Problem with numbness in hands

[kvlin94]

Hi Guys!

I am relatively new to cycling and I was hoping for some advice
I picked up a used bike that I've been riding, it is awesome but I think the stem may be too long

I get quite a bit of numbness in my hands when I am laid out, has anyone else experienced this? I have an experienced friend that says it might be related to the stem being too long but it's a really sweet carbon zipp stem and I'd be hesitant to part ways with it

[htwoopup]

It may be that your saddle is to far forward (which when you move it back might make the stem too long). It might be that your bars are too low or your saddle is tilted down too much or any one of a number of other things that is putting too much weight on your hands.

The first thing to do is make sure the saddle fore and aft is right. Here is a link to a simple way to get that set first. After that is set then you can adjust all of the other things like stem length and height etc.


http://kirkframeworks.com/2009/06/19/riding-tip-3/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by kvlin94

Hi Guys!

I am relatively new to cycling and I was hoping for some advice
I picked up a used bike that I've been riding, it is awesome but I think the stem may be too long

I get quite a bit of numbness in my hands when I am laid out, has anyone else experienced this? I have an experienced friend that says it might be related to the stem being too long but it's a really sweet carbon zipp stem and I'd be hesitant to part ways with it

Which part of your hand(s)? Is it right away or after a certain amount of time? Do you get the numbness in non-cycling life? Do you have a trainer and the ability to have someone take some side-angle pics of you on the bike?

[kvlin94]

Originally Posted by htwoopup

It may be that your saddle is to far forward (which when you move it back might make the stem too long). It might be that your bars are too low or your saddle is tilted down too much or any one of a number of other things that is putting too much weight on your hands.

The first thing to do is make sure the saddle fore and aft is right. Here is a link to a simple way to get that set first. After that is set then you can adjust all of the other things like stem length and height etc.


http://kirkframeworks.com/2009/06/19/riding-tip-3/


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I googled this and it's crazy how everything is contingent on each other, seems quite tough to diagnose

I have my saddle at the max distance away from the handle bars, that seemed to help a tiny bit, putting my hands further from the hoods and closer to my body helped a bit
I made the fore/aft neutral
I am also switching to a more flat saddle that should aid my more desired flat setup

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Which part of your hand(s)? Is it right away or after a certain amount of time? Do you get the numbness in non-cycling life? Do you have a trainer and the ability to have someone take some side-angle pics of you on the bike?

It starts from pinky up, eventually to the thumb
I have a feeling it's related to undue pressure on my wrists and maybe my shoulders
I fear I may have a bit of shoulder impingement from my previous competitive swimming life..
No trainer yet but I might be able to get a photo of me straight on, will update y'all

Thank you guys so much in advance for being so helpful!

[David Kirk]

Any chance you can post a photo of you on the bike (in profile from the side) with your hands on the bars in the place it bothers you most?

dave

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by kvlin94

It starts from pinky up, eventually to the thumb

I have a feeling it's related to undue pressure on my wrists and maybe my shoulders

I fear I may have a bit of shoulder impingement from my previous competitive swimming life..

No trainer yet but I might be able to get a photo of me straight on, will update y'all



Thank you guys so much in advance for being so helpful!

Pinky and ring finger are generally ulnar nerve impingement related and thumb and pointer finger are generally radial nerve impingement related..

The tough thing is that tightness and compression in any of the nerve channels from your neck to your fingers can be the source of the issue, and short of getting an electrical test of your nerves (can't remember the name of the procedure), trial and error on changing position and other variables is probably your best bet.

One thing I've found is that having my hands cocked down at all - think of shaking a hand and rotating your hand forward and down - causes all sorts of problems with hand numbness, so I have to have a very flat transition from the shoulders/ramps of my handlebars to the hoods of the levers. I've found that padded gloves can actually make this worse since they elevate the hand a bit when in that position and cause the rotation when braking from the hoods or just holding on to the bars.

I've also found that the shape of bars makes a huge difference. Flat carbon bars with a flat should and approach to the hoods are so much better for me than round bars that I will probably never go back to riding round.

These bars spark joy:





Lastly, don't assume that having your saddle further forward/back or having more/less stack will solve your issues. We are complex individuals with complex issues and what works for some may not work for others.

Also lastly, don't forget to pay attention to your activities off the bike. Smartphone and/or keyboard use, or other activities, can prime you for a flare-up on the bike.

[Likes2ridefar]

A few mm can make a significant difference.

I just got a new bike and spent a month dialing it in, and have a zillion miles of experience and have gone through many bikes and pro bike fits.

Saddle should typically be level to 1-2deg nose down. Use a level. Sliding the saddle back and forth is for fit not to accommodate your reach to handlebar.

Ideally dial in your saddle position ignoring the stem and reach to the bar.

Regarding the stem, a general way to get an idea on the proper length is while riding in your typical position and looking down past the handlebar to the front hub, the hub should ideally be not visible and hidden by the handlebar. If you are seeing it past the handlebar your stem may be too short, if the opposite then too long. Often you’ll see over a longer ride and conditioning is lacking you may start seeing the hub nicely in line but by the end it’s in front of the bar and you are uncomfortable.

Strengthen your core. That helps a lot. Always. I think yoga is a great way to get fit for the bike. I do 20-30 minutes every weekday as my break from WAH office.

[kvlin94]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Pinky and ring finger are generally ulnar nerve impingement related and thumb and pointer finger are generally radial nerve impingement related..

The tough thing is that tightness and compression in any of the nerve channels from your neck to your fingers can be the source of the issue, and short of getting an electrical test of your nerves (can't remember the name of the procedure), trial and error on changing position and other variables is probably your best bet.

One thing I've found is that having my hands cocked down at all - think of shaking a hand and rotating your hand forward and down - causes all sorts of problems with hand numbness, so I have to have a very flat transition from the shoulders/ramps of my handlebars to the hoods of the levers. I've found that padded gloves can actually make this worse since they elevate the hand a bit when in that position and cause the rotation when braking from the hoods or just holding on to the bars.

I've also found that the shape of bars makes a huge difference. Flat carbon bars with a flat should and approach to the hoods are so much better for me than round bars that I will probably never go back to riding round.

These bars spark joy:





Lastly, don't assume that having your saddle further forward/back or having more/less stack will solve your issues. We are complex individuals with complex issues and what works for some may not work for others.

Also lastly, don't forget to pay attention to your activities off the bike. Smartphone and/or keyboard use, or other activities, can prime you for a flare-up on the bike.

Thank you so much for the valuable feedback, I think you were spot on with the cocked wrist position
I started putting my hands on top of the hoods in a more neutral position, not cocked and it's done wonders!

May have to look at one of those more flat transition bars that you mentioned to see if it can rid of my problem once and for all!

[Dead Man]

Someone put it to me like this, once upon a time - if your hands are numb, youve got too much weight on em. Gotta get that weight on your feet. One does this via saddle position, as everyones brought up - usually fore-aft.

Thinking about it like that has always been helpful for me in getting the whole of my ride position right.. hands are just for braking and shifting- you should be able to take your hands off the bars in any position on the saddle while pedaling

Just my thoughts and experience

[Penguin]

I am an older rider. I have had numbness in my hands for many years. It usually starts after I have been riding for an hour. It happens whether I'm riding a road bike with drop bars or a mountain bike with flat bars.

I have been diagnosed as having carpal tunnel syndrome. Other than the numbness while riding, I am asymptomatic.

I would suggest you ask your primary care provider to refer you for an EMG. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you will know before you finish the visit.

Good luck. I hope this information helps.

[glenfong]

What works for me:

always wear padded cycling gloves (gel padding seems the best)
change hand position often to relieve pressure points
use padded handlebar tape ( yours look fine, I prefer Cinelli cork ribbon)

best of luck!

[robt57]

Google how to measure saddle setback with a level or fashion a plum bob. EVERYTHING is set from saddle setback pretty much.

As above, my first thought was you saddle is not back far enogh of the BB center..

[kvlin94]

Just to update everyone
I've done quite a bit of research on this
And I have come to the conclusion I need to work on my core strength so I do not have so much "arm forward" pressure on the handlebars
I am sure there are some things that can do to help out especially on long rides, adding gloves to my kit, changing arm positions once in a while

It's still a work in progress but it seems the stronger rider I've become, the less obvious and longer periods I can do without the numbness!

[robt57]

You said the stem may be too long, you did not say how much reach your bars have.

I have one bike with 93mm reach bars with a 100mm stem, and another with 80mm reach bars with a 115mm stem. Same reach overall [2mm]

If you are moving your saddle forward for too long a cockpit/reach, your setback become low to the point you have to support your upper body more with.. well... your upper body.

If your core strength was superb, and this task easier.. you would still be using muscles/energy to balance in un-needed posture. Find a neutral balance point, start with saddle setback and set reach accordingly. Be it shorter stem or shorter reach bars [or longer if that was the case].

Think about putting your back to a wall and bending down to touch your toes. If you are a man, you will fall forward most probably. Your butt needs to go back to balance, the wall does not allow, you fall forward. [more for a man than a gal]

See how far away from the wall you have to start to not fall forward. With too little set back you are using your arms and hands to not fall forward. Bumps and jolts add G forces to that extra. So if you need even 10 lb extra JRA, a 3 G jolt is going to wear you down and numb you out fast...

[Turkle]

A while ago, I picked up a tip from a cycling video: when riding long distances, you really want to be careful about your hand position so you're not putting weight on a nerve. I have bad carpal tunnel and some other issues so I have to be careful about it.

I support myself with the meat of the hand below my pinky finger and then with the inside of the thumb. It's hard to describe but it's easy if you try.



I've found that this is a great hand position to eliminate any nerve / joint issues over long rides. It also helps me get my elbows in closer to my body for a better position on the bike.

And as others have mentioned, moving my saddle further back did wonders for getting the weight off my arms!

Good luck!