This is my first posting on the singletrack forum after today’s ride on the twych trail (red grade) in cwmcarn. Today I experienced sharp pains in my fingers on both hands, causing discomfort on the ride. At the end of the ride, my hands seemed to be locked to the bars with cramp.

Has anyone experienced anything similar? Perhaps it could be my poor technique, or fear on the downhill sections?!!

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers

Relaxing your grip (if you’re strangling the bars) will definitely help, also have a look at your brake setup. Are the levers set too far away cause you to stretch a bit? Worth winding them in to see if that makes a change. Also try moving the up/down to see if that helps. Thinner grips can help too.

Basically there could be a lot of trial and error involved. Finger pain/cramp is a downhillers nightmare, so I’ve got plenty of experience unfortunately 🙁

Sounds like it could be arm pump. Used to get this alot when I did motocross. I learnt to always cover the brake/ clutch with one finger so if my hands cramped up, when i came into the pits I could use my pointy finger to uncurl the others.Its usually caused by holding on to the bars too tight.
On the bumpy bits, keep your weight towards the back off the bike and relax. Lack of confidence on the descents could be your problem. It can cause you to ride on the brakes, which in turn transfers your weight forward onto your arms and hands which are already working hard pulling the brakes in. You will also find that the more you look ahead, the less you ride on the brakes. Its a subconcious action. If you are looking down at the front wheel, you are constantly dealing with the immediate terrain rather than anticipating in advance.
Hope that helps.

many thanks for the advice, legend and skaifan. I’ll have a look at my brakes, they have’nt been adjusted from new and as I’ve got short fingers it could help.

I agree that I could be holding the bars too tight. I’ll try and ease off the bars next time and hopefully the pain wont be as bad. I think it is a bit of downhill nerves also, and I do tend to focus on the front wheel, so I’ll keep my chin up!

Cheers Guys!