So I’ve used Pearl Izumi, Giro and a pair of Fox gloves over the last few months and for love nor money I cannot ride for more then 30 mins without a pain in both hands, little finger all the way to my wrist. Anyone out there had a similar problem, and how have you delt with it? I’ve been riding for about 10 years and it’s only in the last few months I’ve ever had this problem.

i had this for bit when i swapped bars.
might be the sweep or something putting pressure on your hands.

have you tried riding with no gloves?

ive had this for the last few years and i solved it pretty much today on my 2nd to last dh run.

adjust the reach on the brake lever.

thats it.

i done that and after had very little pain. so i solved it pretty much but i think its down to now the brakes. me having to pull them to hard to stop.

im upgrading my system on the new bike and hope it all ok after.

I cannot ride for more then 30 mins without a pain in both hands

don’t think he meant riding DH

stop being so tight fisted

Try changing the grips and get some Specialized BG gloves, worked for me..

I suffered this until I changed to a set of carbon bars, they took the sting out of the trail and prevented the trail buzz going to my hands

raise the bars a couple of inches?

Are you using a death grip?

May also be neck position. Both little may suggest ulnar nerve, so Spec BG gloves may help, but might also be worth getting your GP to refer you to the local NHS physio service. A decent physio would look at your bike posture + help you work out where the problem lies.

TJ – how do you have any idea what height his bars are at present? and are you aware that the term “death grip” means gripping the bars without covering the brakes?

I’m getting this and have done since 24/12. On the road bike I reckon it was holding on too tight, don’t k ow what the issue on the XC bike it but will adjust the reach on tomorrows ride. I think grips play a big part. Using spesh’s own at the moment and they aren’t the comfiest. Tempted by some ergon grips to see of that helps

Get some ESI grips

Can you put up a photo of the front of your bike, or better yet you on it? Individually the grips, control setup, stem, bars, spacers, fork settings, technique and other health issues could all contribute to this.

If you haven’t set up for 1 finger braking, then get on it. 3 fingers on the grip means less pressure for control. The angle of the controls needs to be relatively inline with your arm in riding stance. Move your brakes to the inside of the shifters (unless they are the new 1 finger Shimano!).

Have you changed bars? Maybe the sweep doesn’t fit your body?

Finally, your riding style may be too upper body dominant. The Lopes/McCormack book chats about heavy feet & light hands. The bike should be set up so that your lower body is supported with the arms and hands providing control when needed.

Had a similar problem and solved it with ODI Rouge grips. They’re fatter and softer than most.

I was getting vague carpal tunnel symptoms after 24/12. Think it was just the amount of bike wrangling needed in the mud + level of concentration once it got dark. Now settled with neck + wrist stretches. Hope yours does too.

I’ve been riding for about 10 years and it’s only in the last few months I’ve ever had this problem.

The only time I’ve had persistent lower arm/hand issues I went through all the new gloves/grips/bar position options even though they had never given problems before.
After finding no solution, I took a mental step back & did a “what have I changed recently” analysis and it turned out to be a new bike pac with slightly different shoulder strap fitting, tweaked the strap set up a bit and no more aches…..

…slightly rambling point is, as mentioned above somewhere, that the cause of pain isn’t always directly associated with where the pain is felt.

Hi stevenc, I’ve suffered with this for some time, so I’ve got some suggestions – just gonna do an info dump here for you and anyone else with this problem. Thing is, it’s different for everyone – people have different nerve sensitivity (some people get neuralgia, some don’t) – so you’ll need to play around to get results. CAVET – there’s some pet theories in here…

First of all – symptoms. Pinky and ring finger = CUBITAL tunnel and ULNAR nerve. Other 3 fingers = CARPEL tunnel and MEDIAN nerve. 30% of cyclist get problems with one of the other. Other causes include long hours typing or driving, or even lying in bed with a bent elbow all night! Check it: http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_15_3_2.htm

Easy steps:
1. Avoid lying in bed with bent arm
2. Avoid resting elbows on desk at work/ at home and pay attention to your wrist position when typing
2. Warm up and warm down before/after cycling – made a massive difference for me. Do this guy’s exercises: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6cIcuLnYrc (don’t buy the glove though – looks ridiculous – instead get a squeezy ball and practice finger stretches by pressing an open hand down on the desk top). Look for more exercises online – do as many as you can – make a warm up routine for your arm. Push-ups also good. Also look at massage routines that involve the elbow joint – where the cubital tunnel is located.

Bike set up (most effective for Cubital issues):
* Try to take the weight off your hands – often achieved by a higher bar and a shorter stem to reduce reach and put weight on saddle. Don’t go too short though, as can have opposite effect (like I said, you have to try things).
* Pay attention to how the pain starts when you ride – body position, surface you ride on, activity (such as going up hill) – try to isolate causes and remedy with set up.
* I found that back sweep on bars was bad for me – my hands naturally try to straighten the bar out and put pressure on my outer palms/ pinky finger. So I’m about to try out an 808 flat bar cut down to my size. (Rowers and weight lifters don’t use an angled bar, after all – all that is just moto fashion I think). Most people’s natural wrist position on a bar is NOT bent outwards, unless you have fully straight arms – not applicable on an MTB. Like a lot of things – looks good on paper, b0llocks in practice.
* Change hand positions as much as possible – see if bar ends help.
* Try not to put too much weight on the bars when climbing out the saddle (easier said than done).
* Soft grips can help, especially for Carpel tunnel (found where your hand meets the wrist between your natural palm pads). I’ve found ODI Yetis to be the best, usually without gloves. You can also try carbon or steel bars. All these things can help, and you need as much help as possible with these things. Too soft can make things worse though!
* Check the angle your wrist makes with the bars – should be as comfortable as possible – a straight line with forearm ideally. Check brake position and reach etc. NOTE: Your ideal comfort position may not be the ideal MTB position – so you have to compromise here.
* Try to keep your wrists off the bars and use fingers a bit more.

Clothing (most effective for carpel tunnel):
The palm of your hand is naturally designed to shield the carpel tunnel. If you look at it from an angle, you’ll see the two palm pads create a bridge over the carpel tunnel area on a flat surface. So, as Sheldon Brown says, too much padding can actually be a bad thing as it bunches in this recess, putting pressure on the carpel tunnel, making the problem worse! Most padded gloves are actually very badly designed. They Usually simply put minimal gel where your natural palm pads are. The idea is that it raises the bridge. Fine if you have bare bars. But if you have squishy grips, often a bad idea. You want gloves that have thick palm pads – ideally that extend up to the pinky finger a bit. Specialized BG gloves are good – but get 2 sizes larger than stated on the website. Tight gloves will make the problem worse.

Road Bike:
If you ride drop bars – these are a nightmare for hand numbness, especially on the hoods, where full pressure is put on the cubital tunnel by the bar running straight down the recess between your palm pads! And you have no suspension damping. Carbon can help here, and correct bike set up is essential. Different gloves with full pads across the palm bridge area are best here, as well as wrapping the bars with innertubes underneath the bar tape. Some people also use TT style bars with flat tops. I use an adjustable stem as well. However, you do get 3 hand positions to play with.

Hope that helps rather than confuse – but like I said, it’s a very personal thing, there’s no one simple answer. But seriously, try the exercises…

Good luck.

Well maybe it’s time you start to sit correctly and start using your core muscles 😉
basically you should sit on the saddle same way you should sit on an office chair. Then you should rotate your upper body around your hips to reach forward. NOT bend over with your middle back and rest on your hands.
If you do the former, you have almost no pressure at all on your hands.
HTH

Get some ESI grips

Done!

Juan – I already try to stick to using core muscle instead of ‘leaning’ on the bars. I think my problem is using the drop on the road bike and holidng on too tight.

I have a new ergo mouse at work so see if that helps. I think my mtb grips have sarted this issue off, a lot like rogues which I had comofrt issues with before but never had pins and needles etc

I think my problem is using the drop on the road bike and holidng on too tight.

I would get rid of them and use horn bull bar ASAP. To be honest I don’t see the point of drop if you’re not wiggins. Useless for 99% of riders.

Great post from starfanglednutter up there. Thanks chap.

Welcome. Numb hands are a pain in the butt… *arf-arf*

Drops

I really only use them for headwinds and descending. Although three years ago after about 4 days in a row riding up and down cols, I could comfortably ride for ten-fifteen minutes a time on drops. I think it’s your back and stomach strength.

I was coaching kayaking and canoeing last night, a girl who does ballet jumped in a kayak and paddled off, perfect posture etc and technique.

SET UP.

Second that Herman Shake..
A lot of discomfort pains if caused just by cycling is most likley setup..
Your local bike shop can help make adjustments for free..try a couple of shops see if they make different adjustments.
There is buisness out there that just speacilise in bike fit.

Good post SFNer.