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Glove Recommendations to decrease numb hands!

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5.2K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  KenInCa  
K
#1 ·
Been having issues with numb hands while bombing (well for me anyways) down bumpy fire roads and single tracks. Going up hill and smooth roads are no issues. When on rough roads I've been trying to barely hold the handle bars, but it still causes pain and numbness.

SO.... I've read that having carbon bars help, but I'm on a very TIGHT budget and so either the gloves or grips will have to do for now.

Thanks in advanced! :thumbsup:
 
K
#2 ·
Oh-forgot to mention this:
Bike Norco 29er
Conti MK 2.2
Tire Pressure F=~15lbs B=~20
Fork= RS Recon air set at my weight range

I have the bike set up for me, I stand while going down hill and I don't have a death grip, and my arms are loose and I try not to put any weight on my hands as I can let go of the grips and keep my body position.

Cheers!
 
K
#5 ·
Thanks for the recommendation. I do have that grip on another bike, but that one was in a more aggressive position and I did put more weight on my hands, so normal riding, the grips helped. Going on rough terrain, didn't help.

I'm thinking I need a cushy grip. I just saw ESI chunky grips... any comments?
 
J
#6 ·
ESI grips are great and all I use. Numb hands can be caused by fit issues on the bike although I know some people that are more prone to numbness. Try keeping your elbows bent and vary hand positions as best you can. Also, how's your core strength? A weak core may have you supporting yourself more with your hands and causing pain.
 
#8 ·
When I started riding again in May after many years, I too was having numbing/soreness issues.
Trying padded gloves seemed to make it worse, as the vague grip feel let to grasping even tighter.
I switched to a grip (ODI Rogues) that had a little larger outside diameter and cushion. That in combination with non-padded gloves was a definite step in the right direction.

But I feel I found the best results be really taking some time to try different adjustments in stem height, bar/controls rotation, and seat position. Little moves made a great difference. Proper overall form
(especially with modern geometries) also yielded excellent results.

On long days, I still need to "shake it off" a couple times, but I'm glad I spent more time adjusting
existing things than throwing money at spendy parts.
 
D
#10 · (Edited)
I've never encountered any numbness in my fingers while MTB'ing unless it's really cold out. That being said I use an Easton carbon bar, ODI rogue lock on grips, and Fox gel gloves. In my experiences with riding motorcycles long distances, the best thing to help with hand numbness IMO is to loosen the grip some as well as a good set of grips.
 
S
#12 ·
Might sound stupid, but years back I realized I had grips that loosened up as I rode, so I wound up Holding on with a Kung-fu Death grip halfway thru the ride, ESPECIALLY on fast decent/very technical portions... the grips are cheap enough, i'd get new ones just for the Hell of it...
New grips, fox gloves (love em) and grip locks or3M or hairspray the f'rs on and make SURE your body geometry on the bike (ghostring +1!) is worked out. Certainly running w/ a bar with more rise will help you sit more upright, but too far and you hate it...
Oh, a shorter stem w/ more rise can also help, but too short and the front end gets twitchy and screws up handling. See if you can borrow a part or two from a friend b4 you invest the $....
 
#13 ·
I had a problem with my hands for a while too, went from a large to xl glove it helped then started to keep the strap on the glove very loose the numbness quit so try to not tighten your gloves too tight first!
 
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#14 ·
All the above plus if you use the Ergons, which I do, ignore the CW that has them tilted down. Tilt them up so your hands are in line with your arms.

You don't mention brakes but if "bombing" down perhaps you're stretching to your brake levers which strains your fingers. Adjusting my levers closer to the grips helped me.
 
I
#15 ·
Gloves and Grips are unlikely to solve the problem....

A couple of possible suggestions:

+Get your weight on your feet - through your pedals
+Loosen your grip on your grips - relax you hands, arms, and let your shoulders relax and 'drop' - one trick to loosening up is to relax your jaw - its amazing how we can clench our jaw and it tightens the rest of our body, without even knowing it.
+Bike set-up: Saddle / stem / handlebar position (handle bar height and sweep) - are your hands in a natural position when you ride, or are they severely bent at the wrist (like when your doing a push up) or are your hands cocked laterally to the outside (handle bar sweep)
+Adjust your suspension fork for better small bump compliance
+Decrease your tire pressure for better small bump compliance
+One finger braking - ride with only one finger on the brake lever and get used to using only 1 finger for braking - also is brake lever positioned in a comfortable natural position (by rotating on handlebar).

Chances are, something above may be wrong, and cushioning with gloves or grips wont solve that problem.
Good luck - let us know what ends up working for you.
 
K
#16 ·
Update

Well, made some changes and rode the same trail for a couple of times and this is what I did.

1. moved the brake lever down a touch. It feels good when standing, but so-so while seated. I'll have to find a happy medium.

2. Bought ODI roughneck flangless and I really like these. Was going to buy the ODI Rogue, but my LBS had them at a really high price, so these couldn't be beat pricewise. I know they are not lock-ons, but I'm not a hardcore rider, where I go through mud and tons of moisture/rain. I remember my BMX days where I would literally ride through streams lakes, etc and it did ok. If the began to move, bring out the hair spray and let it flow...

Conclusions, part set up with the wrist during downhill tech stuff, and mostly the vibration during fireroads, which new grips helped a lot. Second is my gloves... It has swiss-cheese like gel padding on both sides of the palm, BUT the ulnar side is pushed out a little so it mostly protects the side of the palm. I don't know if time made it stretch out a little or not, but this slight variation makes me put a little more weight on the pinky side of the palm. Discovered this after a longer ride and that side was a little more sore than usual, but my hands did not go numb or bother me during the ride, only after did I notice it.

So I'm not sure if I should get another glove with a little padding or no padding. That is the question! If I do get one with padding, I'm going to make sure the glove puts equal pressure on both sides of the palm!

I know that a carbon bar would really help to dampen the rest of the vibration out, but that will have to wait till the financials look better than they do now... hopefully not to far in the future.

Thanks for your help! Hopefully this helps others too.

Cheers!:thumbsup:
 
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