khosch

Hi all! I am 56 years old and decided to get into biking last October. I bought an Electra Townie with 8 internal gears and I have been riding the heck out of it - I have put 1500 miles on the bike.

But I want to go farther and faster so I am looking at road bikes. My LBS loaned me a Specialized Dolce for the weekend; I picked the bike up late so didn't get a formal fitting. Today I rode it about 10 miles and it felt pretty good - buy my hands (especially my right hand) kept going numb.

So my questions are - is it possible that a correct fitting won't fix the hand numbness? And if it doesn't go away, is there a fast light bike alternative to a road bike? I really really want to ride far and fast, but the Townie is not the tool for that job.

I await your collective wisdom

Ridinmurray

Correct fitting can & does make for a more comfortable ride. My son had hand problems, he switched gloves & adjusted his grip on the bars & all is well now. I adjust my hand position often during a long ride & I have no problems with hand numbness.
I spent about 2 hrs with my Specialized dealer setting up my bike, it worked wonders on my comfort which helped my time in the saddle & abled me to ride a little faster. Good luck.

Barrettscv 

I also had hand problems on one of my road bikes for a while. It can be serious, that tingling sensation is an indication of nerve damage.

I worked with a fitter and installed compact handlebars which were easier on my hands. A compact handlebar not only reduces the reach, but provides a large level place for the hand when on the hoods or on the drops.

We also carefully located the seat to keep more weight on the saddle. Pitching the nose up helped, but also the correct fore-aft location is important. Finally, better shoes allowed me to keep more weight on my feet during climbs and sprints. This helped provide a balanced riding position.

donheff

The Electra looks like an upright bike. Maybe you would be happier with a flat bar road bike instead of drop bars. See if you can try one with Ergon grips.

stapfam

When you return the Dolce- Let the LBS know about the hand problem. Could be that it is just a fit problem but I remember when I went from Mountain bikes to road bikes. I had cycling gloves and rarely had a hand problem till long into a ride on the MTB. Couple of hours on the road bike and I was in pain. I called into a bike shop when on a ride that had a good array of Cycling gloves. About 40 different types from Cheap to "I ain't paying that much". I tried on the gloves and went from respectable upwards till I found a pair that had padding exactly where my hands ached. Still have those gloves but since found cheaper versions that do the same job of cushioning the spot on the hands that cause the problem.

You may be lucky and find that it is the fit problem- in Fact it probably is- but remember that not all gloves are the same. Just try on twenty pairs and you will see the difference.

ericm979

Make sure the seat is back far enough. When it's too far forward, you have more weight on your hands. With seat position adjusted correctly, you adjust the reach to the bars by changing the stem or bars.

I've found that having gloves that fit well and have firm padding in the right places for me prevent hand numbness. Gel gloves suck, don't get them.
You'll probably have to go through a few pairs to find what works. Then buy a bunch before they change the design.

buelito

typically, hands can go numb if:
-handlebars are too low
-brake levers are too far forward, and your hand is not straight when 'riding the hoods'
-seat is tilted too far forward, causing you to put more weight on your hands
-all of the above

Read up on fit, or get fitted...

train safe-

on the path

I'm not looking to hijack this thread. I had been thinking about starting a similar one.

I'm spending more time riding in a lower position. I'm starting to realize not only the aerodynamic benefits of such, but also how different muscles are engaged and the efficiency that comes with that. But, MY HANDS HURT!!

Even with gloves my hands start to go numb after only about 10-15 minutes of riding. I have traditional drops bars. I'm wondering if anybody has tried these:


The shape of these bars, although I've not had a chance to try them, seems to make the most sense considering the concave part that would be flat on typical ergo bars. Anybody have or tried these?

10 Wheels

One has to learn to relax your hands and arms while riding...takes practice.

This also helps.

BlazingPedals

I always had hand pain/numbness from riding, in spite of every adjustment in the book. So yes it's possible that all the corrections you try won't work. In fact, that's why I finally got my first recumbent. Although I hafta say, if you haven't even tried a drop-bar road bike, you're kind of getting a head start on the worrying.

bobbycorno

Is it possible that a correct fitting won't fix the hand numbness?

NO. If your hands go numb, your fit is not right. It may be that the stem is too low, or the saddle too far forward. Or it may be something else. Impossible to tell over the 'web. GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE!

And if it doesn't go away, is there a fast light bike alternative to a road bike?

You may want to look into a high performance recumbent if you can't get your fit issues sorted out. The laid-back position is not a panacea - the balance and pedal stroke both take some getting used to, and as with anything there are tradeoffs. That said, my 'bent is the overall best, most fun bike I've ridden in 50 years on two wheels (including 15 years of USCF racing). I wouldn't trade it for anything ('cept maybe a lighter, faster 'bent).

SP
Bend, OR

teachme

I am not really one to give advice on riding techniques because I just started cycling 2 months ago. But I have found a technique that works for me . I currently am riding a hybrid with straight bars and I have found when my hands start going numb I try to engage my abdominal muscles more in my posture on the bike. This takes a little pressure off my elbows and hands. The less pressure on the hands the more the blood will get to capillaries in your fingers. Changing my grip often on the bars also helps. Otherwise I try to embrace the numbness and convince myself that its really not painful, only a little different feeling.

Wogster

The hand numbness is because there is too much pressure on the wrist, this is often the case with riders who have the bars too low, so they have too much weight on the hands. A proper fitting will help quite a bit, unless you have carpel tunnel syndrome or some other wrist related repetitive stress injury to the wrist. You also should research core strengthening exercises, because people who return to exercise after a long hiatus usually don't have a lot of core strength. Good cycling gloves can also help.

One other thing, when you notice your hand starting to get numb, then pull off the road, take a 2-3 minute break and shake your hands to restore blood flow and nerve action, when it's feeling good again, get back on and go.

on the path

I don't disagree with the first part of the above, and very much want to believe it. I'm looking into solutions to my particular problem, including proper fit.

I don't think that getting fit by a "professional" will necessarily produce desired results. I also fee that it is possible to arrive at proper fit by ones own reasoning and experimentation. I've read on this forum posts by experienced cyclists saying that proper fit is a process that involves periodic adjustments.

stapfam

Pics of two bikes- Both set up for me and the black OCR is the first road bike I got. Which is the one that does not give me hand Or back problems? You can see the difference in set up but they both fit although the OCR is a smaller frame



The Boreas is a Race geometry frame and that longer stretched out position is really comfortable. Contrary to what it looks like- Hand position is great and I only get a bit of tingling in the hands after about 4 hours in the saddle

The OCR is more relaxed on geometry and you would think that with the bars level with the saddle- there would be a better balance between hand and saddle. There isn't. Within an hour I will be doing some hand exercises to stop the pain from getting too intense.

So bike set up can be a factor in comfort--you just have to find the right set up.

DnvrFox

Keeping hands loose and open can help greatly. Most newbies grip the bars far too tightly. Relax the hands, bend the elbows, change hand positions - there are at least 4 different positions on a typical road bar..

ericm979

Yes. They made my hands hurt, a lot, when riding in the drops. I can imagine that they might work for someone but they did not work for me.

John_V 

I have had carpal tunnel in the past and now suffer from joint pain in my thumbs, which is computer related that I've had for years. But because the history is there, I have issues with parts of my palm and thumb going numb. I had the bike computer fitted by a certified Retul fitter and every setting on the bike is as close to perfect as it's ever going to be for me.

On my first long ride (46 miles), I was feeling the numbness around 30 miles into the ride. I normally do my long rides with small speakers magnetically held in place under my jersey (since ear buds and headsets are not allowed in group and club rides) and started tapping my fingers and thumb to the beat of the music. Within a few seconds, no numbness. I've been doing that ever since and have not had any issues with numbness or pain. I do forget at times to relax my shoulders and that tends to speed up the process of my hands going numb, but then back to tapping to the beat of the music and I'm back in business. If you don't ride with an MP3 player, think of a song and go with it.

GetUpnGo

I got carpal tunnel syndrome from biking way back in my 20s. A few years ago I was biking 1500 to 2000 miles a year, all on a hybrid, and was in constant pain. Wanting to go "farther and faster" like you I switched to a road bike. Pain got worse and increased in shoulders as well (arthritis). Finally I got carpal tunnel surgery. Then the CTS moved to the other hand.

Last year I dumped the road bike and got a custom-set-up hybrid. Essentially I found the frame I wanted (Jamis Coda Sport) and had a bike shop modify just about everything on it for comfort. Most importantly it has mountain gears and an upright, swept-back handlebar in the style of the Nitto North Road. https://gear.ridemonkey.com/mtb/nitto...road-handlebar This has made a huge difference in my comfort and I'll never go back to anything else. Notice that the bend of the grip area is the same as the natural angle of your hands when you're standing with your hands at your sides.

I think the choice depends on how much of an upright position you need for comfort. People criticise the North Road because it "only has one hand position." I found that on my road bike there was only one hand position that was comfortable anyway. With the North Road, I have basically two hand positions: resting on the wide, cushioned anatomical grips or over the twistgrip shifter for extra pull. When I'm properly balanced front and rear, and in the correct upright position, I don't feel a need for other hand positions.

I realize that this bike I'm describing is not for everyone, but it's made biking a delight again. This year's Jamis Coda Sport has a carbon fork, if that helps you.

I also recommend finding the best cushioned gloves you can find. Mine are very thick gel gloves made by Tricot Sports years ago, no longer made.

You should take hand numbness seriously. CTS is really no fun. It impacts just about everything you do in your daily life. Be careful about other activities that contribute to it, like working with vibrating yard machines. I strongly advise AGAINST a flat handlebar as I think it will aggravate CTS due to the unnatural wrist position.

khosch

These are all great responses - thank you, everyone. I am going to get a proper fitting on Friday and will borrow the bike again this weekend. I am a UNIX systems engineer by profession and so I am on the keyboard all day, every day, and I think that does contribute to my discomfort. I had some numbness on the townie that I solved by raising the handlebars as much as they would go.

I am going to get a grip strengthener, and I do have gloves although perhaps I need to get thicker ones. Obviously I don't want to go to the expense of purchasing a road bike if I can't ride it; I am going to look around New Orleans and see if anyone carries Jamis bikes.

I love bike forums

John_V 

That's where my CTS started. I started programming in 1981 and after retiring from the Fire Dept. in 97, I started doing programming full time and have been doing it ever since. My thumbs are paying for it now as I got stupid and went back to work after retiring for a second time in 07.

Take your bike with you to where you are going to buy your gloves. Many LBS will let you try different gloves on a ride providing you leave a deposit or your DL. Ask them if they do because they normally don't volunteer that information. Then after all is said and done and you still have the problem, come back to this thread and start trying each of the suggestions until you find one that works for you.

wrk101

I have taught motorcycle riding for several years and have seen the same thing. Riders tend to grip hard, firm, like they are holding a baseball bat. Their hands start hurting after about an hour. I encourage them rotfl lightly, some get it, others don't.

rydabent

Or the real answer is simply to get a recumbent bike. There is no weight at all on your hands or the handlebars.

Now that I have posted that statement, Im sure that the DF crowd will jump on me. But what they dont want to admit is the fact that on my bent I have no localized pressure at all. I can ride all day long without any pain at all. Thats why more and more xcountry cyclist are switching to bents.

KD5NRH

Doesn't look like it would hang on very well, and there's no place to put my lights or Airzound.

oldbobcat

Or saddle is too far forward. In general, if you're carrying too much weight on your arms, your center of gravity needs to go back. Raising the handlebar also shifts weight back. With hands in neutral position covering brake hoods, weight on your arms should be minimal.