[alwaystubed]

Noob here. Just started riding this bike

.

I feel fine except after 15 minutes or so of riding, my hands go numb. I take them off and shake them out, but that only last for 5-10 minutes after the initial numbing. I assume too much pressure on my hands. Any ideas on what I can adjust to help this? I am 6' 3", 220lbs. Thanks.

 

[ricocpa]

Take a look into Ergon grips. They helped me, and I have a slight case of carpel tunnel.

 

[Bail_Monkey]

A front shock would help... there are other posts here on the Ergon GP1 grip. Helped my hands and wrists.

 

[2_WD]

Also try using well padded gloves. Ususally DH & AM bike gloves have pretty lofty padding for the palm.

 

[Jekyll_Jockey]

I eexperienced this on my road bike. the solution was padded gloves as a band-aid and to correct my body position... not using my hands to "hold myself up" but using my core muscles to maintain my body position.

 

[erginguney]

My list of suspects, in order of likelihood, would be:

1. Lack of front suspension. (Makes a world of difference!)
2. Seating position. You might be putting too much weight on your hands. This could be arising from any combination of frame size (top tube ("cockpit") too long), handlebar height (too low), stem length (too long). Even the seat height play into it.
3. Bad grips or lack of padded gloves.

 

[alwaystubed]

My list of suspects, in order of likelihood, would be:

1. Lack of front suspension. (Makes a world of difference!)
2. Seating position. You might be putting too much weight on your hands. This could be arising from any combination of frame size (top tube ("cockpit") too long), handlebar height (too low), stem length (too long). Even the seat height play into it.
3. Bad grips or lack of padded gloves.

Thanks. No front suspension in the works. This happens on flat smooth ground as well. I will mess around with seat/handlebar height and see if that helps.

 

[laurenlex]

Try tilting the nose of the saddle up a few degrees. It might look uncomfortable, but it will put the weight on your sit bones in your butt and off of your hands.

<--- not a beginner

 

[upNdown]

I think jeckelljockey has a good answer. Are you squeezing your grips for dear life? You need to hold the handlbar for steering, but use your whole body to control the bike. Clipless pedals might help too.
Disclaimer: I haven't ridden a fully rigid in years, so input from people riding rigids may be more helpful.

 

[TulsaClint]

Try tilting the nose of the saddle up a few degrees. It might look uncomfortable, but it will put the weight on you sit bones in your butt and off of your hands.

I agree, this might be your best advice along with some good quality padded gloves. Also, a different seat might be a good idea. Your seat looks cushy and all, but just because it looks comfy doesnt mean it's best for the rest of your body.

 

[dr13zehn]

Another set of grips that really help are the ESI Chunky. They are extremely cushy and very light (if that matters).

 

[Killertofu]

i use some specialized gloves that have the "BG" technology stuff. i haven't compared any other ones but they seem to be everything they should be.

 

[jeff]

I find that bike fit is the #1 culprit when it comes to hand issues. Make sure you're on your bike correctly before you start throwing money at grips, bars, suspension or gloves. After that I'd look at your cockpit first then consider a fork. And of course good gloves are a must.

 

[alwaystubed]

I think jeckelljockey has a good answer. Are you squeezing your grips for dear life? You need to hold the handlbar for steering, but use your whole body to control the bike. Clipless pedals might help too.
Disclaimer: I haven't ridden a fully rigid in years, so input from people riding rigids may be more helpful.

Thanks. No, no death grip. I think it's purely from weight on my palm area.

 

[alwaystubed]

I find that bike fit is the #1 culprit when it comes to hand issues. Make sure you're on your bike correctly before you start throwing money at grips, bars, suspension or gloves. After that I'd look at your cockpit first then consider a fork. And of course good gloves are a must.

I will try raising the bar some. Would the bar being too forward impact this as well?

 

[1SPD]

Ok, it has been touched on but I can not stress this enough. You need to activate your core muscles. Bike fit it very important as well as it will shift your weight in the appropriate way and relieve some of the stress from your hands. So here are my suggestions, coming from someone who raced road bikes for over 13 years as well as currently riding a fully rigid single speed mtb. I am also a personal trainer (part time)

1. Check out the Ergon Grips as mentioned or the ESI Chunky grips. The Ergon design helps to alleviate pressure from the hands and were designed with folks having carple tunnel in mind. The ESI Chunky grips are a slightly thicker version of their Race grip (I have a set of the race grips myself) and are a type of foam that is quite grippy and spongy feeling.

2. Adjust your seat slightly as mentioned above. You may want to start with trying to raise the tip of the seat up a tad or even possibly sliding the seat rearward slightly.

3. You need to do some core exercises to help strengthen the muscles in your lower back and abs. My suggestion would be start with some crunches and some stiff legged dead lifts. (you can look up both exercises on You Tube for examples of how to properly perform these-note that you do not have to do the stiff legged deads with a barbell in the beginning).

Exercises like this will really help to strengthen you lower back and core (mid section) which in turn will help you to hold yourself up more and rely less on leaning on your arms. Also remember to always keep a slight bend in your elbows which allows your arms to work like a shock of its own.

Lastly, consider a pair of bar ends for your bars. This will allow you different hand positions to use. Changing out your grip frequently will allow for a little more relaxation in your hands and help to alleviate some fatigue.

 

[alwaystubed]

Ok, it has been touched on but I can not stress this enough. You need to activate your core muscles. Bike fit it very important as well as it will shift your weight in the appropriate way and relieve some of the stress from your hands. So here are my suggestions, coming from someone who raced road bikes for over 13 years as well as currently riding a fully rigid single speed mtb. I am also a personal trainer (part time)

1. Check out the Ergon Grips as mentioned or the ESI Chunky grips. The Ergon design helps to alleviate pressure from the hands and were designed with folks having carple tunnel in mind. The ESI Chunky grips are a slightly thicker version of their Race grip (I have a set of the race grips myself) and are a type of foam that is quite grippy and spongy feeling.

2. Adjust your seat slightly as mentioned above. You may want to start with trying to raise the tip of the seat up a tad or even possibly sliding the seat forward slightly.

3. You need to do some core exercises to help strengthen the muscles in your lower back and abs. My suggestion would be start with some crunches and some stiff legged dead lifts. (you can look up both exercises on You Tube for examples of how to properly perform these-note that you do not have to do the stiff legged deads with a barbell in the beginning).

Exercises like this will really help to strengthen you lower back and core (mid section) which in turn will help you to hold yourself up more and rely less on leaning on your arms. Also remember to always keep a slight bend in your elbows which allows your arms to work like a shock of its own.

Lastly, consider a pair of bar ends for your bars. This will allow you different hand positions to use. Changing out your grip frequently will allow for a little more relaxation in your hands and help to alleviate some fatigue.

Thanks for the tips. I will try these out.

 

[1SPD]

Oh, my hands still get numb every once in a while. I found that when I hit some of the smoother sections of trails that if I take a hand off the bar and shake it, open/close it a couple of times that it helps to get the blood circulating and they feel much better. After all that is why they are going numb, you are cutting off the blood supply to them by putting so much pressure on them when leaning on the bars.

 

[metaljim]

You're saddle looks FAR too low for being 6'3". Get it up where it belongs, and move it back in the rails. You're putting weight on your hands because your hips aren't far enough back from your pedals.

 

[1SPD]

Woops I just noticed I said slide the seat forward. Sorry, I meant back a little.