numb hands

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 13:08:02 GMT, "dgallagher2554" <[email hidden]> wrote:

When I first started riding I had a similar problem. I discovered it was from bending my
hands at the wrist. I believe this probably pinched nevers in teh carpal tunnel area. after
one long ride I actually lost a significant amount of strength in one hand for several days.
Thing I did to make it not happen again. Don't bend at the wrist ride with a straight wrist
like shaking someones hand rather than doing pushups. Switch positions often. I had my
problem after riding nearly fifty miles nearly all in the drops adn all with wrist bent.

~Matt

Quoted message said:

Hello, I'm new to the sport of triathlon - completed my first the end of June and doing another
next weekend. I just purchased my first road bike. The comments about the aerobars has helped me
out (thought it was just me who had bad balance). Now for my question.... When riding on the hoods
of the bars (the top portion) for any length of time, my hands fall asleep/go numb. Any thoughts
why this might be happening or suggestions to stop it from happening??

Thanks in advance, Trish G.

Pressure on the base of the palm in the fleshy part beneath the pinky will press on a nerve, causing
the numbness. Mountain bikers get it all the time. I find that the best way to stop it is to buy a
pair of Body Geometry gloves from Specialized. They are the only ones, to my knowledge, that put
padding in exactly the right place.

It worked for me and everyone I know.

Tom

"dgallagher2554" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello, I'm new to the sport of triathlon - completed my first the end of June and doing another
next weekend. I just purchased my first road bike. The comments about the aerobars has helped me
out (thought it was just me who had bad balance). Now for my question.... When riding on the hoods
of the bars (the top portion) for any length of time, my hands fall asleep/go numb. Any

thoughts

Quoted message said:

why this might be happening or suggestions to stop it from happening??

Thanks in advance, Trish G.

dgallagher2554 said:

Hello, I'm new to the sport of triathlon - completed my first the end of June and doing another
next weekend. I just purchased my first road bike. The comments about the aerobars has helped me
out (thought it was just me who had bad balance). Now for my question.... When riding on the hoods
of the bars (the top portion) for any length of time, my hands fall asleep/go numb. Any thoughts
why this might be happening or suggestions to stop it from happening??

Could be putting too much weight on them, could be human. (you didn't say how long a "length of
time" was - 1 minute or 60?). Are you wearing gloves that don't fit well? Not wearing gloves?

Too much weight: Do you have your saddle tipped way forward? (Does your bike fit properly and is
adjusted properly?) Is your saddle too high for the height of your bars?

Overgripping: Are you holding on to the hoods for dear life, or are you maintaining a properly
relaxed grip? Go for the latter.

Change hand positions often. You can work in about six (or more.
🙂 different ways of gripping standard road bike handlebars when
you include the top of the bar and in the drops. Each of these puts pressure on your hands
differently, giving you a chance to get away from one numb spot. When not racing, I find that
sitting up straight for a little bit helps stretch out, relieve pressure on hands and butt, and give
a nice change of position.

-Dave

--
work: dga - at - lcs.mit.edu me: angio - at - pobox.com MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
angio.netangio.netOpen ↗ (note that my reply-to address is vaguely despammed...) bulk emailers: I do
not accept unsolicited email. Do not mail me.

It seems I have left out a little bit of information. I do wear cycling gloves on my rides. It
generally happens after about 30 minutes of riding. When I got the bike, I spent about an hour
having it fitted for me by a member of a past Canadian Olympic Team. I try to move my hands around
the bars and it does help to get them out of the same position. Part of it might just be my
unfamiliarity with the bike itself and gripping a little too hard.

Thanks to everyone who has posted responses so far.

"Dave Andersen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

dgallagher2554 <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

Could be putting too much weight on them, could be human. (you didn't say how long a "length of
time" was - 1 minute or 60?). Are you wearing gloves that don't fit well? Not wearing gloves?

Too much weight: Do you have your saddle tipped way forward? (Does your bike fit properly and is
adjusted properly?) Is your saddle too high for the height of your bars?

Overgripping: Are you holding on to the hoods for dear life, or are you maintaining a properly
relaxed grip? Go for the latter.

Change hand positions often. You can work in about six (or more.
🙂 different ways of gripping standard road bike handlebars when
you include the top of the bar and in the drops. Each of these puts pressure on your hands
differently, giving you a chance to get away from one numb spot. When not racing, I find that
sitting up straight for a little bit helps stretch out, relieve pressure on hands and butt, and
give a nice change of position.

-Dave

--
work: dga - at - lcs.mit.edu me: angio - at - pobox.com MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
angio.netangio.netOpen ↗ (note that my reply-to address is vaguely despammed...) bulk emailers: I do
not accept unsolicited email. Do not mail me.

<MJuric> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 13:08:02 GMT, "dgallagher2554" <[email hidden]> wrote:

When I first started riding I had a similar problem. I discovered it was from bending my hands at
the wrist. I believe this probably pinched nevers in teh carpal tunnel area. after one long ride I
actually lost a significant amount of strength in one hand for several days. Thing I did to make
it not happen again. Don't bend at the wrist ride with a straight wrist like shaking someones hand
rather than doing pushups. Switch positions often. I had my problem after riding nearly fifty
miles nearly all in the drops adn all with wrist bent.

~Matt

Quoted message said:

Hello, I'm new to the sport of triathlon - completed my first the end of June

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

doing another next weekend. I just purchased my first road bike. The comments about the aerobars
has helped me out (thought it was just me who had bad balance). Now for my question.... When
riding on the hoods of the bars (the top portion) for any length of time, my hands fall asleep/go
numb. Any

thoughts

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

why this might be happening or suggestions to stop it from happening??

Thanks in advance, Trish G.

I found the same thing. (Actually I read it somewhere on the internet but I can't find the link.)
Once I made myself keep my wrist straight, the numbness problem all but disappeared. Also as I rode
more, my arms and back got stronger and it does not feel like I have as much weigh on my hands as I
did when I started.

STP

dgallagher2554 said:

When riding on the hoods of the bars (the top portion) for any length of time, my hands fall
asleep/go numb.

When you say hoods, do you mean the brake lever hoods? I ask this because you go on to mention the
top of the bars so it's not quite clear.

Anyway, here's how I ride and I've never really had a problem with numb hands. I never "lock" onto
the bars with my hands. I keep my grip fairly loose, I never lock my elbows (that is, they're always
bent), I don't put a lot of weight on the bars and I move my hand position around frequently --
tops, hoods, drops and everywhere in between. I'm able to let go with both hands at any time to
change hand positions.

Try riding without gloves. Without padding you'll feel any discomfort sooner and this will remind
you to loosen up your grip, unweight your hands and change hand positions.

All that said, there are times when you do need to grip the bars tightly such as when you're going
over rough pavement or avoiding obstacles. A good method for doing this is "tight hands, loose
arms." This combination allows your arms to function as shock absorbers and you won't be likely to
lose grip of the bars as you go over bumps.

HTH, Doug Fuller

This is called cyclist's hands and is well-known for over a century. It is clinically either or both
carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy

It is corrected usually with gloves, changing hand positions often, and using tri-bars. If the
numbness is persistent, see a doctor.

"dgallagher2554" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Hello, I'm new to the sport of triathlon - completed my first the end of June and doing another
next weekend. I just purchased my first road bike. The comments about the aerobars has helped me
out (thought it was just me who had bad balance). Now for my question.... When riding on the hoods
of the bars (the top portion) for any length of time, my hands fall asleep/go numb. Any thoughts
why this might be happening or suggestions to stop it from happening??

Thanks in advance, Trish G.

--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - mailgate.orgmailgate.orgOpen ↗

In article <[email hidden]>, "Kenneth Burres"

Quoted message said:

This is called cyclist's hands and is well-known for over a century. It is clinically either or
both carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy

It is corrected usually with gloves, changing hand positions often, and using tri-bars. If the
numbness is persistent, see a doctor.

Don't forget bike fit. If your bike isn't fit properly you can easily have too much weight on
your hands.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ."

- Homer J. Simpson