Pain in knuckles and fingers

leafeater

I just got a new road bike (Trek Lexa S). Everything's great except the brakes. I can press on them fine when I'm riding drops, but up on the hoods I feel like I have to press down very hard before I get a response and readjust my arms to do so. After awhile I get pain in my knuckles, particularly the pointer finger. I'm female and my hands are very small. I can't afford a professional fit just yet. Advice?

skooter

A Trex Lexa should be alright brake wise but for my bobs worth I would say you gripping the handle bars a bit too tight..

leafeater

I only experience pain when pressing down on the brakes, and I have to press down hard otherwise the bike won't stop. Lol

Anonymous

Better brake pads may help.
Perhaps new calipers too?

How about just rotating the bars?
Junior levers might be worth looking into.

Do you think it might be a medical issue?
Is it because it is cold at the moment?

leafeater

I went to the shop and I believe they made it so the brake pads were closer to the rim, however I really think the problem is with the levers. I have to press down pretty hard to get them to move.

It's summer here at the moment. : )

I might get junior levers as a sort of last resort if I can't figure something else out.

fenix

You shouldn't have to press hard at all to get the brakes to move. Take the bike back to the shop and show them. Also check the other bikes out there and you can see how easy it should be to operate the brakes. Stopping can be harder but your brakes aren't working properly.

giropaul

In general, braking from the hoods is ok when making small adjustments to speed, but stopping quickly with any brakes will mean positioning the hands on the drops - for instance you will see pro riders dropping onto the drops before sharp corners.

ForumNewbie

Check that the brake levers are pointing vertically to the ground. I had rotated my bars a bit so the hoods were a bit nearer me, but as it meant that the brake levers were then angled slightly forward, it was harder to operate the brake levers from the hoods. This may not be your problem, but it's worth checking as even if only a little angled it could make the levers more difficult to operate.

Anonymous

Brake pads near to rim would probably make it harder to brake and put more stress on your knuckles I would have thought.
Especially if you have small hands.

They may (and should) have got the lever as lose to the bars as it could be though.
This may mean that the pads need to be pretty close to the rims so that the levers do not pull right back to the bars when pulled.

Either way, you want the point at which you are applying brake force to be pretty near the bar so that your hand is as comfortable as it can be (and has the most powerful pull) at that point.

You first need to check that things are working as they should and adjusted as best they can be for small hands.
Next step would be to change to better quality and/or junior levers.
Final option would be fully hydraulic brakes, as they require very little force to operate.

sungod

ask the lbs if they fitted the shims to reduce reach on the levers, if they left them off it could make quite a difference if you have small hands

a mentioned above, if the pads are too close to the rim it makes it harder to brake (the leverage is affected), usually you should set them about 2mm from the rim

also as mentioned, better pads can help, the stock shimano ones can be poor, swissstop pads are likely to be way better than what you have

kajjal

It looks from the description the bike has cheap generic brakes and pads. These can feel very wooden and give very poor braking. I would switch to 105 for standard brakes or r650 brakes if you need long drop brakes. I did this on my wifes road bike and the difference in feel and power was very noticeable. Swisstop pads will also help.

If the brake levers are too stiff and not set correctly for your hands get the bike shop to sort them out for you.

Braking from the hoods is harder work than in the drops but it should not give you sore hands.

g00se

I agree with carbonator, it may be that the pads are too close to the rim. Most people seem to like it this way - so the brakes start to bite with the smallest of lever movement. However, I find that on the hoods, the more free travel there is before they bite, the more I can get a 'fist' around the levers. So I use more of my hands to modulate the braking, rather than just the finger tips.

The only issue is that you have to regularly check the pad wear and adjust the brakes so that you don't end up with the levers hitting the bars when you really put on the anchors.