Pins and needles!

Wacky Racer

Hi all. I am pretty new to this forum, and have taken up biking again after a 20 year gap, so still busy trying to rebuild my fitness. I've had my new bike for 3 weeks, and have been getting out every other evening for a 40 to 50 minute run, and for a couple of hours one day per weekend, which is working wonders. My first couple of rides resulted in me returning home absolutely exhausted after just a 40 minute hard run in the local lanes and bridle paths (plenty of hills where I live). Since then I've been steadily getting further afield, and my weekend run is usually now 2 to 3 hours, and although I still get home knackered I'm going 3 or 4 times as far as I was.

Today I had a cracking ride, the weather is superb, it was really nice to be able to ditch the jacket and ride short sleeved. I noticed after I had been riding for a couple of hours that I kept getting pins and needles in my left hand, mainly the outer edge and little finger. I guess this is the way I lean on the grip, as I use my right hand more for gears than my left. Does anyone else have the same problem? I don't wear gloves, are they the answer? Or, is it my riding style, am I leaning on this hand too much? I started off with my seat just a couple of inches high, but have been slowly raising it and it's now about 6 inches, I am 5' 9" and ride a 19" frame which is comfortable for me. My seat and bars are now the same height.

Sorry for the long post, but trying to give as much info as possible.

goldblendslurper

Three things you could try. Gloves, Bar ends, or the shaped grips (can't remember the name) which give you a bit more support around the nerve area of your hand. On a road bike you have various hand positions which helps with numb hands. When out riding, you might try shaking the hand that gets pins and needles once in a while just to get the blood flowing.

One last point, I always wear gloves when out riding (other than to and from work :roll: ) Should you fall off they offer protection to your hands. Life with grazes on both hands is no fun. But if you get some with good padding they add a lot more comfort when holding the bars. My favorite brand is Chiba, although there are many good brands of gloves out there. In winter, Sealskinz are waterproof as well and very warm.

Dazzza

Does your bike have standard flat bars, you could try using something like easton riser bars to compensate for your raising the saddle, gloves are important, they reduce the pressure on your ulnar nerve which is the cause for all the tingling.

I did try ergon grips which are wider in the palm area but i never got on with them, if your interested i may have the set kicking about and can send your way for a new notes.

I never got on with them despite their very good rep so went back to using odi rogue grips.

At the more expensive side carbon bars can help as well, they filter out a lot of the trail buzz making for a more comfortable ride.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Sear ... ston+riser

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Sear ... rgon+grips

The ergons i have are the gp1.

Wacky Racer

Many thanks for the help guys, this forum is great for a novice like me.

The bars on my bike are fairly flat, they have a very slight rise. They are Kona bars, as are the grips. The grips are what was standard on the bike, they are reasonably cushioned. The bike is a Kona Blast 2009 model.

I'm not certain I wish to change the bar, as from a reach point of view it feels very comfortable, but changing the grips seems a sensible idea and one I will look at. I will also look at gloves, it's something I have been meaning to do, but need to find the time to try some on in a cycle shop, as ordering online may not get me the best fit. Obviously once the needles kick in I do shake my hand for circulation, I guess I'm only starting to notice it as I am spending loger on the bike.

I have noticed that my fingers get cold when riding at night, due to colder weather, I will take a look at the gloves recommended. One of the biggest problems I find, after 20 years off a bike, is the vast array of clothing out there, it's nice, but difficult at the same time to choose the right options. I have been using Chain Reactions and Leisure Lakes online, great value and an excellent choice.

Good to see that the numbness isn't just me, I was beginning to wonder whether I was leaning too hard on the grips.

goldblendslurper

Thought of a couple more things that may be helpful. If you have had 20years off the bike and not done much excersise in those years, you may have lost some of the core strength that you once had. When on the bike, core strength is very important for maintaining your on bike posture. It may be that as you do more cycling you'll build that strength up again. At the moment you may be "slumping" onto the bars without noticing. Also as you regain the leg strength you will support yourself better on the bike. I'm no doctor or physio, but I've read quite a lot about off the bike training and the importance of building back and stomach muscles for stability on the bike.

I know that when I first started cycling when I got back from a 40mile ride, almost my whole body would ache. But after a few months or a year even you build up the bike specific muscles.

It might be that none of this applys to you, but I thought it was worth posting anyway


EDIT: Just saw your comment about the array of clothing these days. It is well worth going to your local bike shop and trying the gloves on. rather than buying over the internet, since they really need to fit well to be comfortable.

Wacky Racer

Posture could well be an issue as well. I'm not in too bad shape, but at 5' 9" and 13 stone, I need to shift a stone as I reckon 12 stone is my fighting weight, hence the bike. I'm gutted because after a few weeks my leg muscles are getting bigger but my weight has stayed static, which leads me to wonder whether I need to do some other form of exercise as well. My job is not an active one, in fact I spend most of my day behind a pc. I agree about using the local cycle shop for trying on things like gloves, but there is very little that is local to me. I also need to buy a lid, so can kill two birds with one stone. I can't believe some of the pillocks on the road, especially on a Sunday, so thought it may be best to get my head protected. I swear my bike is invisible to the average motorist!

The hand numbness isn't going to put me off, I am really enjoying being back on a bike, but if I can solve the problem simply it will make longer spins all the better.

goldblendslurper

Ah, I believe muscle weighs more than fat. So if you are riding a lot and hoping to lose weight but putting on muscle, it may be that your body fat percentage is dropping but you are gaining muscle, therefore your overall body weight is not changing.

Dazzza

You will find your weight will stay static as you gain muscle but lose fat so don't get too hung up about it.

Wacky Racer

Cheers guys, I feel better now. I'll just avoid the scales and try to convince my Mrs I look in great shape.

strodey

I get the same problem but in both hands, and my little fingers feel almost numb after anything over 30 miles!
I had some foam grips which i changed for thinner grips and this is when the problem began, i'm changing to fatter grips and more padded gloves as i think this will help also found it much better after i made the forks a bit more 'spongy'