Wrist Pain – is this the solution?
inkj
Posts: 93
First off, yes my wrist pain is from using the MTB… honest…
I’m not a ‘real’ MTBer
I only go on 10 – 20 rides a year. And I only go on ‘longer’ rides, so 30 – 50 miles. So I don’t use a bike day to day.
I also mostly go on flat ‘easy’ routes if I can. So not the proper mountain bike off road terrain. But almost road bike type terrain, so as little road as possible then off road but usually cycle ways and paths as much as I can.
Occasionally bumps on the route, or rougher terrain, will be encountered. It doesn’t take long until I have great pain in one or other, or occasional both my wrists.
[my bike is a 29er, Bizango Voodoo, in case that's important]
I try to ‘ride’ the bumps [i.e. lift my grip and try to float through them, but by then usually the damage is done] and I am feeling each and every little bump...
It can be really painful during the ride... but then subside quite quickly once I am off. Or it can linger for a day or so.
I guess this is either a common issue… if not, maybe my seat placement/handle bars are wrong… or maybe I am inexperienced and might be gripping too tightly to the handle bars?
I was thinking of getting a couple of neoprene wrist supports. Is there a better product (I guess if this pain is a common one, you guys may know… if it isn’t then I guess not). Is there a reason it would be inadvisable to use these supports when riding?
They certainly help after the ride, I have one old one and it feels better after the ride when I wear it.
I was just wondering if I should invest in a couple for when I actually ride?
Thanks for any time you take to read/answer this question. Me and my wrists thank you xx
I’m not a ‘real’ MTBer
I only go on 10 – 20 rides a year. And I only go on ‘longer’ rides, so 30 – 50 miles. So I don’t use a bike day to day.
I also mostly go on flat ‘easy’ routes if I can. So not the proper mountain bike off road terrain. But almost road bike type terrain, so as little road as possible then off road but usually cycle ways and paths as much as I can.
Occasionally bumps on the route, or rougher terrain, will be encountered. It doesn’t take long until I have great pain in one or other, or occasional both my wrists.
[my bike is a 29er, Bizango Voodoo, in case that's important]
I try to ‘ride’ the bumps [i.e. lift my grip and try to float through them, but by then usually the damage is done] and I am feeling each and every little bump...
It can be really painful during the ride... but then subside quite quickly once I am off. Or it can linger for a day or so.
I guess this is either a common issue… if not, maybe my seat placement/handle bars are wrong… or maybe I am inexperienced and might be gripping too tightly to the handle bars?
I was thinking of getting a couple of neoprene wrist supports. Is there a better product (I guess if this pain is a common one, you guys may know… if it isn’t then I guess not). Is there a reason it would be inadvisable to use these supports when riding?
They certainly help after the ride, I have one old one and it feels better after the ride when I wear it.
I was just wondering if I should invest in a couple for when I actually ride?
Thanks for any time you take to read/answer this question. Me and my wrists thank you xx
0
Comments
-
Have you set the suspension fork to a suitable pressure for your weight?
Presuming you are still using the supplied 29x2.35" Maxxis Ardent tyres, what inflation pressure are you using and what is the rough total weight of you+riding kit+stuff in pockets+water+bike?
I'd happily run a front 29x2-2.35" tyre (Schwalbe Century or G One Speed) at 30-35PSI for road use on my Voodoo Marasa hybrid (rigid fork), 40-50PSI on the rear, total weight ~98Kg.================
2020 Voodoo Marasa
2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
2016 Voodoo Wazoo0 -
Also look at the angle of your brake levers and circumference of your grips.
You can get ergonomic grips which provide additional palm support and help if you typically get pins and needles in your hands.
You may also need to relax your grip a little rather than white knuckle holding on for dear life ....0 -
Unless the bike is a really bad fit (you would instantly feel uncomfortable or forced into an unnatural position) the problem is more likely to reside with you not the bike. Your wrists probably get more abuse holding onto the bike than doing anything else. You may have the beginnings of gouty arthritis, who knows. As MF would say 'Go and see your Doctor'. He/she can take blood and do checks/tests that we on a forum cannot. He may refer you to a physiotherapist, I don’t know. But it’s a good place to start.
Go and see your Doctor.
0 -
First thing I’d do is adjust your brake positions. For some reason most bike shops set them up so the levers are horizontal. This forces you to ride with your hands bent back and puts a lot of pressure on your wrists.
Try rotating the brake levers down so the backs of your hands are in line with your forearms when in your normal riding position. Then fine adjust until you find an optimal position for you.
You van also try rolling the bars forward or backwards and/or sliding the saddle forwards or backwards to get the best reach.
(Don’t try all the above at the same time. Do them one at a time and see what the results are. If you do them all at the same time you won’t know which had the most beneficial effect.)
“Life has been unfaithful
And it all promised so so much”
Giant Trance 2 27.5 2016 ¦ Sonder Broken Road 2021¦ Giant Revolt Advanced 2 2019 ¦ Giant Toughtroad SLR 1 2019 ¦ Giant Anthem 3 2015 ¦ Specialized Myka Comp FSR 20090 -
When I got my wife her first MTB, she had wrist pain. I loosened the clamp and rotated the bars slightly upwards and it went away immediately.
Others have suggested the angle of the levers as well - it could simply be a small adjustment of the fit that's needed.0 -
Thanks ever so much.
I will start trying out these solutions.
My elbows are bent... and I am usually fine until the 20+ mile mark... so I guess it's an accumulation of small knocks
Hopefully moving the breaks will work. The are a little horizontal - as in I'm squeezing them from a position of where they are starting from in front of the bike. So if I dip them, so they are more under the bike - that might cure this.
If that doesn't help I will try another fix... but I only ride once a week - so it may take me a while to get through to the culprit.
Thanks again0 -
I had similar problems with my wrists.
One thing that helps me a LOT is bar ends which I swap to for climbs. It means my wrists are never in one position for long.
0 -
It could just be that you're not suited to flat bars. I got a flat bar bike after riding only drop bars from the age of 9, early 40s by then. Caused me a lot of pain in elbows down to wrists.
My solution was an early form of gravel bike before they were called that. Problem went. Flat bars fix your hand and arm in very limited positions that IME aren't great. Drop bars at least give you different hand positions to give respite if needed. Solved my issue straight away.
PS bike theft gave me the easy opportunity to go back to drop bars. The tealeaf did me a favour.0 -
I got rid of some wrist pain by not only rotating the brake levers down a bit (they were too flat) but by moving them - and the shifters - inboard a bit too.0
-
I broke my wrist just over a year ago and now have slightly restricted movement. I am ok on drop bars but found the flat bars I had on the MTB painful. I tried my son's bike which had slightly upswept bars and that was much better. So a slightly different angle may help. But as mentioned many times, start by adjusting the positions of the levers.0
-
Bar ends do indeed give alternate positions for your hands and can provide relief. When I rode mostly on tarmac and towpaths I loved them. But as soon as I started going off road, they started snagging on bushes, brambles, and occasional fence wires!
After one too many involuntary dismounts, I got rid of them. Never went back. 
0
