Basic Question on cycling position

HereKitty

Hi Guys,
Relative novice to the world of cycling and rode my longest distance today 80km:D. Took me 4 hours, seemed to take forever:eek:. Anyway no soreness in the obvious places...except for my hands, all feeling virtually gone when I finished! Emmmm anyone experienced this before, obviously leaning on my wrists too much. Did raise the saddle last week and just wondering if I now need to take the bars up. (straight handlebars, not dropped). Thanking you!

Lumen

Are you using gloves?

Do you have bar ends?

Caroline_ie

Hi -
A lot of new cyclists tend to hold the bars too tight - try and get a little more relaxed, you don't need to squeeze them, just rest your hand on them, nice and easy.

And get a nice pair of gloves if your haven't already got some.

HereKitty

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies. Have gel gloves and yes have probably been gripping too hard...God only knows why!!! But no, I dont have bar ends. Can they be fitted to the existing or do I need to get a new set of handlebars. Thank You

Lumen

Something like this ought to do the trick. They just bolt on to your existing handlebars, easy peasy.

There are cheaper versions out there, like these.

HereKitty

Ok Lumen...I'm going to buy these, the review is good for the cheaper ones. Do you think they would be as effective as the more expensive and my bike is a Trek, so presumably they will fit without any problem, do you think?.

Lumen

HereKitty wrote: »

Ok Lumen...I'm going to buy these, the review is good for the cheaper ones. Do you think they would be as effective as the more expensive and my bike is a Trek, so presumably they will fit without any problem, do you think?.

It's been many years since I last used bar ends, but as I recall you just cut off the rubber ends of your handlebar grips (e.g. using Stanley knife), slide on the bars ends and tighten.

I have no experience of these specific products.

HereKitty

Thanks for the replies and advice

mikep

Wow..OP is was out cycling yesterday and something similar came to mind...I am wondering is there an ideal 'posture' while cycling.
The bike I have has been set up so the handlebars are slightly lower than the saddle..I think I need to raise the handlebars slightly..any thoughts??

Húrin

HereKitty wrote: »

Hi Guys,
Relative novice to the world of cycling and rode my longest distance today 80km:D. Took me 4 hours, seemed to take forever:eek:. Anyway no soreness in the obvious places...except for my hands, all feeling virtually gone when I finished! Emmmm anyone experienced this before, obviously leaning on my wrists too much. Did raise the saddle last week and just wondering if I now need to take the bars up. (straight handlebars, not dropped). Thanking you!

Well done. 4 hours is a very good time for a novice and 80km. Soreness in the hands is normal at the start. I found it to be particularly a problem with straight handlebars. There are a number of solutions: I got some ergonomic bar ends for mine. Alternatively, you could fix on bull-bar extensions to give you more hand positions. Otherwise you could get drop bars for a great variety of hand positions, though this would be more involved, technically.

I've never yet used gel cycling gloves. Do the members of this forum find that they make a lot of difference? Do your hands not get too hot in summer weather?

blorg

Húrin wrote: »

I've never yet used gel cycling gloves. Do the members of this forum find that they make a lot of difference? Do your hands not get too hot in summer weather?

Generally mitts are designed quite well with regard to cooling but to an extent, yes, your hands will get sweatier than without them in hot weather. I generally don't wear gloves at all in summer (excepting racing where they are to protect from crashes) but would certainly suggest them to others having hand problems. I wore them for several years but then noticed one day that my hero Raam did not wear them and ditched them promptly.

Lumen

mikep wrote: »

Wow..OP is was out cycling yesterday and something similar came to mind...I am wondering is there an ideal 'posture' while cycling.
The bike I have has been set up so the handlebars are slightly lower than the saddle..I think I need to raise the handlebars slightly..any thoughts??

The best posture is the one which is comfortable, powerful, and aerodynamic.

Unfortunately these requirements conflict with each other, so you have to choose a compromise appropriate to your goals and level of fitness.

As a rule, I think each part of your body should be operating well within it's range of motion, i.e. your back neither flat nor hunched, your arms a little bent, your shoulders held naturally, your knees a little bent at the end of the stroke, etc etc.

DirkVoodoo

Hopefully your position will evolve as you cycle and strengthen the required muscles and adapt to the bike position. I remember always having sore hands when I cycled first as my body weight was shifted forward onto the bars. Now I find my weight more evenly distributed and I put very little pressure on my hands at all.

It will come in time

HereKitty

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the advice and the encouragment Hurin. Bought myself bar extensions today, so will put those on for the weekend. Also went out this evening for a spin and paid attention to my position and exactly as you said Dirkvoodoo, realised I was leaning a lot on the bars, so need to get that sorted. Wish I'd started cycling a few years back but who knows I might even invest in a bike with dropped handlebars at some stage:)!!!

Húrin

HereKitty wrote: »

Wish I'd started cycling a few years back but who knows I might even invest in a bike with dropped handlebars at some stage:)!!!

Well if you decide you like drop bars you can just get a pair of them and replace your existing bar without having to get a whole new bike.

HereKitty

Good thinking Batman!!!:D

quietobserver

HereKitty wrote: »

Hi Guys,
Relative novice to the world of cycling and rode my longest distance today 80km:D. Took me 4 hours, seemed to take forever:eek:. Anyway no soreness in the obvious places...except for my hands, all feeling virtually gone when I finished! Emmmm anyone experienced this before, obviously leaning on my wrists too much. Did raise the saddle last week and just wondering if I now need to take the bars up. (straight handlebars, not dropped). Thanking you!

Havent read through all the posts so this might have already been said, but check your saddle. Get a spirit level and check that the saddle is positioned level, it it is tilted forward and the front it will have an unnecessary amount of your weight distributed onto your hands holding the bars. Its a common occurance with a tilted saddle.

HereKitty

Thanks for that. Will check the saddle and make sure that's level.