How to relieve pressure off hands?

Hi all, just wondering how you all relieve pressure off your hands, especially the heavier of you?
I should be receiving a road bike tomorrow and am a bit scared as even with my last bike (a flat bar hybrid) I suffered from a lot of pain in my hands and shoulders due to me weighing so much and thus having to support a lot of weight through my hands (that the seat was quite a lot higher than the bars didn't help I guess but then it'll be the same or higher on the road bike I guess).
Is there anything I can do to stop my hands hurting so much? Thick gloves perhaps? I'm hoping that the drop bars will give me more places to place my hands and so hopefully reduce pain through frequent change of hand placement?
Many thanks peeps, Daz
I should be receiving a road bike tomorrow and am a bit scared as even with my last bike (a flat bar hybrid) I suffered from a lot of pain in my hands and shoulders due to me weighing so much and thus having to support a lot of weight through my hands (that the seat was quite a lot higher than the bars didn't help I guess but then it'll be the same or higher on the road bike I guess).
Is there anything I can do to stop my hands hurting so much? Thick gloves perhaps? I'm hoping that the drop bars will give me more places to place my hands and so hopefully reduce pain through frequent change of hand placement?
Many thanks peeps, Daz
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2020 Canyon Ultimate CF SLX
2020 Canyon Inflite SL 7
On the Strand
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With flat barred hybrids, a riser bar helps. Just for future reference and benefit of others.
FCN 8 off road because I'm too old to go racing around.
what he says ..
also on a flat bar your wrists are in a bench press position, on drops you have a choice but you will be 90% on the hoods and as such you wrists are in a more natural position with thumbs pointing forwards
On my MTB i get wrists issues
However, I'm not a bike fitter, so do as Jash says and get yourself fitted.
I had a bash at this (as you do...) and it definitely works. For safety tho I'd restrict this to flat roads, not in heavy traffic, and no sharp bends!
Or simply ride with your hands completely off the bars.... or learn to unicycle.....
They make gel-padded bar tape. Alternatively, double wrap. And there are gloves you can get with gel padding on the ulnar nerve area. All of these help. As others have said, riding on the hoods keeps your wrists straight, which is much stronger than the flat bar wrist position. The Floyd Landis "bat wing" lever position can also help (okay, not like Floyd, as his hip joint needed replacing, but higher up the bends than traditionalists would have them anyway).
How much drop is there between your bar tops and seat? (If you angle your seat, take roughly where your sit bones usually go) A drop more than a couple of inches is probably too much.
There is also plenty of bike fitting advice on various bike shop/manufacturers websites. I like what Peter White Cycles say, for example. And Rivendell have a nice take on things in their 'Read' section.
As a rule of thumb, unless you are gunning for speed and not comfort, your bars should be close to the same height as your saddle.
The saddle fore-aft position is a little counter-intuitive, because if your weight is falling forwards onto your hands, your instinct is to narrow the gap between saddle and bars by moving the saddle forward. Actually, moving your saddle backwards can help move your centre of gravity, and put the weight back on your sitting bones - but you may have to deal with other variables as well, the stem length, the top tube length, etc.
Finally, it may just be the case that horizontal bars are not as comfortable as bars that allow different hand positions. See this recent thread, for a similar discussion.
Why not triple wrap? Or wear boxing gloves?
psst, Your sense-of-humour dial isn't turned up enough.
Conter-intuitive, eh?
Viner Maxima, Tifosi CK7, Giant Bowery, Old commuter.
You lot are great, I don't care what they say!
+1 for what Antfly said. You might not need to move the seat back as such, just adjust its angle. I had to adjust the angle during a short ride last winter because I had put the saddle on in a bit of a rush. Instantly more comfortable.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
:oops:
Probably right tbf... nevertheless, it's a decent tip for relieving pain temporarily at least.
If you keep your elbows bent a small amount they will act as shock absorbers and the bumps won't be absorbed by your wrists. It feels more effort when you start but it soon becomes second nature and has a lot of other benefits to your cycling as you are in a better position to be ready to react to changes in the road etc.
it makes you engage your core muscles more thus bending your arms and reliving pressure on your hands... as you get tired the arms straighten and more pressure is applied
Very Hairy Roadie - FCN 4
Fixed Pista- FCN 5
Beared Bromptonite - FCN 14