I'm new to road cycling. I keep getting numbness, or shooting nerve pain, in my right hand after 10-12 miles. I'm trying to keep moving my hands in different positions, but that doesn't seem to be helping. I've adjusted my saddle(fore, aft, tilt, etc) and that doesn't seem to be it. Has anyone else experienced this and know what it might be caused by: stem length, bar height? T doesn't happen on my mtn bike at all...so, it's something with this new position and the pressure on my hand in the hoods.

where do you put most of the pressure? the area between your thumb and index finger, or the base of the palm, or the side of the hand adjacent to the pinky?

Mostly on the fatty part of hand toward the outside near the pinky.

Odd place to put weight on a road bike, probably indicating a fit adjustment is needed. You might want to raise the bars and/or bring them back to reduce the weight on your hands until you can ride comfortably for longer distances. If they are a good height, you will find yourself leaning lower and sliding your hands down the outside of the bars frequently, hooking more with your thumbs while putting out stronger efforts. Lower them when you spend most of your time in the drops without pain.

What parts of the hand (or other areas) are affected by numbness and pain? (eg which fingers, etc)

I had some numbness in my arm before I got into cycling that carried over into my cycling. I had gone to the doctor for a diagnosis and he narrowed mine down to a nerve pinching in front of my shoulder across the chest. He suggested that when I feel it, I stretch back my arm while keeping my chest square to front. I did this and the numbness would reduce.

When I started riding I noticed the numbness again. My seat was too too high and too far back and I was putting too much weight forward. I lowered the seat slightly (as I was straining to touch ground with my toes where it first was) and set it forward so that my knees were over the balls of my feet with the pedal midway (they were slightly behind and I kept trying to slide myself up on the seat) all making me lean too far forward. After the changes my numbness in my arm from riding is gone and my ride is much more comfortable.

Are you wearing padded gloves?

Some people find padded gloves help with numbness. Other people find that the pads make their hands numb (I'm one of those people).

Good information.
I get regular numbness that can stem from both my elbows & my shoulders into both hands. If I have my arms bent too long or raised up too long: I will get numb hands (and forearms). It's been hit and miss on the bike though...

I have had similar problems with numbness and have spent much time and money trying to get rid of it. I have damaged hand-nerves and some arthritis in my hands (I'm 73). I've found that I need some cushioning in my gloves and bar tape. However, correct fit was the biggest single factor in achieving reasonable comfort. I can now ride 50 miles or more with only slight discomfort.

The most important factor in improving (my) riding comfort was fitment, fitting the bike to me. I recommend that you go to (Bike Fit Calculator | Find Your Bike Size | Competitive Cyclist) and take the time to measure yourself per the instructions. I (like thousands before me) found the recommendations to be accurate and useful; it is a tested and proven fitting application. After using the results from this application to adjust my bike, I've had much less trouble.

We all have problems with comfort and I trust that you, with persistence, shall overcome yours.

Joe

How to help numb hands (Post #7)

GH

W/O more info it's difficult to speculate. However, in addition to the problem actually being in your hand itself or grip position the issue could be with either your neck or shoulder or both. The fact that you have the problem only on the RB and not on the MTB suggests the cause lies in an area other than the hand.

Everytime I've had numb hands it was due to gloves that were a little too loose in the palm. Some gloves feel like they fit, but once you break them in they can loosen some. Even a tiny bit too loose in the palm can cause issues. Never in my life has my grip on the bars caused it.

I recently changed my bars from 42's to 46's (at LBS suggestion) and started experiencing hand numbness for the first time on my road bike.

I'm thinking I need 44's at this point. That may have no bearing on the OP, but just throwing it out there as a possibility just in case.

OP, if you are not wearing gloves, do try them. The don't have to be super thick or gel padded. Just some padding is a help. Also make sure your arms are bent and your bent arms absorb shock from the road like springs. If the problem persists, I would go for a fitting.

Generally, numb hands indicate too much weight on them. If this is the case, adjust your saddle back(and you may need to lower it a tad as you move it back). This moves your center of gravity back so you'll have less weight on the handlebars.

Padded gloves may help but moving the hands to different locations also helps a lot. This is a big advantage for drop bars; lots of hand positions.

Regarding just the issue of gloves: I used to ride with gloves because that's how I originally started in cycling. I always found gloves to be comfortable. Moving forward to modern day. (I'm ancient.) IMO newer bikes in most cases don't require gloves for comfort. With modern wraps and hood material you can stay comfortable in almost all instances. I do wear gloves long climbs as between my low speed and the length or time of the climb I sweat too much on the hoods and the grip is slippery. So for those climbs especially on warm or hot days I pull the gloves out and put them on.

One cosmetic benefit of riding without gloves is you have tanned hands and arms and not a big disparity. If you are of a light complexion wearing gloves produces beautiful tanned arms with white hands.

Gloves are a personal thing; I wear them as much for hand protection should I fall and also for added grip on slippery handlebars.

YMMV.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I don't wear gloves. I tried them, but felt they made me feel disconnected with the bike. I do wear gloves on my mtn bike, though. Something about the smaller, tighter grip of the hoods and bars make me feel less secure with Gloves. I'll give them another try, though, if they might help.

As for pressure on my hands and nerve compression, I think that has more to do with it, though. I notice a really red patch on the outer fatty part of my palm, on the pinky side of my hand, closer to the wrist. This seems to be where all the pressure is. I just don't know exact movements to reduce the pressure, and I'm fairly certain red spots on your hands while riding isn't normal. I do move my hands around on the bars regularly, too. A local bike shop, from what I've heard from numerous sources, has a very good bike fitter that is certified through Specialized. He supposedly is a miracle worker. He charges $300 for a full bike fit, and I've hesitated to pay that. If I can't resolve this on my own, though, I may need to.