| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 2369.1 | maybe... | DNEAST::FIKE_MIKE | | Fri Jul 31 1992 12:43 | 8 |
|
Maybe your seat is too high or slanted forward, or your bars are
too low...any one of which will make you put too much weight on your
wrists. Or you may be riding with your elbows locked- should be flexed
a bit. Or your controls are too "vertical" making you bend your hands
up instead of being straighter (imagine a straightline from your
forearm down to your knuckles).
|
| 2369.2 | | OXNARD::KLEE | Ken Lee | Fri Jul 31 1992 12:58 | 6 |
| I agree with .-1 about locking your elbows. These seems to be a common
problem with beginning mountain bike riders. If you bend your elbows
and bend your waist more, you'll be alot more comfortable and powerful.
Ken
|
| 2369.3 | Maybe too exotic(?) | ODIXIE::RRODRIGUEZ | Where's that Tour d' France thang? | Fri Jul 31 1992 13:41 | 15 |
|
The condition you are referring to could be "cyclists-palsy". There
is a nerve running through the center of your hand that, in some
people, is vulnerable to being pinched or crushed against the
handle bar. One of the symptoms is cramping in the fleshy part
of your palm, at the base of your thumb. It is possible that
your gloves are worn out or as .1 mentioned, you are putting too
much weight on your hands.
I have experienced this, on occasion. Usually the cramping occurs
long after the ride and massaging it makes it go away. Of course,
adjustments are in order.
r�
|
| 2369.4 | same problem | YNGSTR::BROWN | | Fri Jul 31 1992 17:13 | 8 |
| re .0 I had the same problem when I got my mtn bike... the regular
bike gloves that worked fine on a road bike caused numb hands on the
mtn bike after an hour or so. The solution I found that worked:
Vetta mtn gel grips with (sheepish blush...) plain old cotton garden
gloves. The gel grips can often be found for less than $10, and the
gloves will set you back 69 cents at Spags. I hacked down the gel
grips to accomodate bar end horns for climbing (almost essential with
a shock), which offer some more positions for the hands. .02 kb
|
| 2369.5 | I'm back | RUNWAY::KING | | Tue Aug 04 1992 12:49 | 17 |
| My seat is level, and the hight set by the 'heal on the pedal, leg
straight' method. Is that to high for a Cross bike?
One of the first adjustments I made was to move the bars up level
with the seat. Should they be higher?
I don't understand the "controls are too 'vertical'". What dose
"vertical' mean.
As for riding with the elbows locked, you were correct, I was.
However, bending them more, and straghtening my wrists has not helped.
But I did discover something interesting on this mornings ride.
If I move my hands all the way in against the stem (even more than
if I were riding the tops of drop bars) the numbness gradually goes away.
Does this tell anyone anything? It baffles me.
|
| 2369.6 | keep trying... | TOOPHE::FIKE | | Wed Aug 05 1992 10:14 | 26 |
|
> One of the first adjustments I made was to move the bars up level
> with the seat. Should they be higher?
Probably not- especially due to the fact that you said that when
you changed your hand position, the numbness went away.
> I don't understand the "controls are too 'vertical'". What dose
> "vertical' mean.
What I meant was that if your levers are straight down or even
straight out, it MAY force your hand into an "unnatural" position
which would put pressure on nerves or blood flow thereby causing
the numbness.
You're on the right track by moving your hands to the inside and
finding relief. Now what you have to do is figure out how you can
duplicate that hand position in other more convenient places on the
bars. Maybe by gripping close to the stem, you're actually loosening
your grip? That could help (especially if you unconciously use a
"death grip"- really tight grip- on the bars.)
If all else fails and you're getting to the point of replacing parts,
you may want to check out either the Profile or Scott AT4 bars,
both or which have many positions available all over the bars. Both
around $50 (I think).
|
| 2369.7 | Still trying to get comfortable in aero mode | TLE::OUELLETTE | Speaking French, painting dots | Wed Aug 05 1992 14:33 | 14 |
| I'll vouch for the scott bars. I got the AT4Pro kind.
I had numbness from thumbs up the inside of my arms to my shoulders.
Part of it was that my sort of straight original bar was too long.
Part of it was that it was too straight.
With the Scott bars, you'll need to modify your grips (cut the ends
off) or get grips with out ends, and get some padded bar tape.
A big screw driver helps to open up the break/shifter and stem
parts that hold the bar. Also getting the inside of the grips
wet (and the bar too) helps to slide on the grips if they're
sticky rubber. (Soap helps too much & the grips never get tight
to the bar...).
R.
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| 2369.8 | I've had the same problem for a year! | NAPIER::BARRETT | Sponsor me for PAN MASS Ride. DTN 297-9232 | Wed Aug 05 1992 14:39 | 8 |
| Hi , My hands have been numb for a year now (when riding) This summer I got the
Scott AT4 bar and a good set of gloves. This has not completely solved the
problem, But, it has improved my ability to change my hand position thus allowing
me to change the location of the hand bar contact as well as allowing for
different wrist forearm combinations. I can now go about 30 miles ( if I remember
to change ) with out much pain.
Kevin
|