Numb hands

[redlinmi]

I have noticed numb hands during and after paved trail riding this season (somewhere between the 10 and 15 mile mark). I almost always wear a decent pair of gloves. The problem goes away pretty quickly after dismounting and/or shaking it off a bit to get the blood flowing again. Any suggestions? Thanks much.

[The Buckthorn Killer]

If your seat is tipped too far forward. (nose down) This will throw your weight forward, puttin more weight on your hands, cutting off the blood flow. If your stem is too long, or tipped too far down that would effect it too.

Are you riding a Mtn bike on the tar??? Nubbey tires on the tar don't help eather. Stick to dirt:D

[soupboy]

...getting your position dialed in you may also want to experiment with different grips and/making a conscious effort to change hand positions frequently.

The latter is particularly applicable when riding pavement where you basically sit in one position for extended periods of time vs. trail riding where you are constantly moving around to adjust for different trail obstacles or challenges.

Also, make sure you aren't giving the bars a death grip.

[Trevize1138]

Another factor I never thought about but Shad discovered: breathe!

Make sure you're getting plenty of oxygen to your lungs, particularly if you're climbing a hill or accelerating. Don't just react to breathing (I'm tired, therefore I'm starting to breathe really hard). Actively breathe heavier to give your body more oxygen and more energy and the blood will flow better to everywhere, including your hands.

But, most likely, you should get your bike fitted professionally. Take it to a bike shop that offers customer fitting and pay the money for it. That makes ALL the difference.

[Tex]

Sounds to me like you may have your seat higher than your bars, like most road bikes. You may want to concider a set of riser bars to get your weight more on to your butt, and less on your bars.

But as Chris says, a prossional fitting isn't a bad idea. That costs money, but it all depends on how much riding you plan on doing.

[manual63]

I just did the Keweenaw race on my singlespeed. I used the breathing extra hard before I really needed to strategy and it worked great. My hands did fall asleep, but a lot less and I had more power for the climbs without running out of air.

When I am on short open flat spots of my ride, I take a hand off and shake it hard towards the ground, then I do the other hand. This keeps or gets the blood back into the hands very fast and allows me to ride quite awhile before they get numb again.

[homebrewbiker]

I have a friend who was getting numb hands on her road bike and she found that using orthotics in her shoes made it go away. I can't remember if she was using an off the shelf version or one of the $$$ custom made kind. For off the shelf Superfeet are pretty good ...

[SpecHR55]

I would say when ridin and they start hurtin just jeep pedalin and shake it off or if there like frost bite bad go inside and wrap'em in a towel not in hot water cuz it hurts like bizzatch.

peace:banana:

[redlinmi]

Good tips, thanks to all. My seat is about even with my bars, but I am going to make a slight tilt adjustment (up). May have to experiment with a different set of bars later, we'll see. Sean's comment about riding on tar is right on -- I think a lot of it is you just don't move around much, and so you freeze up in one position for a long period of time. Something to definitely think about...

[flombe]

I used to get numb hands and solved it by getting gloves (Specialized or Pearl Izumi) with the gel pads and grips designed to add more cushion for the nerve that gets pinched (I think it is called the ulnar nerve and it wraps around the pinky side of your palm down to your wrist and over the back of your hand). Changing hand positions to avoid weight on the outside of your bars and shaking them out once in awhile definitely helps too.

This spring I switched to a wide riser bar and the numbness has returned big time! I think it is because my arms are now more spread out causing me to carry my weight more forward. I went with the same stem length and rise I had with my flat bar. I am thinking if I swap out to a stem with more rise it should reduce the pressure. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you solve it?

[Beau]

Try the grips made by Oury. Very comfy and soft.

Also, where are your brake levers positioned? And do you ride with a finger or two on the lever at all times?

[seberly]

This happens to me sometimes when I get a new ride - until I get the bar angle right - flat bars may be flat but they all have small bends in them so they need to be positioned right - I find that if you loosen up the bar in the stem (not the stem to the fork) and let the bar rotate each way (not while riding!) you will find a more perfect position for your hands on the bar that will eliminate the numbness - which is probably due to pressure on the thumb or pinky finger side of the hand - you will or course have to reposition your levers appropriately.


Incidently lever position is critical for a well performing bike most folks I think run their levers rotated up too high - for technical riding you should be off the seat so it is more critical for them to work when you are in a standing position so they should be angled down more.