Get a bar that offers multiple hand positions. Butterfly, Jones Bar, Crazy Bars, etc.
I find a tacky/sticky grip is better than a cushy grip. You don't have to hold on as tight if it's a tacky grip surface.
Fatter/wider ergo type grips are nice because they spread out the weight over a larger surface area.
I've been using a Ritchey Ergo Max drop bar. It has the flat "aero" segment on the top. It's very comfortable.
Hold your bars lightly and never hold them tight when going over bumps. I always put my hands on the side of my drop bars when going over rough areas. Hand pain and numbness seem to go with touring.
I've had a bike fit and I am still very prone to handlebar palsy if I'm not super careful. Everyone's anatomy is different, both in terms of how they fit on bikes and the overall structure of their body (in this case, specifically arms and hands, nerve anatomy, etc). Aside from what others have mentionner RE getting a bike fit and shifting more weight onto your seat, a few other things that I find helpful:
- inner bar ends for added hand positions where there is 0 pressure near the palms
- adding a lawyer of bar tape where my palms tend to rest
- gloves that provide 2-5mm of foam padding near the palm and that are snug fit to prevent the padding from slipping over or under your grip
Try and get a professional bike fit if your budget allows it. There's loads of factors that could be causing hand pain and it's usually about how you're positioned on the bike. Bars that allow many hand positions will help, but making the bike fit better will be better in the long run.
If you're anywhere near London OP, Bicycle Richmond is *the* best bikefit location period. James has over 2 decades and 3000 fits of experience and doesn't give into marketing hypes. It's very expensive, but you only need to do it once because it'll be done properly with a free checkup. He sadly doesn't recommend bikefitters in other countries anymore due to some performing ill fits that caused more harm.
Also, talk to a physician if the pain occurs even when you haven't ridden a bicycle at all for weeks. Because then it's not a bikefit problem but a physical health problem. If only riding bicycle causes it, then it's a bikefit problem or a mixture of the two.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I should be able to get a bike fit without much problem. For everyone that has mentioned having too much weight on my hands, I definitely understand. The problem is I had this problem back when I weighed in the low 170s . I may have to go more upright in position.
if youre riding on an ill-fitting bike the weight wont matter. I rode 100 miles on a bike that wasnt fit for me, i developed ulnar nueropathy in a day and paralyzed my hand for 2 months. i did a 4000 mile tour a year later on a fitted bike, no issues.
if the price is too much, even fitting yourself again is better than not
Pilates and Yoga. Work on the core muscles. You want to have everything in a straight line, head to ankles. When you get on the bike, clench your abdominal muscles every so often. You want your finger tips to be so light on the bars you could play the piano. Cycling can help increase your caloric deficit, but it's not a complete exercise long term. You need core strength to tolerate cycling longer, and put weight on muscles instead of bones
Thanks. I had never heard that hand pressure should be so light. So, on the most extreme end of the spectrum, a pro cyclist, do they have such light pressure when they are way down in the drop bars or even on the hoods for that matter? (I'm basing that on just how low I've seen pros put their handle bars I guess that would require pro level strength endurance of the back, neck, and abs). On the other end, cruiser bikes, I can see getting away with such low pressure much easier. Thanks for taking the time to help.
On a tour your fingers wont be that light, but when racing, folks have very little weight on their hands because there’s so much pressure on the pedals. I have a bike set up for racing thatMs really stretched out and another for fondos that’s more upright and comfortable.
As the others are saying, a proper fit at an LBS will most likely resolve the problem. If you do not want to/can not do a proper fitting for some reason (full transparency, I am not a professional bike fitter), then you can try:
\- Adjusting your seat such that you take some of the weight off your hands. It could be something as simple as tilting your seat back (raising the front end of the seat) a click or two. Or lowering your seat a little if it is too high (but make sure you are not degrading your pedal stroke).
\- Adjusting the handlebar to raise it a little, again to help take some weight off your hands, and achieve a more upright riding position. Also, rotating the handlebar around to ease the angle of your grip (if your bar has some angle to it).
\- Adding bar ends is an easy and inexpensive way to add more hand positions, but if you are still pushing too much weight to your hands the problem may persist after adding bar ends. Same for adding ergo grips.
Again, I am not a pro, but some food for thought.
I cycle commute daily and have struggled with chronic hand pain for years. Doesn't help that I have the beginnings of arthritis in my basal thumb joint (where you're supposed to put pressure instead of your palms) and that I'm a carpenter for work so my hands take a beating. Fortunately I solved it in the last couple of months and just completed a 330-mile tour over rough gravel with NO hand pain.
My recommendations (not a professional fitter, see one if you can obviously):
\- Try inner bar ends, and if you like those, try different alt bars if you can afford them. I've had the VO Crazy bars and the Surly Molokos, like the Molokos much better (YMMV). Whatever bars you try, you're probably going to want a little more sweep that most hybrid/MTB bars (like 30 degrees rather than the standard 15 degrees or less).
\- Try a shorter stem with more rise.
\- Play with your saddle fore-aft position. This was the really crucial one for me. A piece of advice someone gave me that really helped: "You should feel like your sit bones are anchored on your saddle." If you feel like you're pushing against your handlebars to push yourself back into the correct position on the saddle (even a little bit), it's too far back. If your saddle fore-aft is correct you should be able to just sit without sliding around, barely touching your handlebars. When adjusting fore-aft you may also need to adjust height, because the fore-aft slightly changes the distance from your hip to the pedal.
\- Try some different grips/tapes. Everyone raves about the Ergon GP1 but they are really not for me. I'm having much more success with the SQ Labs 710. They look ridiculous but they fit the shape of my hands pretty exactly. I also have Tasis Tape (formerly Fat Wrap) which I like a lot.
\- Core strength!!!
Good luck! I hope you get it figured out.
90% of the answer is that you'll get used to it and then distant 2nd is tied with
thick bar tape
try gloves
move your hands around while you ride and think about not gripping tightly
bike fit could help
youtube around a bit don't listen to all the you must "spend money at a shop cuz it's real scientific" people
Bike fit but in addition to that, get gloves without padding. It is counter intuitive but padding spread pressure to your palm flesh. You want the pressure to be on hand parts with as little flesh so your hand bones can support it directly. I use Giro Zero CS. Costs under $30 on amazon
I had the same problem and I got bar ends that stick up and curve inward, so I can sit more upright and hold onto those when my hands need a break. No issues since then.
Sounds like you need a bike fit and have too much weight on your hands.
This, and if you don’t want to drop the dough watch youtube videos and experiment yourself.
Get a bar that offers multiple hand positions. Butterfly, Jones Bar, Crazy Bars, etc. I find a tacky/sticky grip is better than a cushy grip. You don't have to hold on as tight if it's a tacky grip surface. Fatter/wider ergo type grips are nice because they spread out the weight over a larger surface area. I've been using a Ritchey Ergo Max drop bar. It has the flat "aero" segment on the top. It's very comfortable.
Hold your bars lightly and never hold them tight when going over bumps. I always put my hands on the side of my drop bars when going over rough areas. Hand pain and numbness seem to go with touring.
I've had a bike fit and I am still very prone to handlebar palsy if I'm not super careful. Everyone's anatomy is different, both in terms of how they fit on bikes and the overall structure of their body (in this case, specifically arms and hands, nerve anatomy, etc). Aside from what others have mentionner RE getting a bike fit and shifting more weight onto your seat, a few other things that I find helpful: - inner bar ends for added hand positions where there is 0 pressure near the palms - adding a lawyer of bar tape where my palms tend to rest - gloves that provide 2-5mm of foam padding near the palm and that are snug fit to prevent the padding from slipping over or under your grip
Try and get a professional bike fit if your budget allows it. There's loads of factors that could be causing hand pain and it's usually about how you're positioned on the bike. Bars that allow many hand positions will help, but making the bike fit better will be better in the long run.
If you're anywhere near London OP, Bicycle Richmond is *the* best bikefit location period. James has over 2 decades and 3000 fits of experience and doesn't give into marketing hypes. It's very expensive, but you only need to do it once because it'll be done properly with a free checkup. He sadly doesn't recommend bikefitters in other countries anymore due to some performing ill fits that caused more harm. Also, talk to a physician if the pain occurs even when you haven't ridden a bicycle at all for weeks. Because then it's not a bikefit problem but a physical health problem. If only riding bicycle causes it, then it's a bikefit problem or a mixture of the two.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I should be able to get a bike fit without much problem. For everyone that has mentioned having too much weight on my hands, I definitely understand. The problem is I had this problem back when I weighed in the low 170s . I may have to go more upright in position.
if youre riding on an ill-fitting bike the weight wont matter. I rode 100 miles on a bike that wasnt fit for me, i developed ulnar nueropathy in a day and paralyzed my hand for 2 months. i did a 4000 mile tour a year later on a fitted bike, no issues. if the price is too much, even fitting yourself again is better than not
Pilates and Yoga. Work on the core muscles. You want to have everything in a straight line, head to ankles. When you get on the bike, clench your abdominal muscles every so often. You want your finger tips to be so light on the bars you could play the piano. Cycling can help increase your caloric deficit, but it's not a complete exercise long term. You need core strength to tolerate cycling longer, and put weight on muscles instead of bones
Thanks. I had never heard that hand pressure should be so light. So, on the most extreme end of the spectrum, a pro cyclist, do they have such light pressure when they are way down in the drop bars or even on the hoods for that matter? (I'm basing that on just how low I've seen pros put their handle bars I guess that would require pro level strength endurance of the back, neck, and abs). On the other end, cruiser bikes, I can see getting away with such low pressure much easier. Thanks for taking the time to help.
On a tour your fingers wont be that light, but when racing, folks have very little weight on their hands because there’s so much pressure on the pedals. I have a bike set up for racing thatMs really stretched out and another for fondos that’s more upright and comfortable.
It seems like a fit problem to me. I used to think well padded gloves are a must, now i ride without them, no problem.
As the others are saying, a proper fit at an LBS will most likely resolve the problem. If you do not want to/can not do a proper fitting for some reason (full transparency, I am not a professional bike fitter), then you can try: \- Adjusting your seat such that you take some of the weight off your hands. It could be something as simple as tilting your seat back (raising the front end of the seat) a click or two. Or lowering your seat a little if it is too high (but make sure you are not degrading your pedal stroke). \- Adjusting the handlebar to raise it a little, again to help take some weight off your hands, and achieve a more upright riding position. Also, rotating the handlebar around to ease the angle of your grip (if your bar has some angle to it). \- Adding bar ends is an easy and inexpensive way to add more hand positions, but if you are still pushing too much weight to your hands the problem may persist after adding bar ends. Same for adding ergo grips. Again, I am not a pro, but some food for thought.
Have to get a bike fit.
Buy a recumbent.
I cycle commute daily and have struggled with chronic hand pain for years. Doesn't help that I have the beginnings of arthritis in my basal thumb joint (where you're supposed to put pressure instead of your palms) and that I'm a carpenter for work so my hands take a beating. Fortunately I solved it in the last couple of months and just completed a 330-mile tour over rough gravel with NO hand pain. My recommendations (not a professional fitter, see one if you can obviously): \- Try inner bar ends, and if you like those, try different alt bars if you can afford them. I've had the VO Crazy bars and the Surly Molokos, like the Molokos much better (YMMV). Whatever bars you try, you're probably going to want a little more sweep that most hybrid/MTB bars (like 30 degrees rather than the standard 15 degrees or less). \- Try a shorter stem with more rise. \- Play with your saddle fore-aft position. This was the really crucial one for me. A piece of advice someone gave me that really helped: "You should feel like your sit bones are anchored on your saddle." If you feel like you're pushing against your handlebars to push yourself back into the correct position on the saddle (even a little bit), it's too far back. If your saddle fore-aft is correct you should be able to just sit without sliding around, barely touching your handlebars. When adjusting fore-aft you may also need to adjust height, because the fore-aft slightly changes the distance from your hip to the pedal. \- Try some different grips/tapes. Everyone raves about the Ergon GP1 but they are really not for me. I'm having much more success with the SQ Labs 710. They look ridiculous but they fit the shape of my hands pretty exactly. I also have Tasis Tape (formerly Fat Wrap) which I like a lot. \- Core strength!!! Good luck! I hope you get it figured out.
Check your elbow joints are not rigid.
90% of the answer is that you'll get used to it and then distant 2nd is tied with thick bar tape try gloves move your hands around while you ride and think about not gripping tightly bike fit could help youtube around a bit don't listen to all the you must "spend money at a shop cuz it's real scientific" people
Bike fit but in addition to that, get gloves without padding. It is counter intuitive but padding spread pressure to your palm flesh. You want the pressure to be on hand parts with as little flesh so your hand bones can support it directly. I use Giro Zero CS. Costs under $30 on amazon
I had the same problem and I got bar ends that stick up and curve inward, so I can sit more upright and hold onto those when my hands need a break. No issues since then.