Pins & Needles

ABEasy

Hi all,

Went for a spin today, about 20km in I got pins & needles in my left hand. Right hand was fine. This has been happening for the past 3-4 spins but was fine before this, I haven't adjusted anything on the bike. Anybody experience something similar, what was causing it and how did you sort it?

Thanks

macnab

Fingerless gloves give me pins and needles so I wear full gloves. Gripping the bars too tight is also a possible cause. Try to move your hands around during your ride, alter your position.

Mycroft H

Have you drop bars or flats?

kincsem

My guess is flat bar hybrid bike.

smacl

I used to get this a bit, particularly before moving to drops. Keeping the elbows bent and hands relaxed tends to get rid of it, particularly descending over crappy surfaces where I used to have a tendency to hang on for dear life.

ABEasy

Op here again, have drops on the bike and wear fingerless gloves. I would move my hand positions regularly. Usually end up on the hoods or the bend on the upper bar.

Would moving the seat back reduce the pressure on my hands/arms and if so would it affect any thing else cos I'm quite comfortable on the bike apart from this!

smacl

Don't know about seat position, but if you're on 23mm tyres, moving to 25mm would add a bit of extra damping. FWIW, I've an older pair of fingerless gloves that I find good, and tried a pair of ALDIs recently which just aren't as comfy on the longer spins. Could be worth trying a few different pairs of gloves.

t'bear

I suffer from this a little, kicks in after about 70k, my logic tells me moving the seat back (even in small increments) would reduce the weight the hands support, but also the lower back might take a stretch (more aero position albeit a small amount) which (as I suspect in my case) is highlighting a lack of core strength

torydiver

t'bear wrote: »

I suffer from this a little, kicks in after about 70k, my logic tells me moving the seat back (even in small increments) would reduce the weight the hands support, but also the lower back might take a stretch (more aero position albeit a small amount) which (as I suspect in my case) is highlighting a lack of core strength

Agree with everything you stated above,
I find unless you are a svelte athletic build with good core strength a lot of getting comfortable on the bike is a bit of a compromise
e.g. as you have stated... moving the saddle back slightly to relieve some pressure on arms/hands could mean sacrificing some pedal power and placing a bit more strain on the lower back etc.......
I believe a lot of it is down to an individuals fitness,core strength and flexibility,
"Personally" I find some of Steve Hoggs articles on bike positioning work for me..... he advocates comfort and enjoyment on the bike(over a pure racing/aerodynamic position) which suits me as a non racing cyclist.....

route66

t'bear wrote: »

my logic tells me moving the seat back (even in small increments) would reduce the weight the hands support

Not the other way around: Moving the seat back = more inclined position = more weight on hands?

As in if you consider the extremes (theoretical):

• Seat so far forward that your torso is at right angles to the ground = Most weight on your bum
• Seat so far back that your torso is parallel to the gound = Most weight on your hands.

t'bear

So then my flexibility is completely missing, I stayed behind a bunch for about 15km on Saturday - these people were fast, I struggled to keep up but got to study positions and were in an more aero position than not and yet there didn't appear to be much shifting around with hands or upper body. I was dropped easily after that as they didnt appear to know whats hills and inclines were!!

route66

ABEasy wrote: »

Hi all,

Went for a spin today, about 20km in I got pins & needles in my left hand. Right hand was fine. This has been happening for the past 3-4 spins but was fine before this, I haven't adjusted anything on the bike. Anybody experience something similar, what was causing it and how did you sort it?

Thanks

There may be a simple answer. I sometimes find that fingerless gloves can "bunch up" and cause pins and needles. This was more of an issue on my Hybrid rather than my roadbike, but in any case the solution is simple - every so often, take each hand in turn off the bars and stretch your fingers out to stop this "bunching". Problem solved.

mel.b

Where in your hands is the pins & needles happening as this will give you clues also. I got pins & needles in my pinky finger and needed to rotate my wrist my outwards while on the hoods. In my left hand i got pins & needles in my index finger (is still a little numb actually) and i was actually pushing that hand up too hard against the hood (as i discovered when i got what felt like an eletric shock going down my fonger!)

kincsem

Is there gel in the gloves? You can get gel pieces that go under the handlebar tape for more comfort (you would need the gel inserts and new bar tape.)
Is the handlebar significantly below seat height? My bikes are about three/four inches. A big drop would imo put more weight on the hands.

ABEasy

Thanks for the suggestions all, the gloves are padded. I've noticed the gloves bunching up alright so will keep an eye on that. The seat position is about 1-2 inches higher than the bars. The pins & needles are in my whole hand, can't figure out why it's only in my left hand and not the right!

recedite

<snip>

Beasty

It's OK to discuss hand positions and gloves, but please do not attempt any medical diagnosis, or suggestions of potential underlying conditions/problems that may cause this. Boards rules do not permit this

Thanks

Beasty

smacl

ABEasy wrote: »

The pins & needles are in my whole hand, can't figure out why it's only in my left hand and not the right!

When you're braking, particularly feathering the brakes on steep descents, do you favour one hand over the other? I have the front brake set-up for my right hand, and tended to use it more than the left, which often left it feeling a bit stiffer. These days I try to use both which helps. I also changed to compact bars and moved the controls slightly to suit my preferred drop hand position. New brake pads also made the brakes more responsive and needing a far lighter touch.