#11
|
|||
|
|||
Dan Daniel wrote:
On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 15:10:50 -0600, Paul Cassel wrote: Dan Daniel wrote: On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 10:50:23 -0600, Paul Cassel wrote: On another note, I do have carpal which I've treated with splints to the best outcome w/o surgery. I can't afford the surgery (no insurance) so I'm stuck with this. I'm guessing the numb hands are related to my carpal syndrome. Has anybody any ideas (other than switching positions regularly) to relieve this numbness? TIA. -Paul Be sure that the saddle is not tilted forward at all. If it is tilted, you will be constantly supporting weight on the hands. Another way to reduce the hand pressure is to raise the bars, but if the saddle is tilting forward you will still have the problem. I'm unsure. I'll check. You think pressure on hands causes the numbness? Oh, I know it can. I've had numbness that went away after tilting the saddle back a bit. It's not the only cause but it's a good starting point. I figured it was the angle of my hand to wrist causing a nerve pinch. That can be a problem, especially if you have some carpal tunnel problems already. Have you tried rotating the brake levers to different positions? In general, I think that people's tendency is to have the brake levers point too far forward. I like them pointing down, maybe 30 degrees off perpindicular to the ground? Take the proper wrench and ride around a bit and play with the angle. Thanks. I'll try gloves and on my bike rotating the brake levers. The road bike has drops so the issue isn't there, but the numbness is. -paul |
Ads |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Dan Daniel wrote:
On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 15:10:50 -0600, Paul Cassel wrote: Dan Daniel wrote: On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 10:50:23 -0600, Paul Cassel wrote: On another note, I do have carpal which I've treated with splints to the best outcome w/o surgery. I can't afford the surgery (no insurance) so I'm stuck with this. I'm guessing the numb hands are related to my carpal syndrome. Has anybody any ideas (other than switching positions regularly) to relieve this numbness? TIA. -Paul Be sure that the saddle is not tilted forward at all. If it is tilted, you will be constantly supporting weight on the hands. Another way to reduce the hand pressure is to raise the bars, but if the saddle is tilting forward you will still have the problem. I'm unsure. I'll check. You think pressure on hands causes the numbness? Oh, I know it can. I've had numbness that went away after tilting the saddle back a bit. It's not the only cause but it's a good starting point. It's definitely a factor. Didn't Badger mention not long ago that he adjusted his saddle tilt back just a touch, and his wrist pain went away? There's another example for you. I'm having some fit issues with my new bike myself -- did a 30 mile ride on Monday, and here it's Wednesday and the bases of the palms of my hands are still tingling. My saddle is absolutely level, so that's not the issue. I'm thinking maybe I'm just not adjusting to the more laid out position on my sport road, after not having a road bike for 30 years, because by the book everything is adjusted where it should be. -km -- the black rose proud to be owned by a yorkie http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 18:03:24 GMT, the black rose
wrote: It's definitely a factor. Didn't Badger mention not long ago that he adjusted his saddle tilt back just a touch, and his wrist pain went away? There's another example for you. I'm having some fit issues with my new bike myself -- did a 30 mile ride on Monday, and here it's Wednesday and the bases of the palms of my hands are still tingling. My saddle is absolutely level, so that's not the issue. I'm thinking maybe I'm just not adjusting to the more laid out position on my sport road, after not having a road bike for 30 years, because by the book everything is adjusted where it should be. -km Yes that solved the problem mostly, but I still get some of the numbness at times. A simple flexing of the arm, and shaking the hand out and it decreases. I have a feeling my H/B are still too low, but have been trying to adapt. I probably would do well to flip the stem, which would raise the H/B another 1/2", it appears. Are you able to ride OK without hands? That can be an indicator of the best saddle position, imo. IOW, even though the saddle is level using a carpenter's level, in conjunction with your anatomic sit position, it might be tilting you one way or another. How radical is the difference between the seat height and the handlebars? My pet theory is that if you start with the handlebars higher than usual, and the symptoms go away, then you can incrementally lower it in stages and see if the problem recurs. Then you go back a click and you're there. -B |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
the black rose wrote:
It's definitely a factor. Didn't Badger mention not long ago that he adjusted his saddle tilt back just a touch, and his wrist pain went away? There's another example for you. I'm having some fit issues with my new bike myself -- did a 30 mile ride on Monday, and here it's Wednesday and the bases of the palms of my hands are still tingling. I can't speak to fitment, but I know that having tingling for that long must be quite damaging in the long run if that continues. This carpal, which started for me with just such tingling (not from bikes) is terrible. I sometimes drop things just because I lose my grip sensiblity. I strongly suggest you take such long term tingling / numbness seriously and address it. I wouldn't wish this carpal condition on anybody (well, few folks maybe). -paul |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Badger_South wrote:
On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 18:03:24 GMT, the black rose wrote: --snip-- I'm having some fit issues with my new bike myself -- did a 30 mile ride on Monday, and here it's Wednesday and the bases of the palms of my hands are still tingling. My saddle is absolutely level, so that's not the issue. I'm thinking maybe I'm just not adjusting to the more laid out position on my sport road, after not having a road bike for 30 years, because by the book everything is adjusted where it should be. -km --snip-- Are you able to ride OK without hands? That can be an indicator of the best saddle position, imo. IOW, even though the saddle is level using a carpenter's level, in conjunction with your anatomic sit position, it might be tilting you one way or another. Hmm, I have no idea how to evaluate that. As a female, I am *highly* reluctant to tilt the saddle nose up. The idea makes me cringe. I noodled around with the fore-aft position of the saddle and ended up inadvertantly tilting it down and got more pressure on my hands. LBS leveled it back for me (before the 30 mile ride -- which, by the way, is my longest ride so far this summer since getting on the bike again). And nope, I can't ride without hands, never been able to. I wish I could, but at my age, I have no idea how to learn. How radical is the difference between the seat height and the handlebars? It's not. They're close to level with each other, and I'm positive the difference is less than an inch. I should go out and look, really, but there's a whole lot of heavy rain falling between my cozy house and my detached garage right now. (Remnants of Frances dripping on us -- as if we need even MORE rain than we've already gotten this summer, argh.) I know that raising the stem will usually bring the handlebar a bit closer to the saddle, depending on the head tube angle. My bike has one of those ding-dangled adjustable stems (already adjusted all the way up and back), so I have NO clue how to adjust it further. Eh, okay, I waded out there. The top of the handlebar is 1 cm higher than the top of the saddle. I took a look at the stem and decided I still don't have a clue how to make further adjustments. I'll have to ask the guys at the bike shop. My pet theory is that if you start with the handlebars higher than usual, and the symptoms go away, then you can incrementally lower it in stages and see if the problem recurs. Then you go back a click and you're there. I may have to switch to a more standard stem to test that theory, which is probably worth pursuing. It would have the side effect of making my bike a bit lighter, too, since the adjustable stem is a good bit heavier than the stem Cannondale puts on its other road bikes. -km -- the black rose proud to be owned by a yorkie http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
How radical is the difference between the seat height and the handlebars? My pet theory is that if you start with the handlebars higher than usual, and the symptoms go away, then you can incrementally lower it in stages and see if the problem recurs. Then you go back a click and you're there. -Ba A couple of other ideas. I ride with really low handle bars compared to the seat. I am very flexible in the lower back and find this position to be comfortable and aerodynamic as well. And I don't have a problem with numb hands. So, I think there are a couple of other variables to look at. First, are you able to ride with a slight flex at the elbow? The flex is in effect a shock absorber. Most of the folks that I have seen ride who complain of hand problems apper to me to have locked elbows. I believe that this causes lots of unnecessary stress in the entire upper body. Second, and this is a bit hard to improve in the short run, what is your core strength? Even though I ride in a very low position I have good core strength and in fact am not just letting all my upper body wieght just lay on my hands. Especially on rough road sections, bumps, etc I am holding lots of the weight by my core muscles and not having all that add to the shock on the hands/arms. I'm not arguing against proper bike fit, and if a change in saddle position or another simple change fixes the problem you are all set. But I find that often sports injuries are related to deficiencies in overall fitness/strength. |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
On Wed, 08 Sep 2004 21:37:36 GMT, the black rose
wrote: --snip-- I'm having some fit issues with my new bike myself -- did a 30 mile ride on Monday, and here it's Wednesday and the bases of the palms of my hands are still tingling. My saddle is absolutely level, so that's not the issue. I'm thinking maybe I'm just not adjusting to the more laid out position on my sport road, after not having a road bike for 30 years, because by the book everything is adjusted where it should be. -km Hi, not long after I got my LeMond, I did a longer ride than I was used to. I had numbing problems, that took a long time to go away. I found that besides the saddle angle and bar height, that it was how I was resting my hands on the bars. I ride on the hoods a lot and what I was doing, was putting all my weight on the heels of my hands. Obviously, now anyway, that is a bad thing to do. I try to grip the hoods from the sides, keeping my palms off the bars, as much as possible. It is not perfect, but it helps. I'm still experimenting with gloves too. I'm finding that light padding like the Pearl Izumi White Lines are better than those with thick padding. I tried the Ironman Elites and returned them after one ride. It didn't hurt the arguement for return, when a seam split, during that first ride. I am now also using Specialized Bar Phat which has gel pads under the tape. That may be why lightly padded gloves are working better, for me. Life is Good! Jeff |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Wed, 08 Sep 2004 23:25:29 -0500,
, Jeff Starr wrote: I am now also using Specialized Bar Phat which has gel pads under the tape. That may be why lightly padded gloves are working better, for me. The larger diameter of the bar is probably as significant as whether it's taped with foam or gel. Seams inside the gloves deserve attention when looking for comfortable gloves. -- zk |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Wed, 08 Sep 2004 21:37:36 GMT,
, the black rose wrote: And nope, I can't ride without hands, never been able to. I wish I could, but at my age, I have no idea how to learn. Steer with your root chakra. -- zk |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Wed, 08 Sep 2004 18:03:24 GMT,
, the black rose wrote: I'm thinking maybe I'm just not adjusting to the more laid out position on my sport road, after not having a road bike for 30 years, because by the book everything is adjusted where it should be. Cold weather accentuates the problem. There is a period of adjustment. Your hands will "harden" somewhat as you ride more. Numbness in the ring finger and pinky are bad signs. My hands suffered permanent nerve damage during my hiatus. For the first six months after I returned to cycling they caused me more discomfort than they do now. .. . . well, except for the lingering effects of a sprained right wrist and thumb 9 weeks ago. -- zk |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Training question | Franck Mangin | Racing | 2 | April 7th 04 05:50 AM |
Question on use of Yakima BigHorn 4 Bike Rack trailer hitch. Easy question. Thanks, tryitoz | Joe Donaldson | General | 4 | March 14th 04 02:08 AM |
Newbie USCF question | Kurgan Gringioni | Racing | 39 | September 15th 03 06:25 AM |
Question for group | Thomas Mairs | Racing | 18 | July 25th 03 06:36 AM |
Sorry, another stem question | Techniques | 1 | July 10th 03 01:18 AM |