Adding comfort

whyamihere

First, a little background:
I have a joint condition, currently thought to be hypermobility syndrome, though possibly Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Whichever it is, it causes me a great deal of pain, which means I've only ridden a bike a handful of times in the last 4 months, and not at all since October. The pain which is keeping me from riding is in my wrists, which I will come back to in a moment. However, riding was the only thing which kept my knees relatively pain free, and so, without riding, they're degraded to the point that I'm now using a walking stick.

This means that I need to get out on my bike. However, riding my road bike for quite a long time causes a large amount of pain in my hands (though not as much as my mountain bike with flat bars). Because of this, I'm looking for relatively inexpensive ways to make the bike more comfortable, and give me more comfortable positions. The front end of the bike is an ITM 4ever carbon fork, Shimano R500 wheel on 23c tyres, Deda bars (I think they're the Nera model, they have the flat section for the hands anyway), Deda bar tape and Campag Xenon brifters.

I know that the tyres are narrow, but having tried wider ones (1.5" and 2" on my MTB, for example), I know that it makes little difference on the roads near me, due to having fairly good surfaces in most places. I feel that the key is in finding components which are more comfortable for me to use. For example, I know that the Shimano brifters are more comfortable for me because they fit my hands better, but I don't have the money to change my entire drivetrain at the moment. So, are there any other suggestions to increase the comfort of the bike and get me back on the road? Budget of around £30-£50 per component really, a bit more if a big change is likely to help.

Captain Fagor

Would using a cheap indoor trainer be an option? That way you can go no-handed whenever you want, which should lessen the hand pain.

Failing that, then perhaps the thick bar tape (phat, etc) might be an option. Cheaper still, you could reduce your tyre pressures slightly (if you currently run above 90psi).

onbike 1939

Probably the most effective thing you can do would be to buy some form of gel padding similar to this
http://shrunk.net/7a1617f1

I would use these with gel-padded mitts and while you say that your 23mm tyres would seem to be fine I have found that wider tyres with a lower pressure make a huge difference to comfort. Good luck.

whyamihere

Will definitely be trying gel tape/mitts. I will give wider tyres a try again, 25s or possibly 28s if they'll fit.

cookiemonster

Hi

As mentioned above have a look at the specialized gel gloves, they've got maybe 5mm gel padding in them which is a bit odd to start with, but pretty comfortable. here you go: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... 5360028364

Another change to relieve pressure on your hands and wrists would be raising the bars so you've less forward lean and therefore less pressure on your hands. I've gone down this route after a back operation - going from a 6 degree to a 35 degree stem (doesnt look to pretty, but does the job) and now to a 17 degree as I get better and can cope with greater lean. Also if you find especially that you ride almost always on the hoods, then it may be worth lifting the bars an inch or so; you'll have less pressure on your hands when on the hoods, and the drops should now be at a comfortable height.

Anyway, just a thought

jon

whyamihere

Will be visiting the Specialized concept store in Birmingham to get gel gloes/bar tape. Will give the higher position a try, it's also been suggested elsewhere that my position could be a touch too cramped, so I'll try a slightly longer stem at the same time.