Custom gloves, extra padding
 

Anyone know of a brand that makes custom cycling gloves that you could add extra padding in areas?

Mechanics Wear had a few styles with padding.

If you are having hand issues, you might have your fit to the bike set up wrong. Possibly your STI's aren't in the right position on the drops or you just are holding them wrong. IMO, the weight on your hands should not be on the rear part of your palms.

You might find that lots of padding isn't any better for long rides. Or maybe even worse. I prefer cycling gloves with just a leather or faux leather palm. Though they've become hard to find since the mfr's and ad people made gel sound like the end all do all for any discomfort. Which it's not.

Yes and no. I am having hand issues but its not bike fit. I have an arm disability,nerve damage/fused wrist. I more so rest my hand on the hoods, but it puts a lot of pressure in that webbing area. So im looking at a way to add some padding there.

Many years ago when I was looking for gloves to wear while cycling, I found a pair of weightlifting gloves which had plenty of padding in the palm. You might look for those.

Thanks, I need it more in the thumb web area

would extra padding strategically placed under the bar tape work? Might be easier to implement than finding custom gloves

hmm,perhaps. good thought!

Yeah. Great idea. Just thinking off the top of my head, maybe some type of foam board from an art/craft store that one could cut down? Or maybe something like thick cloth tape used for racket handles?

or small gel pads designed for shoes??

Thicker bar tape builds up the hood area(the ramp at least).
Wolftooth Supple Bar tape is 5mm thick and the material is a squishy silicone(vs harder foam). I use it on my gravel bike and the diffrence between that and even 3mm tapes is noticable.

Yep. And that tape is very wide, so it's easy to vary the thickness (and hence cushiness) by overlapping more or less.

The bald guy, who was one of the “Budweiser guys”, was a childhood friend of mine.

Not sure if the padding is where you want it, but these gloves have helped my numb hand issue: https://www.bionicgloves.com/product...ycling-gloves/. I was skeptical about them at first, but they are well made and really did the trick for me.
John

Sir, I have osteoarthritis (pain, numbness, etc.) in my hands (as well as back, knees, etc.) and I have been on a bike for over 70 years now and what has helped me is going to industrial suppliers and checking out their glove for folks who operated jackhammers and rock drills all day long. They are not expensive and seriously better for me and I hope you if appropriate..

Not sure what they are called but there are gel pads that you put under your bar tape that help out somewhat. They are bike specific.

I also have had difficulty finding bike gloves with think palm padding as in the past.

Back in the day, I rode with thick padded fingerless gloves, bullhorn bars covered in thick Grab-Ons foam, and bars tilted up about 30 degrees for more palm contact area. I still went to a recumbent over time due to impending nerve damage I could feel. Recumbent was too hard to live with and useless on big hills. I adopted clip-on aero bars, that put the weight on my forearms, but now am older and that works, but I need to find spacers to mount the aeros higher, and use aeros with wider forearm pad spacing. But I already put a mid-cable/interrupter brake lever for the front brake on the front left of the aero bar, so can safely ride there more often. I just need the aeros higher.

I use a gel padded system under the bar tape and wear specialized dual gel gloves. They come in half-finger and full finger versions. Vary hand position and grip while cycling and shake out numbness when it happens.

Works ok for me. Hope you find a solution that you can live with. Good luck with your cycling!

Maybe try straight bars instead of drop bars?

Almost forgot; I have a pair of these that I can use under more thinly padded gloves, work very well for the thumb web area. They have lasted several years so far, so decent stuff.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...07fe2c965b.png

In my 40s my hands became tender. I was playing softball and catching and batting began to make my hands sting and ache in a pronounced way. My straight-bar mountain bike would hurt after only a few minutes, with my drop bar bikes causing problems after a little bit longer.

I put heel cushions in my biking and baseball gloves (fielding and batting) which helped somewhat.

I also began putting foam pipe insulation on my bike handlebars.

I addition I began changing hand positions on the drop bars often and added inboard bar-ends to the mountain bike as well as aero bars to get more hand positions.

Then a few years later my hand pain began relenting and easing up.

I believe an overzealous prescription of statins for high-cholesterol was the culprit. After a new doctor cut back on the dosage my hands improved.

Then 8 years ago I replaced coffee with yerba mate, which for some people like me, acts as a mild anti-inflammatory while reducing cholesterol and triglycerides.

Now in my 60s, my hands still get tender, but not as much and not as soon or often. I still pad my handle bars with light foam pipe insulation, but I don't use heel pads in my gloves anymore. I've also stopped using one or two gel saddles as my "sit bones" no longer ache.

I had converted my MTB snow bike to drop bars a few years ago, but the frame broke at the start of last winter. I picked up an old 90s straight bar bike for snow duty and went the whole winter without major hand discomfort with just mild bar padding.

My two folding bikes have no bar padding, the smaller one has straight bars but I rest my hands on the brake levers. The bigger folder has bull-bars and I am able to ride with my hands on the ends/fronts of those without padding for long periods.

I don't know if any of this will work for you or others, but it's what works for me.

A simple solution many Bike Forums posters (including me) have reported using over the years: two layers of thick cork handlebar tape. That way, the extra thickness is everywhere, not just where you might put gel or foam pads. Very comfortable, and rolls of cork tape weigh next to nothing.

That's what I did to one of my bikes. It's an old Trek 1100 which had horrible, uncomfortable drop bars on it. I swapped out the flat bars (with bar ends) from a bike I wrecked as well as the trigger shifters, and it made it into a much more comfortable bike to ride. My newer bikes have much more comfortable drop bars so I don't have an issue with them, but that one wasn't much fun to ride until I swapped the bars.

Yeah, I'd just be guessing what to do for that. However I still will say that more padding has never helped my hands or butt when doing long rides. For rides of a hour or so, sure it does to some extent.

You might need to investigate if a good Physical Therapist that is certified might be of some help. Maybe they could suggest other ways to position your hand on the bars. If that PT is a cyclist, then that might be better.

I hazard to suggest a bike fitter, as many only know how to measure you and work formulas to put you in a certain position. Or video you and do the same. I don't have much faith in that for helping anyone that isn't the average model their formulas are based on. Some few fitters have a innate sense of how and what affects the skeleton, joints and muscle. If you are lucky enough to find one.

One other thing that has helped me keep pressure off of my hands and wrist has been working out when off the bike. Doing exercises that strengthen my glutes and lower back as well as exercise for my shoulders and upper arms.

A lot of good suggestions up there! There were gel pads available for drop bars, with adhesive backing... I tried those and like them !
Then I've also gone with a double layer of the newer 'cushion' type of bar tape - I have long hands/fingers, so a std bar diameter is uncomfortably small for me.
I've also changed to ovalized bars (the bar top area...) which further distributes pressure better - but is still 'round' in the hooks and drops, where the shifters are placed... so not a solution when riding 'On the Hoods', which is prolly the 85% position...
That Sting Pad Pro plam protector seems like a great additive solution. I'm gonna suggest it to my SO, because she has Carpal Tunnel issues and has recently had surgery to help with that.
And She still wants to be able to ride the bike regularly.... great solution for those with real hand/wrist problems... Thx
Ride On
Yuri