numb fingers

bonzie1

Hi i need help. I got a new road bike a few weeks ago, I also got fitted. but my fingers are going numb. even after a short time. any advice.

blorg

Any idea whether it is pressure related or temperature? I have dodgy circulation in my hands and can get numb fingers on the bike or indeed just anyway. Does it cause any problems?

bonzie1

Cheers. No just my fingers. when i took off my gloves it was'nt as bad but still there.I did 45miles this evening an most of the time my fingers were numb. I have to keep taking my hands off the bars. Never thought about temp.

rottenhat

bonzie1 wrote: »

when i took off my gloves it was'nt as bad but still there.

That would make me wonder if the gloves were causing it - sometimes they can press on a nerve and casue numbess that way. Try going out without the gloves at all and see if it still happens.

Caroline_ie

i get that at times. it's to do with your nerves. I have carbon bars that absorb shocks better than alu bars, and gel under the handle bar tape. i also have to moves position around the bars ever few minutes, or when it suddently gets 'numb'. i used to hold the bars too tight as well, a lot of beginners tend to, which is not good either ...

have a read throught this article.

bonzie1

Thanks.IL try everything an anything. il trying changing gloves. and i didn't know about gel tape, thats sounds like a good idea.cheers.:)

Caroline_ie

bonzie1 wrote: »

Thanks.IL try everything an anything. il trying changing gloves. and i didn't know about gel tape, thats sounds like a good idea.cheers.:)

I use this tape with the gel and have a look at these bars, they are great as they have a flat bit that's better for your wrist and hand position. These are pricey but you see what I mean, that's the shape that i am on about. I also have bullhorn bars with a flat bit on my fixie, It makes a huge difference.

And make sure there is lots of padding in your gloves.

bonzie1

Thanks for the link. very interesting.

bonzie1

MY new bike is carbon but dont know about the bars.That gel tape sounds great. and I will get a good pair of gloves.

rottenhat

Caroline_ie wrote: »

And make sure there is lots of padding in your gloves.

There doesn't have to be a lot of padding necessarily - just that the padding has to be right for you. If the gloves are pressing on a nerve, you just need to find some that don't.

I ride with cloth tape on aluminium bars and the gloves I have at the moment have at most a couple of millimetres of padding. I hate having a big, spongy handlebar. It's all horses for courses.

Caroline_ie

the occupational therapist wanted me to use insulation foam thing on my handle bars ...:pac:

blorg

Lots of padding in the glove is not necessarily a great idea, it can put additional pressure where it has a negative effect. Modest amounts of the "right" padding is more to the point. Again it is a very personal thing though. I stopped wearing gloves myself entirely after I noticed that Raam (my hero) doesn't wear them. Ended up far happier this way. Wear them racing in case of crashes. And when it is cold obviously. So I sort of wear gloves most of the time but they will be coming off in the "summer" if it ever arrives.

Lumen

Padding (gloves or bar) is possibly just dealing with symptoms, not causes.

If you're uncomfortable on the bike then the fitting wasn't very good.

You might have too much weight on your hands, or the posture of your hands might be wrong (wrist angles), or the contact points might be wrong (e.g. minimum bend radius in the drops too small for your hands).

I'd see someone who knows what they're talking about before you cause any long term injury or spend money on parts changes attempting to find the cause by trial and error.

bonzie1

Thanks for all the replies. Im going back to the shop next week IL have a good chat with them and hopefully get sorted

bonzie1

Hi I had a problem with my fingers going numb while on the bike. I got a lot of good advice from replies. Thanks for that. I was starting to go down the trial and error road to see what would work. I started with the gloves and wow it worked straight away. Bought a new pair bbb threw away the aldi ones, what a differance:) I was six hours on the bike on sunday and no numbness, well not in my fingers. so a happy ending.

MB Lacey

bonzie1 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Im going back to the shop next week IL have a good chat with them and hopefully get sorted

which shop did you go to for your fitting?

I get the same numbness in my left hand and I was thinking of going to get a fitting for my bike - so everything is in the right place/height etc for my body shape - because at the moment I feel like I'm riding a bike which doesn't 'fit' me.
I also get huge pains across my shoulders.

Lumen

MB Lacey wrote: »

I get the same numbness in my left hand and I was thinking of going to get a fitting for my bike - so everything is in the right place/height etc for my body shape - because at the moment I feel like I'm riding a bike which doesn't 'fit' me.
I also get huge pains across my shoulders.

Assuming there's nothing wrong with your shoulders, upper back or neck, you might want to try:

- Level saddle
- Ride with arms slightly bent, not locked.
- Move saddle back to take weight off arms (lower saddle to compensate, make sure you are not overreaching, consider flipping the stem).
- Make sure you are not hyperextending your neck, i.e. can still look up a few degrees from the horizontal from your normal bike position.
- Stretch, stretch, stretch.

Amateur advice, YMMV, don't sue me.

MB Lacey

Thanks Lumen.
I feel that I've tried to do my own adjustments several times and I still get pain after an hour's cycling.
I'd like to take it in to someone who will know straight away why I'm getting the pains I'm getting and advise corrective measures.