White fingers

Bar Shaker

At work we have to set limits for our men using power tools, to avoid them getting White Finger (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome). Some exposure times are very low and this got me thinking about our hands and feet on our bikes.

I wear padded gloves and ride a carbon frame so haven't had a problem but a friend on an Ali bike with different gloves does get White finger.

How common is the problem?

CiB

Common. Look up Reynards Disease.

Here - I already have. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raynaud%27s_phenomenon

I used to get it somethign terrible, bone white fingers as soon it was a bit parky. Not a problem these days.

Gloves are always a good idea on the bike, gloves or padded mits.

Bobbinogs

On long cool rides I nearly always end up with white fingers. I have always had the problem and used to get the same playing football in the winter so I cannot blame it on cycling or handlebars/tape, etc. I have just got used to it ; I run my hands under a cold tap for a few minutes which sorts it out.

Berk Bonebonce

Excessive road buzz through the bars can be experienced by those without much common sense. They run too high tyre pressures, do not wear mitts, and do not think to invest in some fancy gel bar tape or similar.

DCowling

I have had Raynauds since my early teens ( now 41).
and in my adult life I have spent 13 yrs on farms and 5 on building site,
once the cold sets in, thick gloves are not going to get them warm, what happens is the body shuts down the blood vessels in the extramaties to keep the core warm, much sooner than in someone without reynauds.
what you have to do is windmill your arm as this forces the blood back to the hands and therefore resumes circulation ergo get warmer. although try and do this on a quiet stretch of road because it alarms the drivers. Obviously this does not work as well with feet, the only way you can do these is to try and massage them warm, but this involves stopping and on a cold day you will start to cool down too fast abd make the problem worse.
I bought some very cheap re-usable warmers from Aldi for about £1.50, not had to use them yet but have taken them out on very cold days, just in case.
bit long winded but might help someone with the same problem

cyberknight

Same here i have always had bad circulation in hands and feet, came home in - 2 this morning ans my hands got so cold they were painfull.

On my ali commuter i have gel gloves and 2 layers of bar tape and that normally does the trick, getting your bike fit is very important as well as this can aliviate a lot of the buzz.