help -- pains in left hand and foot

jameverywhere

Whenever I cycle 20km or further, I have pain in the side of my left hand (not the fingers, the fleshy pad on the outside edge), and my left pinky toe falls asleep.

I have good padded cycling gloves from pearl izumi and I have clipless cycling shoes which are super comfy on my right foot, and mostly comfy on the left. But the pinky toe falls asleep in those shoes or in my work flats so I don't think it's the shoes doing it. (I also have trouble with that toe falling asleep when I'm skiiing in ski boots. maybe my foot just sucks)

I'm getting a new saddle soon so I'll get the saddle height adjusted and stuff. Hopefully that will help my foot?

I have upright/north road handlebars on my bike, since originally it was just for work commute--then I realised I frikkin love cycling. Can that type of handlebar cause hand pain/ulnar nerve problems? should I switch out for drops or T-bars? I want to cycle the wicklow 100 and start touring, and I'm afraid of the hand pain growing unbearable after a certain distance.

the hand pain worries me the most because it is *pain* -- toe falling asleep is uncomfortable, but not miserable.

anyone have advice? I'm taking my bike into the shop on monday. I can get them to swap handlebars while I'm there if that's what I need. But I'm afraid that drops wouldn't work on my hybrid; doesn't have the geometry for it, so it might give me neck pain if I went that route...

smacl

Very important not to lock your elbows when you're cycling, as they provide natural suspension when your going over rough surfaces. If you're elbows are locked, this shock is transmitted to your hands and upper body. Try keeping your elbows bent all the time, and your hands will take less punishment. The toe thing is pretty common I reckon, slighly looser shoes or small change to cleat position might help.

Could be worth having a more experienced cyclist look at your cycling posture and set-up.

petethedrummer

Converting to drops is expensive. You could try something like these Ergo Bar ends.

triggermortis

nice bike pete - I love cannondale lefties

jameverywhere

I have the kind of handlebars where they sweep back a little; they keep you more upright and aren't T-shaped like that

would those things still fit on 'em, like?

also, my shoes are the right size, tho... and my work flats are really loose on me but still same problem... idk. my foot can just rot. so much trouble it gives me.

petethedrummer

triggermortis wrote: »

nice bike pete - I love cannondale lefties

It's not my bike. Just a pic I linked to.

monkeypants

The toe thing could be completely unrelated to cycling. The outside of my left smallest toe is numb pretty much all the time and I have a rugby ball shaped numb patch on the outside of my left thigh that grows slightly as my fitness level drops. There's no pain or anything and a visit to the doctor only suggested expensive tests in a hospital, which in true man fashion, I didn't feel were warranted at the time.

That was seven years ago and all parts are still attached.

seamus

The toe numbness I would be inclined to blame on a gait/posture issue, that you're naturally walking/pushing more on the blade of your foot than the ball. A physio may be able to look at it and prescribe some kind of special in-soles to correct it.

Might work out at €100 or more, but it would fix the issue.

Not sure what you can do about the bars. The type of bars you describe typically come on the more dutch style or pashley bikes. Aside from how odd straight bars may look on one of them, the geometry may not support it and you could just end up adding back and neck problems to the mix.

What make of bike do you have at the moment or can you post pics?

My gut here is that you should look at buying a more suitable bike for the 20km+ spins and keeping your current commuter as-is.

rp

jameverywhere wrote: »

I have the kind of handlebars where they sweep back a little; they keep you more upright and aren't T-shaped like that

would those things still fit on 'em, like?

Yeah, I fitted them to my wife's bike, which has Thorn ergo bars:

She finds them very comfortable...

jameverywhere

these are the only pictures I have:



and the handlebars




when I first bought the bike they asked if I wanted T bars or drops, I said T bars but I tho't it would be like MTB bars, not like this. I'm thinking of saying exactly that when I bring it in to Rothar today and see if they can put MTB handlebars on it.



it's just a hybrid frame, if I swap parts out I can take it on the wicklow 100. Already put a triple gear ring on it; getting a new saddle that fits my arse properly; will think about the wheels as well at a later date. I can't afford a new bike at this time, I'm saving up for a good touring bike when I move back to the US in september; I can't drop a lot of money on a bike in Ireland; don't have room for two and it would be silly to try and ship a bike home to the states when it would be cheaper to begin with over there plus no shipping costs.

I don't care about weight atm. I want to do serious touring, training on a heavier bike is fine by me.