[MHCBH]

Hello folks,
So how many of you here have some amount of hand/wrist pain after 7-8 hours? I've had my bike fit (and cockpit setup like brake levers) looked at and tried different grips, most lately I've settled on some Ergon's which seem pretty good. However, I still get hand and wrist pain after events over 7-8 hours or so. I've added grip strength exercises, haven't done much. I bought some TOGS to try, thinking that being able to change hand position especially on climbs might help, but unfortunately they won't work wtih my handlebar setup (Scott Spark twin lock gets in the way). I was wondering if any of you have ever had any luck with taping your wrists? Kinda like some of the roadies do for Paris Roubaix?

 

[mtnbkrmike]

7 or 8 hours in the saddle? I think most people’s hands will be sore, among other body parts.

I have TOGs. I don’t use them anymore. I can ride thumbs up/over just as easily without them.

On a new bike/fork purchase, I routinely remove tokens/spacers from my fork. For example, I have one spacer in my 150 Factory 36. Any more than that and my hands are dead long before 7 or 8 hours on the saddle. I ride blacks and double blacks and suffer from zero bottoming out. I used s ShockWiz on my Druid and my intuition was consistent with ShockWiz’s recommendations.

Finally, almost counter intuitively, I prefer a narrow grip despite wearing XL and XXL gloves. Thicker grips seem to fatigue my hands much more quickly.

Not answering your inquiry I know, but perhaps something in there may be of interest to you.

Good luck and keep hammering 7-8 hour rides!

 

[HyperSprite]

I haven't used tape but I used to have wrist and hand pain on long rides and I typically do a six+ hour ride on the weekend.

I've tried a lot of grips and gloves and changed how I hold the bars.

My wrists were helped by making sure my hands were placed so my wrists and arms are in alignment. I used to let my wrists hang a little low, so my arms came into an angle and after a while, it would hurt.

I switched to gloves without padding from Dakine and Tasco.

Then tried grips, fat Oury, Specialized Contour XC, Ergon GA2, Renthal Lock On and then I found SRAM Contour Foam Locking Grips. These look different and fill the center of your palm similar to what the Specialized body geometry grail gloves look like they are supposed to do.

I feel like I've finally solved my hand issues that included my pinky going numb, blisters on the tops of my palms and base of my thumbs.

Not sure if any of those are your problems but that's what worked for me

 

[Walt Disney's Frozen Head]

I have mutliple friends w/ Sparks that run Togs so maybe rethink it or perhaps it just wont work.

also know a few people running the Fasst company Flex bars that swear by them. Yeah they're heavy but...

 

[mtnbkrmike]

Jeezus. Sorry guys. Just realized now that I was in the “Endurance XC Racing” forum. This is what happens when you blindly respond to something in the “New Posts” drop down box.

Hopefully nobody hurt them self laughing.

You guys are beasts. Super human. Sorry again. I will leave now.

Respect.

 

[leeboh]

Got your fork set up and tire pressure dialed? Minimum sus with skinny tires at high psi are not your friend here. I'm a big fan of bars with 15-20 degrees of sweep. Much more natural and comfortable for long rides. Got a salsa bend 2 on my Krampus with 22 degrees sweep.

 

[MI-XC]

I bought some TOGS to try, thinking that being able to change hand position especially on climbs might help, but unfortunately they won't work wtih my handlebar setup (Scott Spark twin lock gets in the way). I was wondering if any of you have ever had any luck with taping your wrists? Kinda like some of the roadies do for Paris Roubaix?

I have the same bike and use TOGS. Just take a dremel or use a razor blade to shave out a little room for the lockout. Also, I've found that a combination of ESI extra chunky grips and brake levers pointed further down works. Also ensure you're using all your front travel, if not lower fork pressure for it to feel more supple. Don't use full lockout, bounce from trail to open settings. Lastly, run lower tire pressures up front if you can (sub 20 psi).

 

[chuckie33]

Sounds like you might be experiencing arm pump. Google that term and you'll find lots of advice on it. I've struggled with it on and off for years, particularly on longer more technical rides.

Two things have worked for me. First, fine tuning suspension and running it a little softer than you might otherwise do for longer rougher rides and this includes using a higher volume tire at a lower pressure.

Second, Revolution Suspension Grips (https://revgrips.com/). These things really do work, I was hesitant but I swear by them now and won't ride without them. I got turned on to them when I posted on this same forum about the same issues several years ago after I did the Dragonslayer Triple at Lake Georgetown in Texas (90 miles of super technical, rocky singletrack). I damn near died on the third lap from not being able to control myself or my braking due to arm pump/arm fatigue.

 

[NordieBoy]

After a few years of TOGS, I'm trying Specialized Contour Race grips.
Was finding the ESI Chunkies weren't grippy enough and too easy to damage.

The Spec grips have enough of a platform to rest your hands on top, but aren't too bulky.

 

[Sender420shred]

Make sure your brakes and pads are working properly, I had a set of shimanos that seem to work fine until I road a friend's properly bled set with a good koolstop pad in them. Once I bled my brakes and put in a good set of pads all of my hand and wrist pain went away. Also adjust them to allow you to have a straight relaxed wrist/palm when your in your usual riding position. It always takes me a few rides to dial it all in even after a simple grip change


Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

 

[DaleinTexas]

Something different that what has been said......work on your core strength..

 

[jbadger1977]

What fork are you running? One thing that can sap your strength over long rides is the constant chatter of small bumps. If you have any built up air in your air-spring side of fork lowers, it can drastically affect small bump compliance. Have you tried sticking a zip tie down the outer seal to see if any air is trapped?

Also, as mentioned above, I swapped over to a thinner grip and that seemed to help. Went from Ergon GE1 to SDG Slater grips. Shape naturally pushes your arms into a bent position when using wider bars 720-740. Really helps on my enduro rig with 780 bars, too.

Overall, nothing beats good core and grip strength, though.

 

[MattMay]

Combo of three things worked for me:
1. Rev Grips (as chuckie33 says above)
2. Super thin non padded Tasco gloves (as HyperSprite says above)...I got the Recon ultralight stealth ones
3. Greater backsweep bars...scored some Syncros Fraser SL integrated bars...9 degree backsweep, 2-4 degrees more than the average XC flat bar)

Edit:
4. Adopting more of a "Jolanda" elbow bend. Not quite as extreme as Neff's, but concsciously keeping elbows bent a bit relieve weight and stress from my wrists/hands.

 

[c_t_smith]

work on your core strength..

Better grips (I like the contoured ESI Fit XC grips) and plusher suspension certainly can help, but don't overlook your core as a likely root cause. Early in a ride I put noticeably less pressure on my hands as I engage my core to support myself. And then 6+ hours later I find that I'm putting a lot more pressure on my hands as my core fatigues.

 

[LMN]

I have been struggling with wrist pain a bit this year. First time in 25 years of racing. I have a couple of possible causes.
1. "Modern Geometry" has me sitting a bit more forward on the bike. More weight on the wrists.
2. I have ridden my mountain bike a lot more this year. Lots of 4-6hr trail rides.
3. I am getting old.

Of the three possible fixes number 1 is the only one I can do anything about. I have moved my seat a bit further back in the rails to try and get a bit more traditional position. Too early to say if it has made a difference or not. I will try it for a couple of weeks and see if things improve.

 

[MillerC]

Check out wrist widget. It is designed to protect the tfcc which is basically the meniscus of the wrist.