Curing arm pump?

dirtbiker100

I'm going to head to scotland in september for a solid 6 hours of riding the fort william dh track (endurance dh race). Arm pump i think is going to kill me off so is there anything i can do to help reduce it? it'll never go i know but how can i make life easier for myself?
would something like a powerball do anything? learn to ride with a looser grip on the bars?

colsa

pump x , lots of my mates are m/x riders, they swear by it

http://www.pump-x.co.uk/

obviously i wouldnt want to take it before every ride, as it would turn out expensive, but for serious rides or competitions than its worth looking at

dirtbiker100

sounds interesting, thanks

Anonymous

After being off the bike for years, I found that arm pump was an issue as well. I got over it by using a powerball.
Now it's not a problem.

dirtbiker100

so getting a powerball would help? it works the whole forearm then? might get one then

Anonymous

yep, the whole wrist and hand and fingers, are controlled by muscles in the forearm area, so a powerball helps all of them.
It's such an addictive gadget that it's worth getting one anyway!

Dr_Death

Build up the muscles in your forearm with e.g. a powerball. That supplement has nothing in it of any great interest...

dirtbiker100

Dr_Death wrote:

Build up the muscles in your forearm with e.g. a powerball. That supplement has nothing in it of any great interest...

powerball way it is then. thanks

JonEdwards

Good setup/technique can go a long way to minimising arm pump.

Set your brakes up for single finger braking (ie move them in-board - you shoul be using your first finger right on the hook of the lever - this gives you most leverage, and aslo gives you 3 fingers wrapped round the bar for hanging on with.

Levers should be angled to follow the line of your arm. (bearing in mind if you're on a DH rig, you want this to match your attack position, not seated)

Set the bite point fairly far in - puts less stress on your forearm muscles.

Try and keep your weight centred on the bike - so less weight on your arms, more on your legs. Obviously this isn't a fixed thing, as you'll be coming forward to pin a corner, and the real steep stuff will be all arms/shoulders anyway.

I can't recall the last time I had armpump, despite doing 18 run days in Whistler Bikepark (6 full Garbanzos ). I think the biggest difference was moving to the single finger braking.

Riding hard regualrly will also help lots.

Oh, and if all else fails w@nk more. (don't forget to use both hands!)

dirtbiker100

ooh thanks for all that. i'm half way between 1 and two finger at the moment so i'll adjust my levers a touch more. Got moto V2 brakes so can quite happily 1 finger brake. also the bite point is easily adjustable so will play with that too.
Thanks

ideal advice at the end there too

Milkie

Before reading this I didnt know what arm pump is. :oops:

But I do have a powerball, and they are great, problem I have is I want to beat my highest rpm!

It has also helped reduce my RSI and helped me strengthen my weak wrist; that I totally screwed over using my friends bike with gripshift.

Anonymous

as previously mentioned, set your brake levers up correctly, I found that raising mine slightly reduced the pump incredibly.

tenbob

There a new cream just come out call Motomint which helps arm pump, I got it at Triple-d motosport Tel 01539 732666 for £20 and it should last all season!

streako

Old fashioned press ups are probably the best exercise for strengthening arms.

mcbazza

Powerballs are pretty good, too. Look wierd. Takes a while to get used to it. But, works wonders on your grip and forearms.
I'd personally recommend one with a tacho, as it's useful to see what speed/rpm you can get up to, and then try to beat it.

tip: if buying from play.com (as per my link), then think about registering at Quidco.com, then doing a click-through to Play.com. then you'll earn 4% cashback on your purchase.