Hood Cushioning?

[krisgoss]

Hi guys,
I ride a Giant Defy 4 (2010) for fitness on weeknights and weekends, but just cant seem to get comfy on it.
Most of the time, I ride on the hoods, but it makes my hand hurt a bit! Really starting to annoy me now. This is the part of my hand that hurts:

note that I wear these gloves out on rides: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=19027

But no gloves seem to have any padding on the part in question. Is there anything I can do to cushion that part of the hood without affecting brake lever?

Pic of my saddle/handlebar set up fyi:

Thanks for any help/advice!

 

[martint235]

The hoods should really be an extension of the top of the handlebar whereas yours are pointing upwards. I'm guessing your weight when you're riding is forcing your hand into the back of the hood hence the pain. This pic will give you an idea of what I mean but even here it's not perfect as I'd only just got the bike and hadn't really set it up properly.

 

[krisgoss]

What martin says makes sense, but I am a bit worried about resting on my wrist funny then! Road Bikes are confusing when it comes to stuff like this!

I grip them Paul, a bit like this usually:

Resting on the top by the indicator window could be a breakthrough!

Will tilt bars forward slightly and try resting hands on the very top! Great stuff!
Thanks guys!

 

[cyberknight]

I concur with what has been said about wrist angle, i used to suffer the same till i saw this picture showing the correct hand position...
http://bikedynamics.co.uk/guidelines.htm

 

[krisgoss]

Thanks for the help guys!
After doing a bit of reading, I think I need to shorten the stem slightly to get that angle on the wrists, which would help with the putting to much pressure on my hands issue too.
So what am I looking for in a stem please?

 

[MacB]

I'd be a little cautious about tinkering with the bars straight away and especially assuming that shorter will always help. I made the mistake of working backwards from the bars and it cost me a few bob on stems and what not. I'd check your saddle height and setback first, measured from the centre of the bottom bracket. You could spend the dosh on a pro fitting but I found this site worked well:-

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO&INTRO_LINK=NOREDIR

best to get some help with the measuring and to do them several times and take the averages. But you get the results as a little table of 3 fit options. It won't give you a perfect fit unless you're really lucky but it will be close enough that a couple of rides with the allen keys ready can sort out. Once your saddle is pretty close you should find that the distances the table gives to the bars are pretty good. Having the bars too close and high can mean you are constantly pushing back with your hands which could cause the discomfort you feel.

It may be that you do need a shorter stem but I'd make sure the saddle was sorted first.

 

[zizou]

The photo maybe gives the wrong impression but you could be gripping the bars a bit tight. Try and relax, particularly your thumb and it may help. Also try and vary your position on the bars every so often, give the fingers a wiggle about etc.

 

[billy1561]

I suffer with pins and needles if I don't swop my position often. If I'm on a fair distance I find a couple of pain killers work well.

 

[chewy]

Thanks for the help guys!
After doing a bit of reading, I think I need to shorten the stem slightly to get that angle on the wrists, which would help with the putting to much pressure on my hands issue too.
So what am I looking for in a stem please?

I have Defy 3 and have already fitted a shorter 90mm stem with a 17degree rise, and that stopped alot o neck ache, but do still find a bit of hand pain like the OP has. think i'm leaning forward too much, so have ordered an 80mm/35degree stem that was suggested to me by a fellow Cycle Chatter!

 

[cyberknight]

I'd be a little cautious about tinkering with the bars straight away and especially assuming that shorter will always help. I made the mistake of working backwards from the bars and it cost me a few bob on stems and what not. I'd check your saddle height and setback first, measured from the centre of the bottom bracket. You could spend the dosh on a pro fitting but I found this site worked well:-

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=FIT_CALCULATOR_INTRO&INTRO_LINK=NOREDIR

best to get some help with the measuring and to do them several times and take the averages. But you get the results as a little table of 3 fit options. It won't give you a perfect fit unless you're really lucky but it will be close enough that a couple of rides with the allen keys ready can sort out. Once your saddle is pretty close you should find that the distances the table gives to the bars are pretty good. Having the bars too close and high can mean you are constantly pushing back with your hands which could cause the discomfort you feel.

It may be that you do need a shorter stem but I'd make sure the saddle was sorted first.

Its a good site although the fit still tend to be on the aggressive side , the saddle heightd recommended by them would have given me a too high saddle by about 5 mm on the lowest setting .