Hi all, another newbie type question but after doing long rides I get pain & numbness in my wrists and hand/fingers, and I dont know what to do to adjust for that. I went to my local LBS and let them know what I was experiencing and they gave me a shorter stem and said that I was too stretched out. Thought that it would make a difference. It has improved, but after riding 30+ miles I still get that pain during the ride in my hands, and I have to shake them off to get feeling back in my fingers. Is it because my handlebars are too low and I need some spacers to raise them? Or do you think I need to lower my seat? No one thought my seat was too high as far as leg extension goes, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to make the pain go away. I have friends that don't even tape their bars and they are fine after a long ride. I'm 5'9".

Please help!

Whoops. I just flipped to fixed from single-speed and notice the chain slack. Yes I know, I need to tighten that!

You can try moving the saddle back. You might just be better off with a set back seatpost. Also, your hands might not agree with drops w/o hoods

Pics of you on the bike are more helpful

Upper body and arm pain is caused as much by poor posture as by poor fit. If you ride with your elbows locked, you are essentially pushing most of your body weight through your shoulders and arms on to your hands, which causes the pinched nerve problem that you describe. Try bending your elbows all the time when you ride. Also bend more at your waist.

How many sit ups can you do in one minute? How many do you do every day? Not saying that you can't be pain free without a strong core, just saying don't neglect the core.

I switched to some townie bars to make the pain go away. Then switched back. You might have done some damage that is not going to go away just because you fix the fit problem.

You may be gripping your bars too hard.

It amazes me how many people come into the shop complaining about numb hands and finding out that they ride with a white-knuckled death grip on the bars.

+1, only if i get into a hairy traffic scenario/flying down a hill/sprinting am i ever really gripping my bars, i kinda just rest my hands on them

i feel like i only get sore or close to numbness when im zoned out and forget to change my hand positions up

you should also be able to still maintain pedaling when you let go of the bars but keep yourself in the same position
core stremfs like bat56 mentioned helps everything

my first year living/riding in Yokohama I had the worst numbness and arm pump from that very thing....still get it occasionally, especially if I've been spending a lot of hours working on sculptures

Strong core recommendation is a good one, you want to be able to hold yourself in your riding position without putting much weight on your hands. What material is that fork? It could be that road buzz is going straight up into your bars. You could try getting some of those jelly slugs to put under your bar tape to help to suck up the vibrations and give you a bigger surface to put your hands on which will spread your weight on your hands a little bit better.

Sit-ups don't do anything for core strength.

you are kidding...right? https://www.livestrong.com/article/47...#ixzz25yLRPsZi

You could try flipping your stem. That'll raise your bars and it's free.

The author of that article is just some guy who's regurgitating the same **** seen on a million fitness sites that isn't based on any realistic applications.

He doesn't know what he's talking about, just like you and just like Bat56.

https://www.army.mil/article/33234/
There are a plethora of other articles, studies, and so forth that show the only real thing crunches are good for is compressing the spine. You're much better off doing planks, leg raises, pull-ups or a kettlebell workout. Or just riding your bike more.

Caveat; the only sit-up worth doing would be the kind done on a decline press where you can keep your back straight.

^^^one can always pick whichever study that supports their own predisposed point of view & surely your choice is the only one that could possibly be right, hmm?

Did you even read the quote? Or the linked article? Maybe take a look at a human anatomy textbook? Actually engage that brain of yours and think about how the body functions, how muscles are developed and what they do during physical activity?

Obviously not, or you wouldn't have linked to a LiveStrong article.

/donehere

ok

SpoojRobot - stop being a trolling d bag blatantly saying that I do not know what I am talking about. I did not say That someone should perform situps to increase core strength. I suggested situp performance as a measure of core strengtH. If you are goin to suggest that situps per 30s and 60s are not a valid and often used measure of core strength when measuring athletic performance you are indeed a troll, and not a very good one.

If you want to continue this argument you will lose. And it will be me making you lose. Your condescending childish attempt at flaming is laughable.

ftfy