I have a couple of road bikes, a mountain bike, and a BMX bike. I've been doing 20-50 mile road rides on road bikes since the early 80s with no long-term discomfort.
In the past, I've never gone more than about eight miles on the MTB. The MTB has the quick-release seat post which is real handy for the trailer-bike that my daughter rides. We went 20 miles Saturday. Here it is four days later and my left wrist and lower arm still hurt. It feels like some sort of tendonitis.
You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid the wrist pain?
From: "Fritz M" <[email hidden]: 11 May 2005 10:14:51 -0700 Local: Wed,May 11 2005 1:14 pm Subject: flat bars: How do you guys do it?
"You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid the wrist pain?"
You have to build up your wrists through exercise. Dennis P. Harris claims to have found the best way to do this is by masturbating 15 minutes out of every hour. You have to alternate hands, though.
:: You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid : the wrist pain? : : RFM
Don't [censored] your wrists backward. Change your grip from time to time. Let one hand hang down and shake it a little to get the blood circulating when the pain starts. Keep your elbows in--don't hunker down over the bars with your elbows 'way out. make sure you aren't riding with the majority of your weight resting on your hands. Don't grip the bars in a death grip. Check to see if your handlebars are too wide---I was told they should be as wide as your shoulders (right before the guy cut an inch and a half off of my new bars). Use soft grips on the bars (I really like Oury grips). Wear padded gloves. Take frequent breaks. But, mainly, don't put all of your weight on your hands!
[lots of good advice regarding wrist position, etc]
Thanks, Pat, this is all helpful. I'm very light on the handlebars -- my hands almost float with just enough pressure to control the streering when I hit bumps and what-not; this is a necessity with road bikes without front suspension. I pretty much do all of what you suggest except change positioning -- how is that done with flat bars? I have bar ends and I guess that helps some, though when my hands are on the bar ends I tend to hold them a little tighter and that's uncomfortable for me.
:: You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid : the wrist pain? : : RFM
Don't [censored] your wrists backward. Change your grip from time to time. Let one hand hang down and shake it a little to get the blood circulating when the pain starts. Keep your elbows in--don't hunker down over the bars with your elbows 'way out. make sure you aren't riding with the majority of your weight resting on your hands. Don't grip the bars in a death grip. Check to see if your handlebars are too wide---I was told they should be as wide as your shoulders (right before the guy cut an inch and a half off of my new bars). Use soft grips on the bars (I really like Oury grips). Wear padded gloves. Take frequent breaks. But, mainly, don't put all of your weight on your hands!
All good advice, one more; Make sure that your brake levers are aligned with your arms.
In other words, if you draw a straight line from your elbows to your wrists, the line should pass through (or at least close to) the brake levers.
[lots of good advice regarding wrist position, etc]
Thanks, Pat, this is all helpful. I'm very light on the handlebars -- my hands almost float with just enough pressure to control the streering when I hit bumps and what-not; this is a necessity with road bikes without front suspension. I pretty much do all of what you suggest except change positioning -- how is that done with flat bars? I have bar ends and I guess that helps some, though when my hands are on the bar ends I tend to hold them a little tighter and that's uncomfortable for me.
RFM
Be unconventional and try some different ways of using the bars you have. I have tried moving my hands to the middle where I can tough thumbs or leaned forward and rested my elbows on the bars, though only for a short time as even that gets uncomfortable. You could, and I am not recommending it, swap in a set of drop bars, road bike style, if your bike's construction allows it. I did notice today that my major discomfort came from pressure on the palms of the hands, so it seems there may be some nerves or blood vessels in there that don't like that position. The seat height is pretty much a function of your leg length so the bar height seems to be all you can mess with short of a different frame sized bike. Good luck with it all. Bill Baka
"Fritz M" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I have a couple of road bikes, a mountain bike, and a BMX bike. I've been doing 20-50 mile road rides on road bikes since the early 80s with no long-term discomfort.
In the past, I've never gone more than about eight miles on the MTB. The MTB has the quick-release seat post which is real handy for the trailer-bike that my daughter rides. We went 20 miles Saturday. Here it is four days later and my left wrist and lower arm still hurt. It feels like some sort of tendonitis.
You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid the wrist pain?
RFM
I've got a road (rigid) MTB with flats and I've put bar ends on. Not exactly "the fasion" these days but it allows a range of hand positions not really possible with straight flats. For me that's allowed regular rides of 50+ miles without grief.
As an aside, cutting the end off the grips so I could slide them onto the bars further was easy, I just got a bit of wood and banged the end of the bars... it punched the end of the grip out nicely!
You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid the wrist pain?
The real trick to it is to accept the flat bar'd bike's limitations, and not try to eke/squeeze/force drop-bar'd road bike performance out of it. That includes not pulling up on the handlebar to unweight the front wheel and weight the rear wheel, just to go 1 lousy MPH faster, while fighting against the air. Relax. Hang loose. Let the roadies breeze pass ya.
cheers, Tom
-- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid the wrist pain?
The real trick to it is to accept the flat bar'd bike's limitations, and not try to eke/squeeze/force drop-bar'd road bike performance out of it. That includes not pulling up on the handlebar to unweight the front wheel and weight the rear wheel, just to go 1 lousy MPH faster, while fighting against the air. Relax. Hang loose. Let the roadies breeze pass ya.
cheers, Tom
Been doing that for years. My Schwinn would have been on the road except for financial challenges. Slow MTB is better than walking any time though. Bill Baka
[lots of good advice regarding wrist position, etc]
Thanks, Pat, this is all helpful. I'm very light on the handlebars -- my hands almost float with just enough pressure to control the streering when I hit bumps and what-not; this is a necessity with road bikes without front suspension. I pretty much do all of what you suggest except change positioning -- how is that done with flat bars? I have bar ends and I guess that helps some, though when my hands are on the bar ends I tend to hold them a little tighter and that's uncomfortable for me.
RFM
Fit, Fit, Fit! The mantra for any bike.
Get a set of bar ends and set them so your forearm and wrists are straight.
I have a Moots cyclecross witha straight bar - and bar ends - and I rode it accross the country without any wrist pain. Then the "experts" told me I couldn't do that.
You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid the wrist pain?
The real trick to it is to accept the flat bar'd bike's limitations, and not try to eke/squeeze/force drop-bar'd road bike performance out of it. That includes not pulling up on the handlebar to unweight the front wheel and weight the rear wheel, just to go 1 lousy MPH faster, while fighting against the air. Relax. Hang loose. Let the roadies breeze pass ya.
cheers, Tom
Been doing that for years. My Schwinn would have been on the road except for financial challenges. Slow MTB is better than walking any time though. Bill Baka
In my own experience, switching from road bike to slower MTB can initially be somewhat frustrating; I've experienced that "Why is this thing so damn slow" feeling, myself. The alternate -- switching from slower MTB to faster road bike, has its own weirdness, too. Speaking of which, I guess it's about time to blow the cobwebs off the ol', neglected Sekine mixte.
cheers, Tom
-- -- Nothing is safe from me. Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca
In article <[email hidden]>, "Fritz M" <[email hidden]> writes:
>You guys who ride all over the place with flat bars -- HOW do you avoid >the wrist pain?
The real trick to it is to accept the flat bar'd bike's limitations, and not try to eke/squeeze/force drop-bar'd road bike performance out of it. That includes not pulling up on the handlebar to unweight the front wheel and weight the rear wheel, just to go 1 lousy MPH faster, while fighting against the air. Relax. Hang loose. Let the roadies breeze pass ya.
cheers, Tom
Been doing that for years. My Schwinn would have been on the road except for financial challenges. Slow MTB is better than walking any time though. Bill Baka
In my own experience, switching from road bike to slower MTB can initially be somewhat frustrating; I've experienced that "Why is this thing so damn slow" feeling, myself. The alternate -- switching from slower MTB to faster road bike, has its own weirdness, too. Speaking of which, I guess it's about time to blow the cobwebs off the ol', neglected Sekine mixte.
I ride the MTB almost exclusively in the woods so it seems plenty darn fast to me.
