Numb hands

AndyH86

Hi,

Recently started riding to increase my fitness and lose a bit of weight.

On the last few rides I've started to get numb/cramp in my hands after about 5km, also the palms of my hands around the thumb has become a bit sore. I currently ride without gloves/mitts, would this likely solve the issue or could it be related to my position etc?

Thanks

Andy

fatsmoker

You should find it eases with time, but get some gloves with padding on the palm - Aldi might still have some from their last sale - they do in my local one at least. Gloves will also save your hands if you come off. And perhaps better bar tape. It could also be your positioning.
Next thing wil be numb feet at 10km . . . . . . . . . but that gets better with time and miles.

Gizmodo

AndyH86 wrote:

Recently started riding to increase my fitness and lose a bit of weight.

On the last few rides I've started to get numb/cramp in my hands after about 5km, also the palms of my hands around the thumb has become a bit sore. I currently ride without gloves/mitts, would this likely solve the issue or could it be related to my position etc?

All of the above and more.

Could be your position putting too much weight on your hands. Search for "bike fit" there are plenty of YouTube videos and advice around.

Gloves with gel pads are next, they take the vibration out. Road surfaces create high frequency vibration that can make your hands numb.

Gel inserts and padded bar tap can also help reduce road vibration as can upgrading to carbon forks if necessary.

crikey

It's your position.

You are sat too far forwards, with too much weight on your hands.

Put your saddle down and back, get the weight on your bum.

Schoie81

Have to say that when I started on my road bike last month I had this problem. My hands sweat a lot, so I was reluctant to listen to people who told me gloves would help and persevered without them. As others have said above, after a few rides, it started to ease. I also found I needed to relax a bit - I was gripping the hoods far too tightly and as others have said, adjusting the saddle helped take the weight off my arms and therefore my hands, especially downhill. Did my first 20+ miler (on the road bike) at the weekend and no problems with my hands at all. I don't know how good advice it is (it works for me) but try making sure your arms are slightly bent at the elbow. When I started mine were locked straight, and if they're slightly bent its impossible to put all your upper weight onto your hands. It'll also bring your head a little lower out of those headwinds!!

I was recently bought a pair of gloves for my birthday, so thought out of courtesy more than anything else, i'd give them a go - but they made my hand actually hurt between my palm and my thumb where the padding is (and that was only a 4mile ride), gave up after that and I now use them when on my MTB. Not saying gloves wont help you, but they made things worse for me.

AndyH86

Thanks for the reply's.

I'll have a look at the bike fit video's over the next couple of evenings, didn't really get fitted properly when I brought it so hopefully that'll help a bit. Might look at some gloves at the weekend too.

Feet have been okay upto 15km so far, although not using clipless pedals yet.

JayKosta

Andy,

Yes gloves will help, but it is most important to have the handle bars and brake hoods adjusted to their most comfortable position for you.

The position of the saddle 'might' be a concern, but I would wait on that unless it is somehow bothering you.

The bolts in the front of the stem can be loosened to allow the 'tilt' of the handle bars to be adjusted. There's a bolt in the brake hoods that allows the hoods to be moved - both their location on the bar, and the amount they angle up-down/inwards.
Changing the location of the hoods usually requires re-doing the bar tape.

I like to have the portion of the bar from the stem to the hoods be fairly level, and that usually results in the ends of the bar pointing towards the rear wheel axle. I have the hoods placed so I don't have a long reach for them, and they are tilted inwards so my wrists are comfortable. I certainly do use my arms and hands to support some of my torso weight, but it's a comfortable amount - not a strength exercise.

If you do have someone do a 'bike fit' setup for you, make sure you explain that your first priorty is comfort. After you've been riding a while you will know what further position changes can be done for more speed, aerodynamics, etc. If the bike 'fitter' seems more concerned with speed and racing, or doesn't understand your 'comfort' needs, then maybe that is not the proper person for you.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

JasonBrooke

I get a numb left thumb/index finger after about 50 miles, to the point where I can't click the gear changer to change down from the outer ring, the guy at Evans told me this kind of thing can happen after this kind of mileage, but wants me to take my bike in to get the left shifter button checked out. I have actually found that the further I go, (70 miles last Saturday) the more I get used to the things that used to niggle after say, 20 miles.

This is the last niggle I need to get rid of and then it's onto the ton.

forward_loop

crikey wrote:

It's your position.

You are sat too far forwards, with too much weight on your hands.

Put your saddle down and back, get the weight on your bum.

Probably this and weak core.

If you are cycling at about 65rpm- 75rpm up a slight incline - so you have resistance on the cranks - you should feel almost weightless on your hands - this is the sort of balance you are trying to achieve between pushing the pedals/bum and hands - your three contact points

JasonBrooke wrote:

I get a numb left thumb/index finger after about 50 miles, to the point where I can't click the gear changer to change down from the outer ring, the guy at Evans told me this kind of thing can happen after this kind of mileage, but wants me to take my bike in to get the left shifter button checked out. I have actually found that the further I go, (70 miles last Saturday) the more I get used to the things that used to niggle after say, 20 miles.

Its not the shifter paddle that he needs to look at - its your hand position/position - out of curiosity is it 105 ? - the ridge on the rubber is quite large and might be impinging your ulna nerve ?