Sore hands

Bishbosh10

Firstly, I know this topic has been raised many times but none of my searches have answered my questions.

The situation is that very quickly into a ride, even on road :shock: the outside edges of my hands get sore. I am wondering if I need wider bars as that might rotate my arms / wrist a bit to even out the pressure on my hands? The other suggestion is a shorter perhaps also steeper stem. Bars are 670mm and stem is 8 x 100.

I have tried rotating the bars a bit but that hasn't helped (perhaps I should rotate them the other way!)

The bike is a large 2011 Trance X LTD if that is of any use. I am 6'2" with a 32" inside leg. I am comfortable in all other aspects on the bike other than my hands. Brakes are well adjusted and I can comfortably ride with a finger covering each lever, it is just the outer pads of my hands that get sore really quickly.

Any tips before I start randomly replacing parts at vast expense? :roll:

snotty badger

Shorter stem to lift some weight off your hands maybe?

eXoctic cycles do stems for a bout £13, for that money I'd try that first. 100mm stem does seem a little long these days for most peoples tastes... not that its wrong for everyone though.

paul.skibum

Suprised a new trance has a 100mm stem - but another thing you could try is rotating your bar around a bit to change where the sweep comes to and how your hands rest on it.

Check how your hands fall on the brakes and gears too - if you are having to cock your hands a bit to get ont he brakes it can affect your hands in funny ways.

Cheaper options than a shorter stem.

playasyougo

I'm 6'2 and have a 2011 Trance X2. I had to fit a shorter stem on the bike to cure problems similar to what you are experiencing. After the change no real issues apart from arm pump but that's just me not being man enough.

allthegearnoidea

what gloves do you where?? i found the same, was getting sore outer edges of the hands, i got some fox reflex gloves with some good padding on the outer edges, have also changed the grips to Thicker ones from superstar, has made a lot of difference, also went wider on the bars,
the whole lot cost me less than £50, bars were in the crc sale, grip[s are superstar so cheap and good, and gloves were £20??
to get an idea of the bars, you'll possibly need the help of a friend, sit or stand in a comfortbale position with your arms relaxed and get a friend to measure the distance between your hands, will give you a good idea of a comfortable width of bar with out squeezing your self in from the shoulders! i ran 635 xc bars for years, then worked out after a friends bike they were a bit narrow, tried 690, which was an improvement, 710 was a lot better and left them on for 8 months (both were a tenner each in on-ones sale!!!) then nosing crc found some 740's for £12! if anything they are a little wide but feel great!!

Bishbosh10

Thanks chaps. Will look at a shorter stem for starters then and see how I go.

Roostoids

I have the exact same issue.

I am 6'4", long arms, and have XL framed bike with a 100mm stem.

I switched grips, didn't help at all. Though i'm consiering those ones with flanges on the edge that actually force your grip in, and off the outer edge of your palm.

I changed stem, to a steeper angle. I got a £35 specialised stem (bikes a spesh) which bought tbars higher and nearer. Not by a lot, but it had the effect of raising my chest, allowing much better breathing, and also taking some pressure of my hands. This was a good change.

I'm almost there now, but am thinking another small change will perfect the setup, and that will be in the form of a handlebar, a steeper rise to finsih bring the bars into line with my height.

Anyway, changing gloves didn't help at all, I'd start with the stem. Have a think too, are your hands hurting because you're hunching over and putting too much presure through them, or because the bars too narrow. A shorter stem won't help if you're hunched over the bars, it might even make it worse!

I think as with all things, bikes are designed for the average person, and those of us taller or shorter than the norm have to kinda adapt and make do. Good luck, let us know how you get on, it might inspire me with my ongoing search for comfort.

timpop

I have used Ergon grips for a couple years now and they work for me. Have a look at the website. http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/home
I'm currently using the GA1 as they suit my riding but have used the GX1 (now GS1) too. There are plenty of models to choose from depending on your riding style. IMO they're worth it and I don't use padded gloves anymore either.