Forum menu
This is really getting on my nerves (!!) now, pain the my left thumb particularly, seemed like joints at first, now more muscular.
I've had x-rays, doctor's appointment and physio, but no clues. Not arthritis luckily. It isnt an ulna nerve issue either. Physio basically said to exercise it more, which I'm trying with a climbing grip etc. I relate it back to any thing in particular, it's been hanging around for about 6 months now, and has been painful when climbing in the snow (off the bike) in the winter.
I'm not sure if it is due to the way I hold the bars, or pressure on the base of my thumb. I've moved to a rear grip shift which has helped a bit, and wider bars which may have lessened the pressure a little - but still sore. Going to try foam grips next, then Ergo flat ones.
But, with a 6 week trip to Europe coming up in the summer (and the chance to do some work as a guide later) I need to get this sorted soon. I rode for 5 or 6 hours on the Quantocks last weekend, everything fine, until I rode one of the DH runs from Triscombe when a combination of hard braking and probably a bit of a "death grip" set things off.
Anyone got recommendations for gloves with really good padding around the base of the thumb, or experience with different types of grips?
Ergon grips and Specialized gloves.
Ergon grips mean back to a trigger shift, not compatible with grip shift without some hacksaw modification?
I suffer with this problem and I discovered my pain was caused by too much padding. I know use Odi Ruffian grips which are about the slimmest I could find and wear gloves with minimal padding. Works for me.
The pain I suffered was like a cramp sensation in the pad at the base of my thumb.
[url= http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=10485&category=326 ]http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=10485&category=326[/url]
Ergon twist shift grips...
matt - that sounds familiar, both my thumbs have actually "cramped up" in the cold and locked across the palms of my hands (a bit disconcerting at 6,000m on a mountain in Nepal at 5am...).
It's hard to convince a Doctor that it is a big deal, unless I really was riding for a living I guess. Physio (ex Bristol City and Bristol Rugby) actually said man-up, in a sort of nice way.
Foam grips will be pretty narrow, I'll see how that goes.
Thanks for that link. Now I need to find a retailer that will sell me a grip shift left and normal right to save a few $$$
May give up on the grip shift idea, hard to operate even with a cut down Ergon flag grip I would guess.
Try adjusting your bar angle as well (assuming riser bars), it might not entirely solve the problem, but at least it's free.