After a hard ride, especially descending back to the parking lot after a long climb, my thumbs are sore as hell! I'm talking about the bone itself, where the thumb joins the palm, the big knobbly thingy there. Anyone else experience this? I have the brake levers set up so that when I am in the seating position with my fingers on the levers, my wrist is straight. But looking at that setup, looks like all the bumps will transmit directly to the sore part of my thumb. Was thinking of angling the levers up a bit so that some of the bumps are absorbed by the outside part (below little finger) of the palm. Anyone got advice?
Also experiencing some forearm pump. Perhaps I am overgripping when descending, especially if the trail is rocky/bumpy.
After a hard ride, especially descending back to the parking lot after a long climb, my thumbs are sore as hell! I'm talking about the bone itself, where the thumb joins the palm, the big knobbly thingy there. Anyone else experience this? I have the brake levers set up so that when I am in the seating position with my fingers on the levers, my wrist is straight. But looking at that setup, looks like all the bumps will transmit directly to the sore part of my thumb. Was thinking of angling the levers up a bit so that some of the bumps are absorbed by the outside part (below little finger) of the palm. Anyone got advice?
Also experiencing some forearm pump. Perhaps I am overgripping when descending, especially if the trail is rocky/bumpy.
The only other thing I can think of at this moment is that maybe you are resting your weight on your thumbs , instead of your palms. This is just speculation . sorry if this is no help🙄
No no no, every input helps. Regarding resting my weight on my thumbs, I think thats the cause also, but what can I do to alleviate it? All the literature I read tells us to align our brake levers so that when seated, our wrists are straight, but when I do that, I realise that when I hit holes, or rocks, the shocks are transmitted straight up into the thumb bones. Think of it this way, if I had no thumbs, the handlebar would slide up underneath my arms, as my wrists are straight, so are my palms.
Did going to a straight bar with bar ends help though?
All the difference in the world! I sit up a bit more than with road bars so I catch more wind but it's SOOOO much more comfy! Had to change shifters/brakes too of course, but I had them on the shelf.
I'd get a shorter stem which will make you sit up a bit higher but also shift your weight off your hands and onto the seat. Fiddle with the stem height too.
There is surely some formula for fitting stems, but I don't know it - I just experimented.
