generally speaking, what causes numbness in hands? is my stem too short? (insert your own jokes)

Could be poor bar tape, poor gloves, not moving your hands around enough (tops, hoods, drops), or too much weight on them.

My hand numbness was caused by a combination of 1) downward saddle slope and 2) too-long saddle to bar length. The former caused me to slide forward and carry far too much weight on my hands; the latter moved my torso forward, also placing a higher proportion of my weight on my hands. I'd check your saddle alignment first and go from there: if it's not completely level, fix it and see if that takes care of the problem.

I had numbness in my hands because the saddle to bar distance was too long, as well. Moving the saddle forward diminished optimum pedaling torque from my legs. The solution was to get a shorter stem. I also chose a stem with a greater angle of rise. The improvement was tremendous.

It is also a good idea to take your hands off the handlebars one at a time every few minutes and gently shake them in the air. It relaxes and refreshes them.

When my hands are on the shifters, I have the slight feeling that I'm pushing off the back. the pressure points on my saddle are definitely my ass, not my ****er...if you know what I mean. That's why I'm wondering if my stem's short and I'm "bunched" up. Fairly new roadie so I'm just figuring it out.

geez............. and roadies STILL ask me if my bike is comfortable. Either that or they say ....... that just doesn't look comfortable. cant tell ya how many numb hand and sore wrist posts I see every week...............

Luckily, my numbness subsided when I got a good pair of gloves.

Try a pair of gloves with the ulnar nerve relief (middle of palm). Most if not all Louis Garneau gloves have it but other manufacturers do as well.

Could be "Handlebar Palsy" --just google it, or try ulnar neuropathy. Compression and vibration of ulnar nerve can cause some nerve damage, usually affects ring, pinky finger and/or thumb. I went numb this year on the Seattle to Portland (One Day-206 miles) on my left hand. It was a week before I could button my pants properly--I just had no strength in that hand.

Adjust everything that affects pressure and vibration on that part of the anatomy: better padded gloves, cushier bar tape, lower tire pressure, get a carbon fork (vibration), carbon handlebars (vibration), adjust the handlebars up a bit, change your hand position frequently (don't always ride in the drops like I did). Go and get a professional bike fitting if all else fails, if that fails then a recumbent is maybe your only option.

Another remedy is to pedal harder. That makes it easier on the butt and hands.

I get the worst pain when I put on some Specialized gloves that have the huge pad for the outer heel of the hand. Better, for me, are a pair of Fuji gloves with less padding, but still a small channel supposedly for the ulnar nerve.

I still move around, though, changing hand positions and whatnot.

Try taking a random scraps of old bar tape and lay them under your wrapped bars - starting up under the rubber hoods of your shifters, down to where the bar starts to curve inwards. And if you use the drops a lot, put some under the tape in the drops too.

There're also fancy gel strips that can be put in to do the same thing, but they cost money.

There are lots of things that contribute to hand numbness.

Make sure you're set up properly on the bike, are changing hand positions frequently, aren't holding the bar too tight and keep your elbows bent & arms loose. I think those are bigger factors than glove padding.

My best solution was move the seat back a little, tilt the seat nose up a little; but the biggest difference was getting gloves with minimal to no padding. Leave you gloves at home one ride and see if it makes a difference.

Aluminum frames.

have some LG gloves I'll leave at home. thanks.

riding carbon. thanks.

i have read that moving the seat back helps with numbness....and it worked for me...it takes awhile to get used to the stretch but it worked for me...

get your bike professionaly fit...that was the best thing i did...

I swapped my steel fork for carbon and numb hands went away.

So did the super annoying porpoising across concrete bridges! Boing boing boing

get some aerobars. few people complain about sore elbows

Shimano hoods cause numbness for me. My hands are too large for the dip in the hood. SRAM hoods do not cause me numbness as theyre more of a straight design.

I mean carbon frames.

Try some Specialized Bar Phat gel pads for under the bar tape.

I actually like these gel pads but I think it has more to do with the fact that I have larger hands.