I must be getting old. After an hour or two riding I start to get sore in my finger joints if I’m working hard on/off the brakes/rattly loose stuff. I don’t reckon I have the best of joints in my hands as it is.

I’m wondering if this is vibration induced and if splashing some money on some carbon bars might help. Or should I just buy some super squidgy grips (lock ons at the moment).

Cheap option is try some fome grips, bontrager from crc are about £8 they’re brilliant. I also have cheap carbon bars which are great, but grips first.

Stickier grips (eg renthal ultra tacky tractions), more powerful brakes – and grip the bars with a looser grip.

Fatter tyres at lower pressures.

Lift some weights.

^^^ Will lead to more arm pump without cardio improvement as well.

My experience, got a new Trek Superfly in April. Did 4laps of cwm carn a month or so ago and managed to take skin off my palms.

Since i have changed the stock alu bar and grips to a set of Easton Carbon bars and ESI grips. Did 90miles along the ridgeway yesterday and whilst i am a wreck, my hands and arms feel alot better.

This tallys with other rides in the past. Hard grips are bad, lock-on collars are even worse, and top end carbon bars are more comfortable than mid range alu bars. (It is a long time since i have used top end alu bars)

Esi-a-like silicone grips can be had from Lifeline, Wiggle’s component brand. I’ve a few pairs and they are good. 😀

TBH I think there’s quite a lot going on here… I had a rigid on one scandal, 2.3 front tyre, carbon forks, carbon bars, dead comfy. I transferred those bars, grips and stem onto a fatbike, 4.8 front tyre, and it beat the absolute crap out of my hands. I’d thought the enormous tyre would make everything else pretty irrelevant but it seems like there’s bounce and there’s vibrations and maybe different frequencies of vibrations… Adding fatter grips didn’t fix it either bit a very soft carbon bar did.

Easton EC70 bars and Ritchey WCS foam grips for me every time.

I really like the Lizard Skins Northshore grips – http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/lizard-skins-northshore-lock-on-bonus-pack/rp-prod7459?gs=1&gclid=CjwKEAjw26C9BRCOrKeYgJH17kcSJACb-HNA5gc_BwvFJhqnprP7DnlKwXiarumIgy-SCHuYsAMSFBoCaaHw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I find that soft foamies/silcone grips just end up giving me arm pump instead of hand numbness.

Personally if I really wanted to go all out on minimizing feedback to my hands, I’d run softer carbon bars, fill them with motocross bar foam/silocone, attach lead weights to the bar ends, run Renthal ultra tackies and if using a direct mount stem – mount the stem on rubber washers.

I run Lizard Skin Northshore grips on my bike (carbon forked hardtail) and they’re very good. I’m also looking at options to take some more vibration damping options and carbon or titanium bars are a possibility (On-One’s chewy Knuckleball bar sounds interesting if you’re after a riser); Spank’s Vibrocore bars has good reports too (but limited adjustability).

I had superstar and esi silicon grips, got proper tingly fingers after mayhem 24hr solo so thought I’d try Ergon ones.

Now got GA2’s on OE carbon (pretty expensive ones though) bars and they’re the best grips I’ve ever had

Northwind – Member
TBH I think there’s quite a lot going on here… I had a rigid on one scandal, 2.3 front tyre, carbon forks, carbon bars, dead comfy. I transferred those bars, grips and stem onto a fatbike, 4.8 front tyre, and it beat the absolute crap out of my hands….

That’s interesting. Same here. Also a Scandal, carbon forks, 2.3″ tyres, Midge bars on to a Pugsley, steel forks, Midge bars,

I think maybe there’s either more force behind the rebound in a fat tyre or it’s at a more damaging frequency/amplitude. Eventually I learned to use lower pressures to slow the rebound.

On my motorbikes, I used to weight the ends of the bars to get rid of high frequency vibration.

Thanks for the comments.

I don’t normally suffer much with arm pump only some mild hand pain (product of the South and typical shortish descent length as well as 25+ years of sailing keeps upper body strength up) and I don’t “death grip” as far as I can tell.

I’m still leaning towards vibration being the route issue so foam grips might be the start as tyres are wide as I can get in the frames and set up soft and tubeless and being a tight wad they are cheaper than bars but maybe they’ll be next…

With my diddy wee hands I find running my brakes so that they bite almost touching the bar helps minimise arm pump (Hope Tech X2 so loads of adjustment).

Garage-Dweller. I have recently been suffering with similar issues. To the point my grip has failed, I am also a sailor and it caused me to let go of the main sheet and tiller halfway through a bear off at one of the big winter handicaps. I have always had a very strong grip but it seems to be weakening with age. I have a ganglion on my little finger joint which causes me pain. However I have noticed that I have been gripping the bars harder lately and riding ‘tighter’. I have changed my grips to a pair of Alpkit silicone grips and have Mage a conscious effort not to death grip which has improved things massively. When I went to see the doctor he was adamant that my issues were from over use (too much time on the bike) and recommended I take some time off the bike! Obvious he is wrong. I actually think I have a couple of issues including poor technique and getting older

Russyh

Thanks that’s interesting. I wonder if sailing might be the culprit. I raced Lasers for a long time which had a very high mainsheet load when beating and you had to grip it tight, same with crewing asymmetric dinghies and keelboats. I wonder if the constant death gripping (not griping) of highly loaded ropes (cleats are for wimps was my Laser mantra) has done for me. Either that or its typing and writing at work.

I’m fairly convinced it’s not how hard I’m holding on but I’ll make a conscious effort on tonight’s ride.

Ho hum, I’ll try the squidgy grip option.

i had some Exotic carbon bars and found them really uncomfortable!

those new ‘suspension grips’?

achly do look worth a go to me. but too expensive.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/revolution-suspension-grips-review-2016.html

Russyh

Thanks that’s interesting. I wonder if sailing might be the culprit. I raced Lasers for a long time which had a very high mainsheet load when beating and you had to grip it tight, same with crewing asymmetric dinghies and keelboats. I wonder if the constant death gripping (not griping) of highly loaded ropes (cleats are for wimps was my Laser mantra) has done for me. Either that or its typing and writing at work.

I’m fairly convinced it’s not how hard I’m holding on but I’ll make a conscious effort on tonight’s ride.

Ho hum, I’ll try the squidgy grip option.

I’m pretty sure some of the issues i have are related to the sheet loading on dinghy’s. I currently race a Devoti Zero and this has similar (maybe a touch lighter) sheet loads to a Laser. Previously sailing 505’s, I14’s etc. so boats with very high sheet loads, kite hoists and sheet loading. I don’t use cleats, never have So on longer beats in boats like Lasers i wrap the sheet around my hand, much like you. If I am at a major regatta this can be for 6 hours a day for up to a week in length. It simply cannot be good. Its much worse in the cold, to the point this winter my hands just let go! I actually think its some kind of nerve issue coupled with muscle fatigue. I am pretty fit and have good upper body strength like you from 30 years of sailing. I have found that softer silicone grips help me and i am so conscious not to strangle the handlebars now.

In case anyone’s interested I think this is definitely a vibration thing.

Stumbled across some not seen for a while Endura MT mitts before today’s ride lurking in the bottom of the kit drawer. The sort with little thin gel inserts in the palms. With a bit of extra focus on not gripping too hard too.

Flip what a difference they make.

Might still look at the grips as well.

Great to hear. However, you could loosen your grip even more with tackier grips as opposed to slippy ESI’s.

garage-dweller – Member
In case anyone’s interested I think this is definitely a vibration thing.

Stumbled across some not seen for a while Endura MT mitts before today’s ride lurking in the bottom of the kit drawer. The sort with little thin gel inserts in the palms. With a bit of extra focus on not gripping too hard too…

I think you’re right, but I’m not sure gel is the answer. I have been getting numb hands riding my road bike. Remembering my opinion of gel saddles (that all they do is spread the pain) I tried a pair of cheap Lidl gloves that use foam padding, and problem gone.

Also for general mtb, I find that dropbars allow a much more relaxed grip and that helps. I’m getting pretty sensitive to numbness now as I get older so I’m always looking for ways to alleviate it. Plus size tyres have been a boon.

I might make up some lead pugs for the handlebar ends and try that. It made a huge difference on my worst vibration motorbike many years ago (Norton Atlas).

getting grips that suited my hand size had the biggest effect for me. I have small hands so I use ergon GE1 thin grips. The next thing was getting a bar that fitted, the standard 9/5 sweep/rise wasn’t great so a bar with less sweep helped too. I currently run a spank spike vibrocore bar. Getting the brakes at the right angle can make big improvements too.

I have been suffering with what I think is tendonitous since I did a (for me) tough enduro here in Sweden. 3 days of racing long descents made my knuckles and fingers ache, and they have not really recovered since. I’ve mainly been riding my new DH bike this year and have had to stop after around 4 hours as the braking bumps caused excruciating pain. Have ordered some Esi grips to replace the stock grips that came with the bike and will perhaps consider carbon bars too. It’s really p*ssing me off!

My experience, got a new Trek Superfly in April.

Funny, first ride on my Superfly last night felt like it had given me arthritis in every knuckle!

Not sure whether to start with bigger tyres (this is my first 29er and if 29ers are supposed to smooth out the bumps I certainly didn’t notice, jolty!) or just go carbon bar with foam grips…

13thfloormonk – Member
…Not sure whether to start with bigger tyres (this is my first 29er and if 29ers are supposed to smooth out the bumps I certainly didn’t notice, jolty!..

Still running 26″ pressures? That would do it. I run my tyres much softer on a 29er than a 26″

Still running 26″ pressures?

Guilty! Also possibly running 5psi too much in forks.

Used to run 35psi in 2.35″ Maxxis ADvantages on my 26er. The stock tyres on the Superfly look quite skinny so I decided to stick with 35 to compensate. Will lower it a bit but already eyeing up some 2.25″ Crossmarks in the hope that they have more volume…

Try as a start base the pressure that gives you about 15-20% deflection in your tyres when you’re sat on the bike – but not if you’re doing big jumps 🙂

I run about 20psi on my gravel bike with 2.35″ tyres (weigh 85kg), and will put it up a wee bit if the trail is going to be technical/snakebitey. (35mm rims – you may need more if your rims are narrow)