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Just got my first drop-bar road bike in the last few weeks after years of riding flat-barred MTBs with suspension and hybrids for commuting or touring.
No issues with any aches and pains anywhere, which surprised me - apart from my hands. Glad it's not just me.
Think a certain amount of it might be tension from just being uncomfortable with an unfamiliar posture on a bike that is quite skittish compared to anything else I've ridden - especially on descents, WRT hand positions that are not an unfurled index finger away from the brakes.
Just bought some ergo-shaped bars on the classifieds - hoping the flat tops of the bars will suit my default hand position - resting the "balls"(?) of my palms on the tops of the bars, a bit better.
Also, dunno how much any of us MTB-ers who ride on the road occasionally have to learn from pictures of top pros - surely their set-ups are optimised for performance, for being a few hundredths of a second quicker than the next guy, rather than comfort. A bit of hand pain is probably the least of their worries. 😕
first thing that costs nowt - flip the stem, play about with the bar angle, rearrange the spacers so the bars come up. Then you can slowly drop them a bit at a time until you find the right bar height and position
second thing, do some regular stretching, before and after the ride - again costs nowt
[edit: keep remembering things] don't grip the bars too tightly, bend the elbows. hoods aren't for riding long stretches on, use all the different hand positions as that's why they are shaped like that, for variety
something that costs very little - double wrap the bars, simply put a second layer of bartape on top of the first, cost about a tenner
also, fresh pair of gloves as they compress over time and lose the padding (prendas knock out really good ones for much less than the high street prices)
This is pretty interesting - I've only just got my first road bike and the bars were set up straight; but after the first ride set them with a slight drop as it felt weird straight! I thought I was being weird but glad to see I'm not!!! I've just bought latest cycling plus (hangs head in shameful guilt) and it has some pretty useful tips on setting up your bike - I need to gety saddle sorted as still too much pressure going through arms shoulders neck.
Your hand pain does sound like a trapped nerve issue - I used to get it wearing a pair of spesh BG gloves but changed to endura and all good - strange
I've only just got my first road bike
I need to gety saddle sorted as still too much pressure going through arms shoulders neck.
not saying your position doesn't need tweaking but the more you ride the more your core/upper body gets used to supporting your weight.
regarding the brake levers - should they be at 90 degrees to the ground?
I would suggest you learn to position yourself on the biek a bit better. Road biking position is not like mtbing. You need to sit on the saddle the same way you would sit on an office chair with your back straight and your core muscle to maintain it that way, and then you will have to pivot around your hips to reach the handlebar. Pressure pain in the hands is due to people not using their core muscle and using their hand to sustains their weight
HTH
get a bike with dt shifters,or bar end shifters.constantly moving your hands is something that integrated brake/shift levers discourage.
or just remember to move your hands around.
I'm with oldgit on this. I don't NEED gloves because the weight on my hands is not so great. Saddle position is key, and pedaling should take the weight off. Once saddle is correct, then think about the bars. Oh and core body strength helps.