Hand/wrist pain: Is it the handlebars?

[Peter Salt]

I haven't had pain, but did experience a bit of hand numbness in the past. That was on standard drop bars.

Tilting the hoods slightly inwards put my hands in a more natural position, and resolved it completely.

 

[Mburton1993]

Might be an illusion due to the shape of the bars, but to me the reach (at least to the section with the brake levers) seems far too much - this would be supported by your experience with reduced stem length. Typically the saddle should be flat, if possible move it backwards to decrease weight on the hands and if you can bring the bars back at the same time to reduce reach (which I appreciate might be difficult).

Anecdotally you should be able to ride with your hands "hovering" over the bars; i.e. in your normal riding position but without touching the bars - suggesting how little load should be supported by your hands during normal riding. Poor core strength might be another issue increasing load on the hands.

All that said 100 miles is a bloody long way and I'd expect such an amount of time in the saddle to really lay bare and exacerbate any otherwise insignificant issues. I've spent a lot of time setting my bikes up (typically to reduce reach with shorter stems / bars) and generally don't have any problems with my hands... but I don't cover the sort of distances you are.

Finally, given the limited choices for shortening the reach of your existing ride, might it be worth looking at a different bike completely? A lot of used stuff is dirt cheap currently..

Could be the reach, my elbows are slightly bent whilst riding but only a bit. I can support my weight on my thumbs like the guide suggested but don't think I could hover for more than a few seconds. I did briefly have a 45mm stem on it but then my knees would hit the handlebar when standing up for step hills which wasn't ideal.

I'm looking at this bike at the moment, can't determine if it's a Nova or Ventura.

 

[wafter]

Could be the reach, my elbows are slightly bent whilst riding but only a bit. I can support my weight on my thumbs like the guide suggested but don't think I could hover for more than a few seconds. I did briefly have a 45mm stem on it but then my knees would hit the handlebar when standing up for step hills which wasn't ideal.

I'm looking at this bike at the moment, can't determine if it's a Nova or Ventura.

Cool. Might be that you're of similar build to me in having long legs relative to your height.. if you really go deep to resolve this, shorter cranks and more stack at the bars should help address the knee issue. I run an 80mm stem on my Genesis and occasionally get interference with the bars, but it's manageable and makes the reach much more pleasant.

Given the sort of distances you're covering, have you considered a touring bike? These can be had for not a lot of money used if you shop around, while typically the geometry is likely to be less aggressive (more stack, less reach) which might well help..

 

[Mburton1993]

A possible solution, this bike I bought:

Jamis Nova Sport 2015

It's a bit rough at the moment, the chain doesn't sit right, the bottom bracket feels weird and the intricacies of disc brakes still elude me.

But the thicker tyres, drop downs, hoods and the higher handlebars are good.

May take it to the local bike shop see what he makes of it. At the very least I now have some drop down handlebars and 2x8 Claris shifters and derailleur for the other bike.

 

[grldtnr]

You have discounted any joint pain due to rhuemactics or Arthritis, this could be the cause.
I am sure Dr a.twiddler would be in agreement , recumbents are the way forward.

 

[fossyant]

A possible solution, this bike I bought:
View attachment 693916
Jamis Nova Sport 2015

It's a bit rough at the moment, the chain doesn't sit right, the bottom bracket feels weird and the intricacies of disc brakes still elude me.

But the thicker tyres, drop downs, hoods and the higher handlebars are good.

May take it to the local bike shop see what he makes of it. At the very least I now have some drop down handlebars and 2x8 Claris shifters and derailleur for the other bike.

Sort that saddle.

 

[Mburton1993]

You have discounted any joint pain due to rhuemactics or Arthritis, this could be the cause.
I am sure Dr a.twiddler would be in agreement , recumbents are the way forward.

Hello, I've since bought some secondhand flared dropdowns and a shorter stem with a 35 degree raise. That does seem to have sorted it out, there's just a little bit of numbness in the right middle and index finger now and again which is reduced by changing positions and will hopefully go when I get new gloves.

 

[Mburton1993]

Sort that saddle.

Indeed, it has been angled back since that pic was taken, and the brakes, bottom bracket and chain have also been sorted and it's alright bike, not a replacement but a good runaround.

 

[GuyBoden]

Hello, I've since bought some secondhand flared dropdowns and a shorter stem with a 35 degree raise. That does seem to have sorted it out, there's just a little bit of numbness in the right middle and index finger now and again which is reduced by changing positions and will hopefully go when I get new gloves.

Drops are best for my hands.

I grip very, very lightly, so practice finding the least amount of grip needed.

Yes, keep changing positions often.

 

[Alex321]

Drops are best for my hands.

I grip very, very lightly, so practice finding the least amount of grip needed.

Yes, keep changing positions often.

I definietly agree about drops being better, for me at least.

I have two bikes - a Boardman hybrid with flat bars, and a Cube road bike with drops. On the hybrid, I tend to find I'm starting to get some numbness in my right hand after an hour to an hour and half, whereas on the road bike I did a 4 hour15 ride last week, with no hand issues at all.

Now there may be more to it than just the difference between flat bars and drops, but I think that is the main thing. The reach is slightly shorter on the hybrid I think, so I sit a bit more upright on it than when I'm on the hoods (90%+ of the time) on the road bike, but not hugely so.

 

[GuyBoden]

You could also, learn to ride with no hands for short spells.

Here's a nice looking coach teaching you how.