no choice but to take the weight. Now move your heals away from the wall and as you bend forward your body will naturally move your butt back to keep you in balance and your knees will be able to bend just a little to also shift some weight back. You will be able to put any or none of your weight on your hands. You will be using core muscles though to some extent that you don’t use in the arm only position. This athletic bend though is what I like to think about when fitting myself on a bike. And in most cases people move their saddle forward hoping to take weight off the hand by thinking they are a little more upright. The problem is the crank is a fixed position and it causes greater forward lean and CG forward.

Here is a photo I found that I added some lines to showing CG and arm position of two riders. And the angle of the arms going into the angle of the fork. Sometimes a picture is worth a 1000 words.



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I solved the numbness problem by putting drop bars on my MTB and postioning the levers for comfort riding on the hoods. Not a solution that suits everyone, but I prefer it like this.

ergon grips are the best! i will never own a flat bar bike without ergon grips.

I ride an early-'80's Fuji road bike. IIRC, I've read that the top tubes on modern bikes are longer than on the older road bikes. I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but I seem to recall reading that it is. (shrug).

Anyway, before I bought the Fuji, I was riding a Trek hybrid/comfort bike. It had mountain bike style handlebars on it. I was always dealing w/ numbness - especially in my left hand.

Since I started riding the Fuji it hasn't been a problem. I believe that's simply because of the number of hand positions I have available to me. However, when I'm on the tops I'm a bit more cramped than I care to be. The Fuji is the first bike I've owned where I can ride with my hands on the hoods. Prior to the Fuji the last time I rode a road bike was when I was a teenager tooling around on a cheap 1970's Schwinn (equipped w/ suicide levers).

I can't believe how comfortable it is to ride w/ my hands on the hoods. I feel much more stretched out, even though we're only talking about a few centimeters difference in where my hands are place. Another surprise was how lightly my hands are actually resting on the hoods. I just assumed that they'd be supporting much more of my weight (not an insubstantial amount of weight) then they actually are.

(not trying to hijack).


I've had the same problem on my hybrid (Trek 7100). It became really annoying and for a few reasons aside from the numbness issue I wound up buying a used vintage road bike for my commute. I couldn't see putting too much into the Trek as I wasn't planning on keeping it around much longer.

However......

Now that I have the Fuji ('81 S12-S Ltd.) for my commute, I'm toying w/ mounting a really nice saddle and another set of handlebars to get a much more upright riding position on the Trek and using it as an around town bike. My wife rides a Schwinn Cream, and the Trek would work nicely as a townie.

The only thing that'll keep me from doing that is the donated Peugeot frame that's headed my way today. If it's the right size I'll likely turn that into a townie and sell the Trek.

I certainly don't death grip. I barely grip at all. It is more of a resting on the base of my palms. That is why I think I am looking at the wing as a solution to the numb finger issue and the pain in the palms. It would spread the load out more. I'll mess with the bars a little more too. The saddle height seems fine. I moved it around to fix a problem I was having with my knees. The knee problem went away but the hand problem is more prevalent now.

I'd never even heard of Ergon grips before I bought my commute bike but my DaHon Curve SL came with them as standard equipment and I really like them.

Mine don't have the bar-ends built in (probably would hurt the fold) but for comfort and control (and some place to rest my hands) the Ergons are excellent!

Rick / OCRR

I ordered the grips. I messed with my hands on the way home and it seems like it is how my hands sit on the bars in a very small area no the pressure point hurts. I am hoping the wings help with spreading the pressure across more of my hand.

I'll continue to fiddle with the bar position a bit too to see if I can refine the position a little.

You got pictures?

Please drop me a PM and let me know what you think of them.

Many moons ago,I found for me,changing grips,using padding ect.,only prolonged the time before the suffering started.

99% of the time the problem was cured by moving the seat back and/or tilting the seat back.This shifts your CG back and takes weight off of your upper body that your hands need to support.You should be able to let go of the handlebars in your normal riding position and not bang your head on the stem.

You should be able to stay in that position ALL DAY LONG,high or low.If you have abs of steel,be a flat back rider.If you have an aero belly like me,I sit more upright to take advantage of it....

The thing with the chair or putting your legs against the wall and trying to pick something off the floor without falling over is a perfect example.Don't try this trick with women,you'll get a surprise at times.....Some women can do this,they carry their weight lower than men do.

The farther back your hiney is,the less weight on your hands but you give up some pedal power.The farther forward your hiney is,the more pedal power you have but you need a strong core to support your weight with just your hands if you want to be aero or put some TT bars on your tourer if your into flat back riding.

This is what works for me over the years.

You know I will.

I tried the wall thing. Wow! I can't lean very far forward when backed all the way up. How do I relate to my positioning on the bike though or is it just an example of how little lean forward it takes to shift a lot of weight forward?

I have been messing with my grip a little and it seems my biggest problem is that I "rest" the base of my palms on the bar thus creating that pressure point and causing the numbness and pain. I think this is from my accident where I had to brake quickly and went OTB and the guys hood. I feel like my hands need to be ready on the controls and as my hands would grip the bar I am not in a position to get the the brakes or shifters well. I might roll my controls down a little more so I can actually grip the bar and still actuate the levers in a better position.

Will let you all know how it goes on the ride home after the adjustments.

P.S. My seat has gone from all the way forward to all the way back. It is all the way back now and my knees feel so much better compared to how they were before. Damn Trial and Error.