Wrist burn

Little Gap

Went out on the Whites route at Afan for the second time Saturday. All in all I absolutely loved it, except having to stop every so often on the decent due to a serious amount of pain and burn in my wrists and around that area. I've been told that this is just lactic acid build up, but this never happened the first time I did this route. The only differences was that I rode slightly harder and had a go at the Black run.
What do you think this could be and how do I prevent it for the future?

All help and suggestions are appreciated.

higthepig

Had a similar thing in the past, partially caused by holding the bars too tight without realising it, when I remembered I realised that I had a death grip and then would relax for a while. Also, I've broken my wrists a few times and have shifted over to Ergon grips which help, although they are not everyone's cup of tea, but then I do not like Marmite!

Daz555

Few things to consider:

1. Is you wrist nice and straight when you are in your riding position?
2. Are your grips maybe a little too small or large?
3. Are you new to all this and simply using muscles you are not used to?

Are you hanging on too tight (queue Top Gun quotes).

Little Gap

Higthepig,

I do hold on pretty tight, going over the rocks and roots at speed makes me feel like I'll loose grip completely unless I clamp on tight.

Dazz555,

I ride with my hands facing up slightly whilst going down hill so when I shift weight backwards their straight (find it easier to brake like this) I'm not too keen on loosening grip when I'm only just on the verge of control.

Grips have been the same for years, though a little smaller now with wear.

I regularly go out on trails ect but not much dh.

doug@basqueMTB.com

Little Gap, this is really common. It's normally caused by a combination of factors IME. Here's what I've found helps:

1. When your feet are on the pedals you should always have your heels pointing down. This is really important for lots of things but it means that more of your weight goes through your pedals and takes the strain off your arms. This is important if you're on flats or SPD's. Most your weight goes through your feet.
2. The angle of your brake levers. A lot of people set them up on the flat by seeing where their hands naturally reach for the brakes. I think that they need to be set up with the levers higher up than that. This means that your hands are rotated up a bit, pushing your wrists down and means that the palm of your hands takes more of the strain, reducing the amount you need to grip. (This is important for a lot of other reasons as well, it means you're less likely to go over the bars). Your wrists shouldn't be straight in your riding position but should be dropped slightly.
3. Relax! Important again for lots of reasons. It means you're not gripping so tight but also means that your arms and legs can act as suspension because they're not tense. This is probably what's happening if you feel like you need to hold on super tight through the rocky bits. Also, now that you're nice and relaxed, why not look ahead more and pick smoother / better lines :-)

I hope that helps. I reckon that different sized grips etc can help but normally the problem is technique, not equipment.

doug@basqueMTB.com

Hey, just had a thought.... are you 1 fingered on the brakes?? That makes a big difference too! You can shift your levers inboard of your shifters sometimes to make 1 finger easier.

(Oh, that's equipment not technique isn't it!!)

Little Gap

Doug, you bring up a few good things for me to consider next time especially the angle of my feet/heels, though I thought the natural position was best? I'll re position my brakes to your recommendations to see if it helps. I do relax/bend my legs, I honestly think I would be dead now if I didn't with the lack of rear suspension!

I'm 2 fingered on the brakes when I actually need to use them, which brings up another question, what is the rule of thumb when it comes to brakes, to have your fingers on them constantly or not to?

As for choosing lines, I'm not picky. The only lines I make are the ones that don't have obstacles that I don't think I can ride over.

For my riding style I regret to say that I think I need a full suspension bike to make riding more enjoyable than the rough ride I keep getting with my current bike.

doug@basqueMTB.com

Little Gap, the angle of your heels is really, really important I think. I guess what's natural will vary from person to person. It makes a massive difference I think. It really helps.

Relaxed / bending legs is good, like you say it's essential!

For your brakes, some people use 2 fingers and are happy like that. I am a very strong believer in 1 finger, if your brakes are OK for it (i.e. powerful enough and not with the very long 'moto' levers!) If you make a grip with your hand and take your index finger off, (like you were braking) you still have a very powerful grip there (try it and see!) now take your middle finger off too... it's a pretty poor grip with those two wee fingers isn't it?! It makes a big difference.

Line choice is a big thing. It all comes from looking ahead. Sounds easy but not many people look far enough ahead when riding. It takes the strain off and lets you carry so much more speed. Choosing the line comes naturally I think but you have to force yourself for the 1st step which is looking ahead.

I see so many riders who ride full suspension and use it as a cushion for the trails. With a full suss all the above is important too so it's as well to get it right I think. My advice (feel free to ignore it, I did when I bought my first full suss!) is to think about spending a small sum on a skills course before you spend a large sum on a different bike. There's some really good one's out there. Jedi is building up a fantastic reputation and has a real back to basics approach that will stand you in good stead www.ukbikeskills.co.uk (I don't have any connection with him apart from we talked about a skills course in my place). There are lots of good places up and down the country though so to a certain extent it will be dependant on where you're based.

Long post for this time in the morning eh? I've gotta run, good luck and have fun with it!

Little Gap

Doug, that is a pretty impressive post for first thing in the morning!

I'm greatfull for all you have put into this thread, I'll take it all into consideration on my next outings.


Cheers

doug@basqueMTB.com

No sweat! I type quick and it's nice to help people like I was helped when I started out! Good luck with it all!

Jedi

doug, thank you for your kind recommendation

ride_whenever

The wrist should be straight when riding, a bent wrist is a recipe for broken scaphoid bones as you end up transferring a lot of force through them in that instance.

1-finger braking is the way forward, but you need to feel that you can still brake sufficiently, so try it and if you cannot get enough force then upgrade to larger rotors for extra power.

If you want to check over your setup read this

Jedi

no the energy displaces through the upper body and takes the need to grip the bars hard at all.
kinked wrists for the win

Daz555

doug@basqueMTB.com wrote:

2. The angle of your brake levers. A lot of people set them up on the flat by seeing where their hands naturally reach for the brakes. I think that they need to be set up with the levers higher up than that. This means that your hands are rotated up a bit, pushing your wrists down and means that the palm of your hands takes more of the strain, reducing the amount you need to grip. (This is important for a lot of other reasons as well, it means you're less likely to go over the bars). Your wrists shouldn't be straight in your riding position but should be dropped slightly.

Disagree entirely with that. In my experience many riders have their levers far too high. Still different strokes, and whatever is comfortable for each rider is the right choice.

We are of course agreeing that the OP should look at the position of the levers and get his wrist angle sorted for comfort/control - straight OR bent.

ride_whenever

Jedi wrote:

no the energy displaces through the upper body and takes the need to grip the bars hard at all.
kinked wrists for the win

But it doesn't on surprise impacts, my two cracked scaphoids would really beg to differ with you on that one... It's the same with any activity, if you pull through a bent wrist then you get tendonitis, if you push through one then it snaps. The wrist is only designed for serious load when straight, it's basic ergonomics.

Jedi

sorry no. the energy transfers in a line up through all joints kineticly.
a dipped wrist lines up the whole arm and affects the entire body position too.

doug@basqueMTB.com

I'm with Jedi! Drop your wrists and it helps a lot for arm pump. If you're snapping your scaphoids while still holding onto the bars then that's crazy! What are you hitting???