rloftus

I was encountering a local lady who would ride for several minutes and would then go into a wild session of both hands off the bars shaking her hands wildly for 30 seconds or so. Eventually, I learned she was also hearing impared, and would ride hands on until she could no longer feel the brake levers due to carpal tunnel numbness in her hands. I became was pretty impressed with her riding enthusiasm and determination, and offered to try some modifications to help her. This is what I came up with:



For her, this has been a very successful solution. Riding with hands on the hoods and arms resting on the pads is very aero, very comfortable for her, and her hands do not get numb, or can recover from numbness in that position. Most braking is done with her thumbs on the interrupter levers which does not induce numbness either. I was surprised that the pad rests do not interfere with her position in the drops, and that riding position has not been compromised. The installed weight of the modification (minus the interrupter levers) was 268 grams.

The real surprise - she just seemed really powerful when peddling with hands on the hoods and arms on the pads. Finally, I just had to try it myself. On her bike, I am pretty scrunched up but it sure seems like there is something very beneficial in power while braced in the widely spaced arm supports while gripping the hoods. It feels so comfortable while hammering from the seat - No back strain!

I am tempted to build myself a set to try for century and distance riding. Is there anything similar commercially available to support your arms while riding on the hoods?

dpr

Was she using aero bars on her bike, but orienting the pads to make it possible to be holding the hoods whilst also laying her arms out on the pads?

Pugsly

Does she have identified carpal tunnel syndrome from her workplace? There are a lot of other things that can cause numbness while cycling. Anyway, sounds like she is definitely putting too much weight on her hands. Core Core Core!