Numb hands - Any tips?

[mtbconverter]

Hi

I am finding that my hands are numb more often than not and it is worrying me.  I have tried everything but tits getting worse - any tips for preventing this?
C

[mtbconverter]

I meant to say "its" getting worse!

[travelling]

is the bike the right fit for you?

Quite often when doing a lot of miles on a badly fitting bike your pressure of your upper body is forced onto your hands therefore causing issues

you don't say in what circumstances your hands go numb though?

[julk]

I find Ergon grips, with the flat support area, work well for me.

[mtbconverter]

My sherpa fits fne but i also have another bike for commuting and i get it from using both bikes.  I am thinking of buying a 40 degree stem for the Sherpa to bring it up a bit when I am on the long runs.  The commuter only has thin tape and butterfly bars so I am wondering whether that is causing it? the bars are quite flexi and i can never get comfortable on them.  I also need to lose some weight so i also wondered whether it was my upper body weight pressng down on my hands?  The only other thing I can think of id havng 4 or 4 layers of thick tape on each or maybe pipe lagging and then tape on top of that...

[mikerr]

Hi Mtb,
I was having a similar problems with my hands/fingers. On longer rides, my little fingers would start off tingling and then go numb.
The answer for me was to get my bars higher and a bit closer. So I now sit more upright and relieve the pressure on my hands.
At present I'm using Thorn's comfort bars with large Ergon grips and a short, steep handlebar stem.
My handle bar grips are approx 2 inches above saddle height.
Mike

[mtbconverter]

Thanks Mike. Thats what I have been looking into. I have a very small frame with long top tube which measn that there already are two spacers on the stem.  I was worried that increasing the height further might affect handling but I have looked at many photos and found that many bikes seem okay with a large disatnce between handlebar and top tube.  I also thought about putting the saddle a few mm forward and the also down by a few mm to try and force the weight backwards rather than forwards onto my hands.  That said, i recently hired a bike in Eindhoven, one of the Dutch leisure cruisers (!) with totally upright bars and i still got numb hands after 55km.
Christian

[mikerr]

Christian,
Before I changed my bars, grips and stem, I also tried lowering the saddle and pushing it forward to compensate. But it didn't work for me. I started getting the typical 'too low saddle' knee problems.
Mike

[geocycle]

There was recently a long thread on the ctc forum.  It is pretty clear there is no single answer for everyone.  Set-up, multiple hand positions and gel gloves seem to be the main solutions. I get a tingling in my little finger on my left hand which is probably due to damage to the ulnar nerve. I think the rohloff hand is continuously moving while the left hand is braced and locking the elbow for a long period could affect this nerve.  Set up might help this, I also wonder whether bar width is an issue since the thorn bars are quite wide. 

[mtbconverter]

I have drops. I have jus lowered the seat by 2mm and put it forward by 2mm so I will see how that helps.  I am also going to get some gels pads and put them on top of the existing tape and then tape a second layer.  I am also considering a 40 degree stem. 

Gel gloves also sound like a plan.

You would have thought that this problem would have been solved by now given the technology going into bikes...

[stutho]

mtbconverter,

Beware of moving the saddle forward or down.  While this MAY help, the correct solution is probable to change the stem or handle bar angle.  Saddle position should be set relative to the bottom bracket.  Your stem / handle bar should then be chosen in accordance to you body length and arm length. 

Moving  you saddle forward (in particular) can be a double edged sword.  Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bend  at the hips to approximately cycling position .  You will find that your bottom will naturally move backward to balance you upper body.   If you try to now move your bottom forward (maintaining the same body angle)  you will feel strain in your lower back - which would  translate a strain in your back AND especially arms when cycling. 

In short the further crank is in fount of your hips the less strain there will be on your arms when peddling (within reason).  HOWEVER it is also true that the more upright you are the less stain there will be on your arms! which is why it is often suggested to move the saddle forward when sometime the solution is to move it backwards! (very unintuitive I know!)   If we could move the Bottom Bracket it would all be easy but we cant, so we must move the saddle relative to the crank / bottom bracket  and then set the body angle by the stem length and angle.

Having said all of this I would ALSO suggest moving the saddle as a first step as this is the free option - but perhaps try moving both forward and backward and see if either help!  A good test is (on a car free bit of flat ground) to let go of the handlebars while pedalling normal.  Maintain your normal body angle.   If you can feel strain in your lower back then saddle may well be too far forward. 


Stutho

             

[mtbconverter]

Thanks.  I have been out today in high wind and on a very hilly route.  No load at all ( I am training fully loaded at the mo as I am off to Iceland in July).  My right hand is fine.  No probs at all. My left is the same as when i left this morning - slght numbness in the 3rd and 4th fingers.  I did 74 km but as |I said, it was hard going.  It felt okay but around the 60kim mark is when I really started to feel the strain on my hands.  Before I went out I lowered the seat by 2mm and put it forward by 2mm.  I also slightly altered the tilt of the seat as it was leaning forwards a bit too much.  I also every so slight roated the bars up but not much. I think my seat can be lowered some more as my leg is near enough straight when the pedal is at 6 o'clock and I understand a slight bend in the leg is the way.  Overall it felt comfortable but I wondered whether I was too far forward as when I get into a tucked position I can still see the front hub and I read in "Seroius Cycling" that the bars are supposed to block out the hub.... I have also placed my elbow at the nose of the saddle and my middle finger is about 1.5", maybe less, from the bars which again, appears to be in the realms of acceptability.   

I am out again on it tomorrow so I will see if putting the seat back 4mm makes any difference.  Funny how the left hand is worse though...
Thanks for all your help and advice - I am putting it into practice and am experiementing with your suggestions as I am confident my ideal sitting postion is not far away.
Christian

[sbseven]

I'd see a doctor or physio to get a proper diagnosis and an appropriate treatment regime, as now your hand nerves are apparently damaged they won't be getting better quickly if you continue riding, even if you do change your position for the better.

In addition to what you're doing to solve this, I'd also do some hand exercises / stretching both on and off the bike (doctor advised maybe) and be disciplined on the bike to change hand position every minute or so.

I agree with stutho that ideally you should be changing the handlebar end rather than the saddle end, but that assumes that the saddle is set up in the correct position in the first place. So I'd also suggest adjusting the saddle (in small increments) to see how you feel. You may even discover a better saddle position! BUT, I wouldn't sacrifice a "good" saddle position to correct this problem, I'd change the handlebar / stem set up.

I wouldn't worry about "hiding the front hub" as that rule isn't hard and fast and it depends, to a certain extent, on the bike's frame geometry and fork rake.

Hope things get better soon!

Shaun

[sbseven]

Saw this useful link mentioned on another forum: Cyclist's Hands: Overcoming overuse injuries.

mtbconverter, might be worth a read...

[mtbconverter]

Thanks for the tip - great article and....by a doctor.  I think I need to make all the adjustments to set-up an then rest up for a week doing some hand stretches.  Then, with additional padding on batrs and in extra pair of gloves I will see how it goes. Ta

c