Bar Tape

k1875

I'm getting numb hands after quite a short time riding. Can anyone recommend a good bar tape for soaking up some of the vibration ? I have tried changing my hand position on the bars but it doesn't seem to help.

Ta very much.

ba68

Bontrager gel cork and some decent padded mitts.

balthazar

Numbness is normally caused by consistent pressure, rather than high frequency vibration. I'm all for well-padded handlebars, but I wonder if you should re-assess your riding position first.

ba68

Agree with above, was assuming bike setup was right. Consider your position on the bike; reach, bar - saddle height etc and also the angle and and an incorrect position of your hands / wrists can cause numbness. Google it, there's a lot of information about this around.

Pickled Pig

I had hand numbness with tape over gel wrapping but it has disappeared after fitting a 10mm shorter stem.

jonni3

As mentioned above making sure your bike is set up properly really does help big time, also bar phat is a pretty decent bar tape to work in conjunction with a good set up.

FSR_XC

I agree with the above regarding set up.

However the most comfortable bar tape I've found is Specialized Roubaix

andrewlwood

I like the almost never-talked-about 3T bar tape - great stuff and easy to fit.

sungod

are you leaning on the bars? or holdng them too tight?

both can give you numb hands fast

leaning may be down to bike fit, or lack of core strength, or just habit, holding too tight is an easy habit to fall into, just need to remind yourself to relax

unixnerd

My wife bought me some thin gloves with a padded palm and they're superb, mesh back to avoid sweating. Feels odd when I cycle without them.

As an added bonus I've only fallen twice in the last ten years but on both occasions I've had them on so no scarred hands.