Mitt Padding

[russ.will]

For those that experience pinky and ring finger tingling/numbness on longer (60+ mile rides) which type of heel of the palm padding have you found more effective:

Padding right the way across the heel to protect the ulnar nerve,
or
Padding that creates an ulnar nerve tunnel by only padding the meaty bits of the heal of the palm?

I'm aware of all the various grip positions and can reach the drops comfortably for extended period - I have all the positional options open to me, but the longest rides always seem to end up fighting off the tingle and given that my current mitts are now dying, it seems like a sensible time to ask.

Russ

 

[ianrauk]

I used to suffer from it quite badly on long rides.
One ride it became quite painful so I took the gloves off. I found out that the less padding the better. I subsequently look for mitts that have very little padding which seemed to alleviate the pain and numbness.
It may be worth a try for you.

 

[Sterlo]

I've tried all sorts, thick padding, thin padding, new grip tape with gel pads and nothing seems to make much difference. I think I need to do more core work to take some of the weight off my hands. Good luck with is, I know how painful and annoying it is.

 

[All uphill]

I used to suffer from it quite badly on long rides.
One ride it became quite painful so I took the gloves off. I found out that the less padding the better. I subsequently look for mitts that have very little padding which seemed to alleviate the pain and numbness.
It may be worth a try for you.

This was true for me too.

A combination of unpadded mitts, reduced tyre pressures, and developing much better core strength resolved my wrist and hand pains, pins and needles and aches.

The unpadded glove (Gore) made an immediate improvement, but training myself to use my core to reduce pressure made the big change. In January 2020 I was in discomfort after 20 miles. Yesterday I cycled 58 miles with no wrist/hand problems.

Good luck finding what works for you.

 

[davidphilips]

Found that for me checking, rechecking and minor adjustments to saddle fore and aft, plus cleat adjustment on cycling shoes can have a big impact on the weight i put on my hands and lessen discomfort with hands.
Just added this might be worth watching ?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9jq4WBrKOY

 

[Sharky]

I used to suffer from it quite badly on long rides.
One ride it became quite painful so I took the gloves off. I found out that the less padding the better. I subsequently look for mitts that have very little padding which seemed to alleviate the pain and numbness.
It may be worth a try for you.

I don't do long rides and I don't suffer from hand numbness either, but I too prefer to ride with no mitts during the summer months. Always used to use track mitts, but without, I find I get a much firmer grip on the brake hoods and no rubbing caused by sweaty/wet mitts.

 

[russ.will]

I used to suffer from it quite badly on long rides.
One ride it became quite painful so I took the gloves off. I found out that the less padding the better. I subsequently look for mitts that have very little padding which seemed to alleviate the pain and numbness.
It may be worth a try for you.

Interesting, because I actually ride with string back kangaroo skin mitts, precisely because the padded ones I used to have dug into the heals of my palms causing numbness. Core work I think and shift a bit of this lockdown weight!

Russ

 

[russ.will]

Found that for me checking, rechecking and minor adjustments to saddle fore and aft, plus cleat adjustment on cycling shoes can have a big impact on the weight i put on my hands and lessen discomfort with hands.
Just added this might be worth watching ?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9jq4WBrKOY

My cleats are bang on. I do know that I'm going to swap the seatpost for a zero degree layback type as the saddle is right forward on it's rails to put my knee over the pedal axis mid stroke. I have also just rotated my hoods (not the bar) up by 5-10 degrees because I suspected that was an issue. The transition from the horizontal tops to the hoods is now slightly curving upward rather and that video seems to confirm that line of thinking. I have a few more degrees to play with, but as my bar tape has no sticky backing, I can unwrap/wrap as many times as needed. I thank you for that interesting video.

Russ