i was doing the white level run at the weekend and by the end of it i had so much pain and cramp in my hands it really hurt??

letting go of the bars after i struggled to straighten out my fingers 😳

what causes this and what can i do to prevent it happening again?

Try adjusting the levers or bigger grips. Different gloves can also help.

I moved from ODI Ruffian grips up to the slightly wider Rogues, which has made a massive improvement. I ride the W2 in Afan in May and could barely brake by the end and then 4 days in Scotland in July with no problems at all.

yup poss wider grips – poss you are holding on too tight or breaking too much – loosen up a bit – also like Scott says move ya levers – i.e. reach/biting point if yo can – what brakes have you got? maybe you need bigger rotors – that might stop hand cramp!

Get some Oury grips on there.

get yourself a power ball and exercise your hands to improve your grip

Try tweaking your fork too – winding the rebound off a wee bit made a massive difference when I was having the same problem in PdS this year.

Whites Level is a pretty short descent – so maybe check on the lever position (relative to your fingers/wrists/shoulders). When you are out of the saddle (attack position) take a look at your braking finger (you are braking with one finger?) and your wrists – they should be in a pretty much straight line. If you have the levers angled too far up your wrists will get strained as you ride as the forces will be getting taken by your fingers and your wrists, not by your skeleton.

Next thing would be to check that your levers are as close as you can get them to the bar, and still get full power from them. If you have to overstretch your fingers then you strain them on even shortish descents.

Bigger grips can also help (I'm a big fan of Oury lock-ons)

Sorry – much longer reply than I intended. I hope it is of some use!

Dunno if it's what your suffering from but I really suffer with my hands @ Afan until I make myself stop holding on so hard. A looser grip on the controls really helps me…

I love my ESI foam grips – reviewed in Singletrack a couple of months back – Got badly stung on import and handling charges mind. Still I did get three pairs and two mates love theirs too.
Fantastic firm comfortable foam grips – Ace.

Definitely agree with trying different/larger grips.

Also, if you're not already, then try to set up your brakes for 1-finger braking. That leaves 3 fingers for holding on, its less tiring to hold on and you can relax your grip, you shouldn't need to squeeze your bars into a death grip.

I wanted a set of those Esigrips but they are just too expensive when you factor in shipping from the US ($18 from memory!) Good to hear you like them – are the fat versions as fat or fatter than Oury's?

i found that on alpine/ whistler descents "palm protectors" helped, mind you my mates called me a big puff. still, didn't get blisters.
sure i got them from CRC, but can't find them, must be too gay for them.

also try not to hang on quite as tight/ loosen your grip when you can get away with it.

powerball or climbing hand strengthener also work.

you may also want to try rotating your bars back a bit.

Are you deathgripping? Just one possible cause, but holding on too tight will definately cause your hands to tire and cramp, as well as affecting your control.

ESI – I got the fat versions and they are the thinnest foam grips I have ever seen. The thin versions must be very thin. The foam really is some kind of funky latex foam stuff, it it closed cell so does not get wet when cleaning bike or upside down in puddle and are very grippy, They also do not have that slight rotation as you grip and the foam cell move about as you pull the bars – so they feel as direct as lock ons. Just really comfy.
Used mount spray glue adhesive can to lube and slip on. Set like concrete and GT45 dissolves the glue for removal.
3 grips worked out £18 each!!!!! with all costs , USA price is about £9?

Changed from ruffians to a fatter grip, and much better. Plus, make like a surfer; Loose but Tight… 😉

i was holding on tight!!as i was getting bashed around big style on the descents !! perhaps my fork rebound is to quick ??

wasnt just on whites level but most of the downhill stuff on w2 aswell.

i use ritchey foam grips and havent had a problem before with them??

brakes are hayes nine with 160mm rotors , would going to 180mm make a big difference?

could it just be that im not used to rocky descents and i was just holding on tooo tight?

It could be, yeah. I did that something rotten myself. But then, it might not. I recommend you try and do the same descent no-handed

GavinB – Member

Next thing would be to check that your levers are as close as you can get them to the bar,

this is the conventional wisdom to have a short reach- but I find I cramp less with a really long reach so my fingers are not curled up when braking – instead I have the lever reach set so that when the brake is full my fingers are only halfway to making a fist.

sounds like death grip to me.

My take on this.

When you are going downhill on a bike and braking, all of your weight will be forced forward onto your hands/arms. If you can learn to brace yourself on the bike using your feet/legs you can greatly reduce the amount of arm pump/hand cramp going on.

Guys on flat pedals usually know how to do this. If they were not bracing with their feet, their feet would fly off the pedals. Guys who are clipped in often forget about working with their feet and take all the force through the hands/arms.

Try riding down an easy hill and bracing using your feet/legs while braking. You will probably have to drop your heels a little and consciously put some pressure through your feet into the pedals. If you can get this sussed on an easy slope then start doing it when you are braking going down a hill and it should take a bunch of the strain out of your arms/hands. You should not need such a death grip and hopefully can get away from all the cramping.

Oh, and going to a 180 rotor and using 1 finger braking might help too. 1 finger braking means you have 3 strong fingers holding onto the bar and so dont have to clamp as hard as you do when you only have 2 fingers on the bar.

see i think i was gripping with my legs as well as i have rubbed the inside of my leg sore on the seatstay!!

also remember getting a bit of pain in my leading foot/leg too!!

maybe im just falling apart 😀

see i think i was gripping with my legs as well as i have rubbed the inside of my leg sore on the seatstay!!

also remember getting a bit of pain in my leading foot/leg too!!

Thats not what Inzane means (well i don't think it is), as a flat pedal rider, when i am going downhill over anything bumpy or rocky my feet have the heels dropped and my legs bent and loose but not so loose that they aren't supporting the bulk of my body which relieves the preesure on your arms. Its also good to swap your leading foot about so that the back of your legs don't to knackered. Also as others have mentioned move your brakes inboard so that your braking finger lines up with the hook on your lever when your hand is holding onto the bars so its a nice straight line through your arm. And that the angle of the lever is in line with your hand up through your wrist to your shoulder so that the back of your hand and wrist aren't strained either way when at rest on the lever. Grips are a personal thing, i like the ruffian as its skinny and very grippy but some prefer a chunkier grip.

hope that helps oh and relax being relaxed always helps, singing a song helps 🙂

Great advice on here, imo – ride the bike with your feet, not your hands. That's the way to ride anyway, not just to relieve pressure on your hands but for loads f other reasons too. There's lots more that you can do to make your ride smoother – obviously I'll just take this chance to suggest a skills session!

yup ride with loose arms and not too tight a grip – just tighten you grip if and when you need to – let the forks to the work as your arms / grip sounds too tight IMO.

Edit: oH and keep your weight back more which keeps teh weight off your arms and gives you more grip on teh rear and allows the front to skip over the rocks 🙂 RIDE LIGHT 🙂

i had this problem too until i got some large diameter titec grips and relaxed my hold. then i crashed in spain from being too relaxed… oops! but really, trying to be more relaxed helps lots in my experience

a picture of your cockpit set up would help too but as above, relax grip, ride smoother, take up bowls instead?

closest i could get to showing my cockpit set up………

I'd lift the brake levers up a bit, to encourage you to drop your wrists and hence forearms. Rock back onto your heels and get your hips behind your feet. Try not to even think about your hands when you descend – just look further ahead and drive the bike with your feet.

I'm half way through a trip to the alps and both my hands have blisters, from my experience you need better brakes, ones wit good modulation help, get the lecers in close to your bars, and get some gomfy grips and gloves with lots of padding!!

Through the pain it's still unbelievable over here, awesome infact and not a drop of rain in sight!!

renton
see i think i was gripping with my legs as well as i have rubbed the inside of my leg sore on the seatstay!!

also remember getting a bit of pain in my leading foot/leg too!!

maybe im just falling apart

Gripping the seat with your legs is likely to cause you problems as well. As soon as you are clamped onto the seat with your thighs it is like trying to ride a bucking bronco. As soon as your back wheel hits a bump it is transferred right though your whole body. If you can get stable on your pedals by bracing your feet on them you should try flaring your knees out slightly. This will allow the bike to move independently of your body, which is a good thing when riding through rough terrain.

I would recommend doing a skills course and getting someone to give you some handling tips that will give you the correct forward/back balance and get you stable on the bike.

Do you wear rings on your fingers? I used to get horrendous aching and had to lift my fingers off the grips at the end of a downhill. Real throbbing pain. I then decided to take off my wedding ring and another ring I wear on my right hand, and the pain just disappeared. Worth a try.

im starting think i cant ride anymore!!!

nah what i am thinking is that prehaps my bike might be a bit too big for me and cant really move around on it, so end up just staying in one place on it which might lead to the problems im having as ive not had it on any of the bikes ive owned before??

frame is a 20" inbred , im 6 foot, could it be too big?

cheers

steve

Inbreds are quite long. Maybe a shorter stem might help?

Didn't mean to slight your riding, btw. Downward facing brake levers led me to suspect you might be a bit all over the front.

I'd say you just need to relax.

Oh a maybe ride a bit more. 😉

Its the deathgrip you got on the bars, it stops your blood flowing through your hands properly, just try and remember to release your fingers and stretch them out every chance you get to get the blood flowing.

yep will try that tinsy!!

stem is 50 mm race face jobbie, think it might be to short as the front end is coming up on climbs all the time.

cheers

steve

Deceptive picture, looks like a longer stem – 50mm already blimin' short! Roll bars back a bit?