intransit1217

So I'm still dialing in my dual sport and I did 110 miles on it last tuesday. Gawd my hands hurt. I have shorty bar ends but they were not much help.

Not long ago, I took the stock bar off and put my fatbike bar on which has no rise and shallow sweep. Today, i ordered a bontrager racelite with 9 degrees sweep and 15 cm rise. The theory being trying to match the sweep to my grip angle.

Grip angle: The angle of a straight line through your closed fist in relation to your forearm.

The question is: For those of you running a flat bar bike, what have you done to make it all-day comfy in the hand department?

Elvo

Add bar ends and/or aerobars or convert them to drop bars with aerobars

chaadster

Not sure I buy into the "grip angle" thing...

Dual Sport...so are you talking all day on trails? Or road riding? Differnt approaches possible with each.

For me, I run L-bend bar ends (vintage ControlTech) on a flat, shallow sweep bar for my commuter, but I don't ride that all day, rather usually not more than an hour and a half at a go, and commonly much less. My comfort ace on that bike is the wide rims, Velocity Blunt SS shod with 28c Vittoria Randonneur Pros. Very forgiving and smooth.

My dirt bike wears L-bend Ti bar ends on a flat Ti bar mated to a very flexible Ti stem. I could probably roll wood wheels on that it think it plush. But the fact is it rolls 2" pneumatic and a suspension fork, so it is very comfy.

In any case, there are many setup factors that could be causing issues. There is nothing inherently uncomfortable about flat bars, so the same setup guidelines you'd use for drop bars are applicable. Look at reach, drop, grips, saddle position, tire inflation, fork type, saddle, etc.

Darth Lefty 

I definitely always feel better with more sweep and a little down angle, so my wrists are neutral when my elbows are down. I feel like mountain bikes are designed for "attack position" with elbows out, and that hybrids trying to cop the style of mountain bikes have the same setup as a result.

bgraham111

I turned my flat bar hybrid into a long distance, off road touring bike. Hand positions was the key. And so I got a butterfly or trekking handlebars. They would be horrible for mountain biking, but they are a dream on a long distance ride. So, So comfortable. Now... not everyone likes them... and they do take some time to get them dialed in.... and it takes some time getting used to them.

avidone1

I have a similar problem with my flatbar hybrid. I have done several things that have greatly reduced the pressure on my hands.
1. got a raised stem
2. adjusted seat position a little forward and tilted up at the nose
3. replaced stock grips with ergon ergonomic grips and lowered the grip angle
The above changes have really eased the pressure on my palms which was the area of my hands that were hurting.
I have also done a lot of work on my core muscles so I can more easily support my body without having to bear so much weight on my hands
I have also ordered a pair of gel padded gloves that I believe will be the final touch needed for complete riding comfort

Whizzer283

I got a road bike and sold my flat bar bike. You won't have this issue with road bike.

martianone

Consider installing a set of Ergon grips ?
comfortable and work well.

intransit1217

bgraham 111 ! You are my new best friend. This is where i'm trying to go with mine. I will reconsider the butterfly bar after a few other attempts.

What front rack are you using?

Thank you!

Malemute_Kid

Another vote for Ergons.

intransit1217

I have Ergons. GP-3.

ModeratedUser17082018

I get my hands off the bars frequently and do wrist rotations - both hands - both directions. I never keep my hands in one position for more than a minute or two. Ergon GP5's provide more hand placement options.

AlmostTrick

^^^ This.

I too found Ergon grips to make a huge difference. I had bar ends for a while, but never liked using them. One finely tuned position works well for me. I did a 5 hour ride recently without issue.

Not necessarily true. I rode drop bars for years... never was able to escape hand pain no matter how many adjustments and parts swaps I made.

zeeway

Longer stem to raise handlebars - this helped me the most. Also installed bar ends for more hand positions. Added bar tape - negligible effect. Gel gloves - not sure if they made a difference. I find that even with these changes, I must change my hand positions every two minutes or so.

Trevtassie

+1 Butterflies. Angled down towards the front slightly. You may need to change your stem to go a bit longer, to get the back bars in front of the steerer axis. What works for me is to have the back bars a bit higher and further back than where flat bars would be and the front section lower and further forward. So the rear position is sitting up a bit, and the front is stretched out.

bgraham111

Hi Intransit. Looks like we have the exact same bike. 2013 Trek DS 8.4. My front rack.... is my second attempt at a front rack. They first was was a total failure. This one in the pictures, however, is AWESOME. It's an Old Man Mountain front rack. I think it's the Sherpa model. For disc brakes and suspension.

Old Man Mountain Front Pannier Racks For Any Bike

I've done some loaded, off road touring with it, and haven't had any issues. It's a really nice front rack. The rear rack is some Bontrager rack. no issues there either. Good luck with setting it up. I've had a lot of fun on it.

I've got some more pictures at https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/bgraham2013

fietsbob

yes, Multi-handposition bars help.. Trekking Bars And Ergon GR5 a integrated comfort grip and long ergonomic bar ends..


I have my Trekking bars rather flat so I have my option to open my palms along the sides, flat , non grip. quite comfortable..


BTW it's not a Race or the Bataan Death March .. stop get off the bike take a few breaks.

onbike 1939

I would have to disagree with this statement.

When gripping flat bars the wrist is turned 90 degrees inward whereas their natural position is with the palms facing ones thighs. Riding with hands on the drops maintains this natural position and explains why most people find this comfortable for long periods. Bar ends help as in using them the wrists are again in their natural position as they are when using Ergon grips.

Retro Grouch 

I think that it's a "hunt and peck" process.

I think that you're on the right path. I'm a believer in keeping a neutral wrist angle from your hands to elbow. I'm less sure that your new bar is going to do it for you. Here's why: Riser handlebars tend to be a couple of inches wider than non-riser bars. That moves your hands outward laterally from your torso which, if everything else was equal, would increase your wrist angle. To minimize that, riser bars generally come with a little more sweep angle. I hope that it's enough to meet your needs.

chaadster

Yeah...I don't think so. "Natural position" as you call it, doesn't really mean anything. For example, lay on your back, arms to your side, and your wrists "naturally" turn up or down. They do not remain facing your thighs. Or, is a knee's "natural position" flexed, or extended? I contend it doesn't matter, because it needs to do both, and does. So too, the wrist. Whether riding is more akin to standing or laying down I don't know, but I don't think it matters, as most people can easily ride drop bars and flat bars.

As for the hands on the drops being most comfortable, I doubt that's true based on my experience watching other riders, but that's neither here nor there. The great advantage of drop bars is multiple hand positions, which some people, such as myself, really like, and which to some extent can be offered in drop bars with bar-ends.

The great decision to be made when choosing a bar is not comfort, but one of control arrangement. What kind of shifters, brake levers, and where on the bar and in relation to your hands.

The fact is that plenty of people ride tons of miles on flat bars, whether they're commuting across town, racing Iditarod, or touring the world.

chaadster

This is excellent advice, whether talking butterfly bars or bar ends. Various hand positions, in and of themselves, are not really meaningful. Hand holds need to vary the rider's posture to be useful, so as you say, more upright, stretched out, and wherever in between.

A common error, when trying to set up a bike for sporting riding, is to immediately bring bars higher, when in fact, stretching and flattening the back, and tipping the pelvis, can be very comfortable for some people. I suppose, in some ways, it doesn't matter where you start, but I think it's much easier and quicker to find the lower limit first, and work up from there, rather than seeing how high you can go, because really, going higher and closer with the bars is virtually unlimited, going from ape hangers to a recumbent!

intransit1217

So I dug out the stock bar and it has the same measurements as the one I ordered, aside from being blue and wider. I cancelled that, and put the stocker back on. So far, better. I rolled the grips forward a bit to get more "nuetral". But too far and I have to close my fingers tighter. That will be hunt and peck. And I have a pair of bar ends, so, I'll need to change to another model gp to use them.

intransit1217

I hate the price of the omm, but it seems the best design so far. I got some cheap Zefal fenders and I'm playing with those today. I'm currently running vittoria rando's which give a cush ride and do well on crushed limestone. Topeak rear rack and a pair of axiom la salles with covers. I'll probably splurge on some blue ortleibs this year. What does your loaded rig weigh?

GovernorSilver

Thinking of replacing the stock handlebar (flat, swept shape) with a Casey's Crazy Bar on my commuter bike. The bullhorns look useful for the times I encounter headwind, which happens surprisingly often in this area.

Review: Velo-Orange Crazy Bar

bikemig 

Trekking bars are pretty sweet. I've used them and like them. I'm debating between trekking bars or ergon grips on a new flat bar build that I'd like to use to ride long distances with over rough roads. The crazy bars look really interesting. I now the Jones H bar are pretty popular but they are expensive.