sore hands

[iLB]

after the 400k yesterday my hands are extremely sore and swollen, despite having decent mitts.

can anyone recommend some handle bars which might be able to prevent this in the future?

 

[bonj2]

ergo bars, those with a straight section on the drops. Good bar tape, I favour double layer, at least one of which (the top one) is specialized bg bar phat.
Change the hand position regularly, even if it's just shuffling your hands around a bit.
Can't go wrong with Easton EC70.

 

[Bigtwin]

I would think bars have very little to do with it.

Riding that far on a hot day in more or less the same position is probably going to give you sore hands come what may.

 

[Scoosh]

How about 3TTT Morphe Randonneur bars ?

... or the 3TTT Morpheus, if you can find them.

They're ones I am considering, so would love to hear what you think - if you can track 'em down ....

HTH

 

[Randochap]

I don't expect to get swollen hands on a 400 ... or 600 for that matter. Probably an issue with overall fit. What's the drop from saddle to bars? What tyres/pressure are you running?

 

[Bigtwin]

I don't expect to get swollen hands on a 400 ... or 600 for that matter.

But in what weather? In the sort of heat we have had lately, hands and feet swell and get puddingish in a way they don't normally. Add some nice sweaty tighter than normal gloves, and away you go.

I've spent some time in the jungle, and the heat and humidity mean that things start to split ache and rot in next to no time in a way you didn't know was possible - same principle.

Just saying it may be worth seeing what happens on the next long ride when it's not 30+ on the road before throwing a load of cash at bike mods.

 

[Randochap]

But in what weather?

Any weather.

Just saying it may be worth seeing what happens on the next long ride when it's not 30+ on the road before throwing a load of cash at bike mods.

Maybe. But, if you need to modify position, you need to modify position for all sorts of reasons. If your hands are telling you to alter position, it won't be long before other limbs and joints let you know as well ... not to mention the overall performance you are sacrificing by neglecting proper fit. And it often costs nothing to improve position.

 

[Bigtwin]

Maybe. But, if you need to modify position, you need to modify position for all sorts of reasons. If your hands are telling you to alter position, it won't be long before other limbs and joints let you know as well .

Exactly. So if it's just sore hands and nothing else....

 

[Randochap]

Exactly. So if it's just sore hands and nothing else....

Well then just suffer the sore hands and HTFU.

 

[bonj2]

Another thing to try - rotate the bars in the stem. When you're on the drops, this will minimize the amount your wrists have to twist in the plane that they're not intended to twist.

 

[GrahamG]

I'm with randochap - more of a fit issue than anything unless you have sandpaper for bar tape. On my custom bike I can ride 100+ miles without mitts with no problem at all, tried that with the fixed recently (can't get the bars high enough with the existing stem) and had very sore hands at the end of the day.

 

[Randochap]

I'm with randochap - more of a fit issue than anything unless you have sandpaper for bar tape. On my custom bike I can ride 100+ miles without mitts with no problem at all, tried that with the fixed recently (can't get the bars high enough with the existing stem) and had very sore hands at the end of the day.

Yep.

You might look at a Nitto Technomic stem (if you have 1"), discussed on this page under "handlebars."

 

[gavintc]

Funnily enough, my wife and I have just returned from a romantic weekend in Port Soller. We rented a couple of road bikes. My wife is used to Campag and found that the STI hoods made her hands quite sore. We reckon the fit was not bad on the rental bike, but she hated the different hood size, especially on a fast descent. Perhaps you need to try out Campag Ergos.

 

[Randochap]

Perhaps you need to try out Campag Ergos.

What I use, but the pre-'09. I've heard though, that the new ones are ergonomically good. Still, they look a bit too much like the Shimanos to me. I was quite happy w/ the old ones.

 

[buddha]

As an aside. I managed to fix my hand numbness problem today buy changing the stock, deep-rimmed wheel for a 'normal' shallower one that was lying around. I'm guessing the original wheel was too stiff and transmitted every road bump straight to my hands.