Hand pain, tried the usual, nothing helps. Can you?

I have hand pain. This has been a problem since I bought my rig last
year, and approx. 100 miles hasn't acclimated me to it. I'm a
newbie to road cycling. It's a real problem and I don't think I can
ride the 150-miler I have scheduled in June.

It is not tingly or numb pain. My carpal nerve is never irritated.
Rather, it feels like I'm being pushed from behind when I'm on any
part of my road handlebars. Too much weight?

On the brake hoods, the webs of my hands feel "jammed" toward me and my
thumb & forefinger feel split. In the drops it feels like I'm pushing
horizontal poles into a wall. On the straights (top part of the bars) I
get some relief, but not much. I can't stay in any position for more
than a mile. Two miles in one position has me shaking the pressure out
of my hands. When I move my butt back and hang off the rear of the
seat, I get some relief. Only constant spinning brings lasting relief.
I keep my elbows bent. I suppose my back could be more arched.

I have good gloves. Double-padding the bar helped a little but not
much. I used an online fit calculator and it seems my bike is within a
couple cm of the right dimensions.

My rig is a 1992 Schwinn Tempo I bought last year with less than 50
miles. The bars are standard non-ergo drops, narrower than modern ones,
but I have narrow shoulders. The stem is a Cinelli 1A expansion-style,
not quill. The brakes are original Shimano 150s with rubber hoods that
aren't as long as modern bikes, so I can barely wrap the first two
fingers underneath. I have clip pedals and a correct leg bend.

I've tried the usual remedies. Suggestions are appreciated. I wonder
if the top tube is too short? The fit calculators don't think so.
Maybe higher handlebars? They're currently level with the seat (I'm
a shorter guy, 5'8").

I've sunk enough money ($450) into just trying roading, to see if I
want to buy a serious bike and clothing in a year or so. I don't
think I can buy a new bike right now but don't want to sit out the
season.

Thanks to this awesome group. You've already convinced me to give
this sport a shot.

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:02:40 -0700, bryanska wrote:

When I move my butt back and hang off the rear of the seat, I get
some relief.

Check your saddle tilt, I think you're sliding forward and pushing on your
hands.

Just a guess.

Thanks for the response!

I'll try tilting it up tonight but am worried about taint pressure,
which already presents itself when I go into the drops.

However, I will give it a shot!

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 16:25:58 +0000, maxo wrote:

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 09:02:40 -0700, bryanska wrote:

When I move my butt back and hang off the rear of the seat, I get
some relief.

Check your saddle tilt, I think you're sliding forward and pushing on your
hands.

That would be my guess, too. The saddle should basically be horizontal.
What you describe makes me guess that yours is nose-down.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | When you are up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember
_`\(,_ | that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. -- LBJ
(_)/ (_) |

On 14 Apr 2005 09:31:58 -0700, bryanska wrote:

Thanks for the response!

I'll try tilting it up tonight but am worried about taint pressure,
which already presents itself when I go into the drops.

Another possible reason for placing too much weight on your
hands is having the saddle too far forwards. Some people new
to road bikes do this to reduce the reach to the bars to what
they're used to from more upright bikes.

--
bpo gallery at http://www4.tpgi.com.au/users/mvw1/bpo

Everyone,

I'm super grateful for all the excellent advice.

My saddle was horizontal to begin with, and the hoods were already
rotated toward me.

However, I had been moving my saddle back, and back some more over the
last few rides trying to fix this.

So today I moved the saddle way forward, and made BIG progress. Much
less weight on my hands. So it seems the weight issue is solved. There
is such a thing as too far back, as it felt my torso was hanging
forward as if I was on all fours.

Someone up there posted a fit guide that wasn't Sheldon Brown, and it
was the first of many fit articles that really worked for me.

Has anyone switched to nice ergo drops after having used traditional
round drops?

Postscript:
I did 22 miles, however, and noticed the shoddy construction of my
Specialized Body Gloves. The outboard palm pads have migrated around
their pockets and turned into little lumps. I'm not one to bitch about
equipment, but in this case I hafta say these gloves suck. Felt like
golf balls after a while.

On Thu, 14 Apr 2005 18:13:23 -0700, bryanska wrote:

Has anyone switched to nice ergo drops after having used traditional round
drops?

I've got some Ritchey Biomax that I replaced some traditional bends on the
single speed with.

The best thing about the ergos isn't the drop part--though I like the
secure "hook" feel for braking. The best thing is that the little "ramp"
right before the brake hood is relatively flat, not radically sloping down
to the brake hoods. I like to ride there and on regular bars I have to
grip tightly to keep from sliding down.

BTW, sounds like you just need a stem with less reach.

On 14 Apr 2005 18:13:23 -0700, "bryanska"
wrote:



Postscript:
I did 22 miles, however, and noticed the shoddy construction of my
Specialized Body Gloves. The outboard palm pads have migrated around
their pockets and turned into little lumps. I'm not one to bitch about
equipment, but in this case I hafta say these gloves suck. Felt like
golf balls after a while.

Hi, over the last two years, I have tried quite a few different
gloves. The only pair of Specialized, that I tried, I returned after
one ride. I think a stitch let go, but they weren't comfy either. If
they had been comfortable, I would have tried a second set. Overall, I
have found the various Pearl Izumi gloves, to be the best. The padding
won't last for ever, but I have gotten my monies worth. I particularly
like the White Lines and the Pittard Carbon. The Gel Lites are ok, but
the heel pad does seem to move after a while.

Another thing to consider, is the Specialized Bar Phat tape, that
comes with the gel packs. I have found that the packs last a long time
and after purchase of the whole kit, you can then just replace the
tape as needed.

But, the tape and gloves are finishing touches. You need to resolve
your seat and bar height, reach, and alignment.


Life is Good!
Jeff

bryanska wrote:

So today I moved the saddle way forward, and made BIG progress. Much
less weight on my hands. So it seems the weight issue is solved.
There
is such a thing as too far back, as it felt my torso was hanging
forward as if I was on all fours.

Yeah, there're 2 critical dimensions here, bar height and bar reach.
Since you said your bars were level with the seat, that should be OK in
height. Your benefit from moving the seat forward says that your fit
was bad on the reach dimension. I'm guessing that this bike may be a
little too big for you. Sheldon Brown's article on fit concludes that
toptube length is the critical fit dimension. Too big a bike will
result in too long a top tube. The fixes for this are either a short
reach stem and/or no-offset (or even reverse offset) seatpost (&
sliding saddle forward, as you've discovered). Moving your butt forward
changes weight distribution and hip angle a bit, shortening stem reach
changes steering response. Both of these are tolerable changes and not
too expensive. The result may not be ideal, but you should be able to
ride without pain. If you get a new bike you should probably pay close
attention to toptube length/fit.

Everyone, thanks again for the info.

Overall, the past year with my first adult road bike has been a shock.
I never anticipated so many issues with fit. I know I'll get flak for
this, but really: it's quite off-putting to a newcomer.

My BMX experiences as a kid were nothing like this, but then again I
imagine that's because I didn't care. But I rode a 1993 Trek 720 hybrid
to absolute death, and never had one single fit issue. Literally, I
hopped on the bike at age 14 and burned through components until I was
25. Never a handlebar adjustment, and never a thought of "fit" besides
toptube clearance. I guess I got lucky. I miss that bike. (Anyone in
MPLS have a 720 to sell?)

And I must have gotten used to it, because fixing all these fit
problems is a real pain in the ass, hands, back and neck

Anyways, you people are always a help. Someday I'll get there.