7 months in -

highlander777

Hi

I bought a Wilier Izoard in Large without getting fitted. I struggled for the first 3 months to get comfortable on the bike. I then went to get fitted , only to be told that the bike was not a good fit for me!!

The Geometry that came off the fitting pointed more towards something like an Eddy Merckx. So the guy in the shop adjusted a few things and told me to go away and see if that improved things.

For the most part , things have improved somewhat but the thing that is a real pain is my hands. When I have them on the handlebars , they just ache as I feel that I am putting too much weight on them.

Now I am quite heavy. 6ft and 14 stone.

Anyone got any good advice.. After 7 months, I would have thought things would be easier on my hands. My rides range from 1hr, 1.5hr to 2hrs. Even on the 1hr Ride, my hands ache

cougie

Do you wear padded mitts ?
Can you raise the bars slightly ?

highlander777

yes , padded gloves

also, the stem piece has already been flipped up !

Philby

Gel inserts under the bar tape?

ct4oc

Gel bar tape?

peterst6906

Pain in the hands is generally caused by placing pressure on the ulnar nerve.

Unfortunately it's the largest unprotected nerve in the body (ie. not protected by muscle or bone) and it runs from the collarbone down into the hand, where it connects to the little finger and ring finger.

Puting your weight on the palm of your hands resting on the top bar is a sure way to get pain in the hands.

Relieving that a bit can be achieved with gel inserts as already mentioned, but you'll probably never totally eliminate the pain, you can only really manage it.

Losing weight helps, but you can also try shifting the position of your hands. If you ride more on the hoods, that generally shifts your weight into the gap between your thumb and first finger. There is no major nerve there and you should have some relief.

However riding on the hoods rather than the top bar will also extend your back a bit more. If your bike really is the wrong size, that might cause back and neck pain. But if you can ride comfortably on the hoods, then switching hand positions regularly will help manage the pain in your hands (+ adding gels and padding).

Regards,

Peter

alistaird

You could try and adjustable stem.

The one on my bike is from from Oval Concepts. I'm trying different positions and have not cut the steerer yet either. I am having a professional fit next month after which I will go back to the (correct) length fixed stem.



This will give you a range to play with.

huuregeil

Too much weight on the hands is a fit issue: your centre of gravity is too far forward so your hands stop you rotating forward. Your saddle likely wants to go further back, and your stem shortened and possibly come up. It's possible (if you're Merckx fit, and you're riding an Izoard) that you need a new frame, sorry!

on-yer-bike

The bike may be too small. I had an L Izoard and Im 5' 10". A pro your size would ride this size.

How many spacers are there under the stem? (The fork steerer has probably been cut so no room for any more.) Do you get lower back pain on a long ride? You can try lower pressure in the tyres to help with vibration.

Can you take take your hands an inch off the bars whilst in the riding position and hold yourself there? If not you need more core strength which may help take the load off your arms.

FransJacques

I'm sorry but no one on here can really help unless you post a side on picture of yourself on the bike - pref. with you hands on the hoods, or if you don't ride there, where you have them the most.

Don't worry too much about the type of frame, with some judicious buying of a new seatpost (with more or less setback) and a new stem (with less or more reach or less or more height - again, we need to see a clear picture) you can fix the Wilier without issue.

You're not that heavy, i'm the same height and only 15 pounds lighter. Don't think of your current postion as your LAST position. Every cyclist strive to get better: be that faster, lighter, more flexible. There's not too many reasons why you can't training yourself into better shape to be able to acheieve a more "pro" position.

You just need to work on fitness, flexibility and strength. The weather's now warm so get on out there and work on it!

highlander777

So I borrowed a Cervelo RS and noticed that the handlebars were higher than mine.

Made a minor difference. I noticed from my first post that I had not highlighed all my issues.

So ,I went out today on the Cervelo and I my wrists also hurt. This also applies to my Wilier. ALso, I noticed that I am always having to change the position of my hands to get comfortable

I will be taking the Cervelo back tomorrow. Hopefully the shop can advice me but I am not going to shell out nearly £3k until I know that root cause.

Thoughts / Comments ?

vtech1.5

I have a problem with hands aswell, slight pains and numbness ( more numb than pain though) after 40 or so minutes, but have had three road bikes,and three mountain bikes,different sizes flipped stem and normal ,gel gloves bar tape etc ,but still have the same issues . Just thought I'd mention it as you could change bikes and still have the same problem. I've learned to live with it but prefer the road bike as theres more hand positions on the bars which helps.
Maybe get a Raleigh Chopper

FransJacques

In road biking, you can only go so high with the bars, then you have a shopping bike.

Given the millions of road bikes out there set up with at least some kind of saddle to handlebar drop (I use 9cms on mine) and the fact that these bikes fit their riders (to some extent) I suggest that this issue isn't so much with your bike as with you.

Following this line of thinking you need to cushion the nerves in your hands/wrists as much as possible with gel gloves and padded bar tape - try 2 x layers of gel tape. It's easy to find at most shops.

Also, do you stand up a lot when you're riding? Get out of the saddle, this forces you to change hand position more.

Finally, maybe you have some trapped nerves or similar, have you spoken to you GP about it?

It's not about the bike.

giant_man

highlander777 wrote:

So I borrowed a Cervelo RS and noticed that the handlebars were higher than mine.

Made a minor difference. I noticed from my first post that I had not highlighed all my issues.

So ,I went out today on the Cervelo and I my wrists also hurt. This also applies to my Wilier. ALso, I noticed that I am always having to change the position of my hands to get comfortable

I will be taking the Cervelo back tomorrow. Hopefully the shop can advice me but I am not going to shell out nearly £3k until I know that root cause.

Thoughts / Comments ?

For christ's sake man do yourself a favour and get yourself measured properly. You seem to be going from frame to frame hoping it will fit. Get your measurements down to pat and then you can see from the geometries of the bikes you are interested in if they will fit you.

As far as hand positioning goes, and the fact that it sounds like you would favour a higher head tube, a Cervelo RS has a higher ht than the Wilier and that should tell you something.

alistaird

Apart from my suggestion about adjustable stem, I have one pair of gloves which make my fingers go numb and several pairs which are much better, so have you tried different gloves?

highlander777

thanks all

The shop who loaned me the Ceverlo, also fiited me after i bought Wilier

I took the loaner back. they have suggested that I take my bike back in and perhaps change the handlebars, more tape, gel pads blah blah

I will see what they suggest

antfly

It could be that the saddle is tilting you forward putting more weight on your hands. It might need tilting back slightly.