Hand Cramp

Eddyfire

Got use of a mates Ribble over the last few weeks and enjoying it immensely. Only problem is my hands keep cramping up whenever spend prolonged time in the drop postion even on the brake hoods.

Think the bars are oversized but I'm a big guy used to handling MTBs so I didn't think this would be an issue. After enjoying road cycling I was seriously considering buying one of my own but not if hand cramp is going to be a serius problem. Anyone any ideas why this would affect me like this? And what to avoid if I buy my own bike?

allaction

I'm afraid you're in the same boat as me and it appears to be down to your size friend! I was told that the bigger you are the more weight is resting on you hands. I never grip the bars mearly rest them on there which helps a bit. I also find that it starts to occur after prolonged periods (after about and hour and a half in my case) of constant cycling. The things I found help are either breaking your journey up (even if you stop for only about five mins or so) and taking each hand off the wheel and relaxing your arm and wiggling your fingers as this seems to get the blood flowing. Don't let this put you off though as the benefits still outweigh the negatives.