Numb hands

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Black knight

Active Member
Been out for my first proper ride today...finally.

25 odd mile and very enjoyable. Did find I was getting pins & needles/numb hands though. I seem to have quite a lot of weight going through my arms.

Is this usual or am I doing it wrong?

For info
I'm on a Boardman with drop bars
I've just had the grip tape changed to a gel type
I was wearing my padded gloves

Never had any problems like this before with my hands.

Thanks

Rick.
 
I used to get hell and all trouble with this. I got out my padded gloves (or rather I stitched them up where they'd ripped) and changed to carbon forks both of which helped. But above anything else I found I tensed my shoulders which made it worse. Now if I feel myself getting that tell tale tingle (you like the alliteration?) I tell myself to relax and drop my shoulders. There's probably some thing out with my set up and positioning though what it is I couldn't say, although if I knew I'd fix it.

Think about your shoulders and the tension in your neck next time you're out, perhaps that'll help.
 

nr.

Active Member
Location
The Fens
<first post. Please be gentle>

Try relaxing your arms and keeping your elbows slightly bent. This will take a fair bit of weight off your hands, and should stop the tingling. I had the same problem when I got my first bike with dropped bars, and found that all I needed to do was relax a little.
 

stavros

New Member
Location
York
Certainly bike fit enters the frame here (get the pun?). Also try relaxing your grip on the bars - often you'll find you're squeezing the bars too hard and this can make it worse. I still get this often, and find the best solution is to sit up straight and drop your hands by your sides for a while which will improve circulation - this will also allow you to take a breather (tour riders do this, but then they can can't they).
 
Bugs me too.
I am constantly hunting on the bars for a position of some relief and that helps. Drop bars have a lot of possible hand positions. Also just releasing one hand and giving it a good shake.
I also get back pain creeping in after a while (no matter road or mountain bike) and it helps just to take a breather. Not easy to do on a club ride but if you're on your own why batter on in pain knowing it's only going to get worse?
 

Rohloff_Brompton_Rider

Formerly just_fixed
flat bars and ergon grips solved my probs
 
OP
OP
B

Black knight

Active Member
If my weight isn't held through my arms/hands...where do I hold it?

On my motorbike I grip the tank with my legs allowing a very light grip on the bars.

Bike is correctly sized I think, bought new only a few weeks ago.
 

ASC1951

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
You don't really need to 'grip' a bike in the same way as a motorbike - it doesn't have the mass or the gyroscopic forces.

Your bike may well be the right size, but small adjustments make a huge difference to comfort and performance. Even half a centimetre on the saddle height matters, and reach is nearly as sensitive. I suspect you have the saddle too high in relation to the bars, or too far back. If you are new to cycling I would give it a few more goes, in case it is over-gripping, but then I would start looking at set-up. There are lots of good websites for this.

A few years ago I spent my best £50 ever (well, thrown in with the cost of a new bike) by having a proper fitting on a jig. The bike now fits me so well that I can ride for 10 hours with plain bar tape and no gloves and still have no hand or arm discomfort.
 
Top Bottom