Grip

badly_dubbed

On long technical descents when I'm covering the brakes alot my hands start to hurt, kinda like cramping up...and sometimes I have to stop and give it a minute.

Is there anything off the bike I could do to stop it ( maybe a grip trainer?)

Anonymous

Powerball.
But, biggest improvement will probably come from adjusting the reach on the brake lever so it's closer to the bar, and using fewer fingers to cover it.
Apparently some riders, including MotoX riders swear that using the middle finger on the lever seriously reduces arm pump.

badly_dubbed

Cool will adjust the brakes and see how it goes first cos that's free lol

.blitz

The levers should be just under your fingers when they are naturally extended with your palms on the grips. Shouldn't have to bend your hands up or down. And the end of the lever should be level with your index or maybe middle finger - usually involves moving the brake/shifter quite a bit inboard.

You will get max leverage for the minimum effort.

Anonymous

also, the reach should be adjusted so that the biting point is pretty close to the bar, you don't want to have your fingers even slightly stretched when braking.

.blitz

Prefer minimal deadband tbh

Years of riding motorcycles has made me nervous if the brakes don't bite straightaway

Anonymous

.blitz wrote:

Prefer minimal deadband tbh

Years of riding motorcycles has made me nervous if the brakes don't bite straightaway

Can cause problems with arm pump though.

xraymtb

Are you using two fingers to brake?

I used to do that and my hands would be aching by the bottom of a descent. Adjusted my brakes to use my index finger only and they feel much better.

badly_dubbed

tried the middle finger braking tonight, but dint have any really long descents so will have a bash at glentress shortly

Anonymous

regardless of which finger you used, the lever should be positioned so youf finger is comfortably bent when the brakes bite - whether that be by reach adjustment, or bite adjustment depends on your brake setup options.

JonnyN

Also think of the angle of your brake levers. They should be in line with your arms when you are in "attack" position or standing up. This means you don't have to flex your wrist upwards to grab the brakes.