Numb fingers & comfortable bar-ends

[ricksavery]

I have bog standard Raleigh grips on at the moment with a good spongy bit in the middle. Still get numb fingers and hands after quite short periods of riding. This noramlly means that I ride with hands on the ends of the grips at right-angles to the bars, at least until the numbness eases.
From what I understand, the spongy central bit is pushing on the dip in the heel of the palm where most of the nerves travel through, casuing the numbness - I might be wrong as to whether this is the cause though.
My question is would it be better to go for suitable bar-ends that would let me ride with my hands in the more comfortable right-angled position - Cane Creek Ergo Control's for example, or combined grips/bar-ends like the Ergon GC2/GR2's ?
If anyone has any experience of either or both of these types I would really appreciate any advice/gripes
Cheers

 

[Norm]

I have the Cane Creek jobbies and love them. The main benefit is that they attach to the bars in the middle, most attach at the bottom end, which shifts your balance even more onto your hands and puts more weight on the front wheel.

 

[ricksavery]

Thanks Norm
I must admit i like the look of the Cane Creek's. I am a bit concerned that they are stuck on the end of the bars, wheras the Ergons, having the grips as part of the setup, are more secure. Maybe I'm being too cautious.
The GC2/GE2's have a lower pad on the grips so i wonder if the effect is similar to the Cane Creek's ?

 

[Norm]

I've had mine fitted for about 6 months and they haven't shifted at all, although I've probably only done about 500 miles with them (blame illness and too many n+1s).

I have got nerve damage in both wrists, from too many long days on a motorbike. Yet I've done a couple of 50+ mile days with the Cane Creeks, and spent one day covering over 60 miles off road, and the extra positioning means I've had no problems.

 

[slowmotion]

I've got Ergon GC2s and I love them. I also wear gel padded gloves or mitts and the combination is really comfortable.

 

[MacB]

if it's straight flat bars you can put bar ends on before the grips if you want. I gave up on flat bars and have since tried almost every flavour of bar under the Sun. I'd say:-

Step 1 - check your position on the bike, starting with saddle height and set back in relation to the bottom bracket. Then work forward from there, plenty of online info and could be worth dropping into LBS to get them to look it over with you.

Step 2 - sort out a setup that allows you to change hand positions but still retain comfortable control. you can use bar ends on flat bars, I saw one setup with the dummy Crane Creek inboard of Ergo stype grips with the built in bar end. Without too much of a stretch the brakes could be used from all 3 positions. There are plenty of other bars, trekking/butterfly, north road swept back style, curvy moustache, various risers, H-bars and so on. Just make sure that you can fit your controls on to them.

Step 3 - while sorting all of the above also pay attention to your ride posture, Sheldon Browns site has some good info on this. Also be aware that, as you tire, you can slump leading to excess weight being brought to bear on certain areas.

There's a few piccies in my profile albums of alternate setups and a search on my user name will bring up enough of my ramblings to thoroughly numb you

 

[longers]

SJS cycles do their own cheaper version of the Cane Creek bar ends.

I thought they were excellent.

 

[ricksavery]

Damn! You love each of my choices and have given me another to consider!
Seriously though, thanks for the replies. MacB, loads of info as usual, thanks loads.
Looks like I will have to try one and see how I get on. Probably go for the SJS Cycles one first - it's cheapest and I am, well... cheap.
It may take a bit of experimentation (although not having gripshifts, MacB, hopefully it may not take too much trial and error:-) No offence.
When I get the most comfortable and practical setup, hopefully I won't have to change - until I get another bike.
Thanks again. Fabulous forum!

 

[MacB]

By the way Rick, though it's generally claimed that MTB/Flat bar controls won't fit on road bars, this isn't always the case. Obviously at your own risk, but the inside of the clamp can be filed out and they will fit and go round the bends to the tops where you'd need them. One setup I'm currently sorting is:-

Salsa Wood Chipper 'Dirt Drops', these are wide, shallow, drop bars designed for offroad and cyclocross, here:-

http://s233299868.e-shop.info/shop/...s.html?shop_param=cid=1663&aid=2240.HBSAWM42&

46cm wide at the flats and 58cm at the end of the flared drops. I'm planning on Pauls engineering crosstop levers on the flats by the stem. Then a trigger shifter pod filed out to fit around the bends to the flats. finally the Tektro RL520 road levers for v brakes. This should give me 4 decent hand positions, 3 with access to brakes and 2 that can change gear.

But you can be 'boring' and just add some bar ends to your standard set up

 

[ricksavery]

Thanks MacB. I know, I know its boring but I just want it to work !! :-) (how do you get these smiley icons then ?). Once I know i can ride without numb fingers, I am sure that, come the glorious summer weather, I will experiment with other types of bars - particularly keen to try the Northroad type.
I may have mental block here (probably from bad experiences on old clunkers as a kid), but I really hate the idea of drop bars. I just feel that in this much lowered position, the pressure on my nadgers from the nose of the saddle is going to be a lot greater. As I say, probably a mental block, thousands of other cyclist can't be wrong!
It would be good if I could just get straight bars and tweak the ends inwards by a few degrees. This would shorten the reach slightly, but that may not have that great an effect (famous last words). this might mean a more comfortable for my wrists to be in when riding 'normally'.

 

[MacB]

Aha, gently swept back bars, there's plenty of them, the On-One Mary bar is one, personally I'd go for something a bit wider. There's even one, the name escapes me, but it's just a long arc. I know what you mean re drop bars, I didn't get along with my first effort at all. But the new setup puts the tops about saddle height and it's a shallow drop. There's a lot of recommendations for how to setup 'dirt drops'. The most popular is top of bars a few inches above saddle moving down to maybe an inch or two below. The taller you are the lower you have them and vice versa. Basically they're setting the bars for drops being the main ride position. I'll do some pics when I have them all sorted.