Sore hands

[Andy_R]

Just been out on the tourer that I've been building, and my hands are really sore. The bit that hurts is the V formed by my thumb and first finger and its on the back of the hand, not the palm. My guessing is that I've been putting too much weight on my hands (on the hoods on drop bars). How can I rectify this?

 

[DougieAB]

I find my hands getting sore now that I am either on the road bike or the CX which is my new commuter. The old one had flat bars and rubber grips. I am looking for gloves with plenty of pading on the palms and thinking more about my grip as I think I tend to grip the bars too tightly.

 

[festival]

Any or combination of,
Adjust the bars upwards a bit to angle the hoods closer to you.
Or loosen the brake levers and move them up while leaving the bars as is, might be able to do this with out un wrapping the tape.
Stem too long, try shorter one?
Move saddle forward?
Stretch before you start and try to relax arms, shoulders and hands as you ride
Better mitts.

 

[PpPete]

Width of bars can also be a factor. Why I'm not sure, but certainly the case for me. My tourer has old fashioned "randonneur" bars which are quite wide at the drops but narrower at the hoods. Get numb hands much quicker on that than with the modern "anatomic" bars which are still wide at the hoods, and that's despite the anatomics being set much lower, and having less gel under the tape.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

All the above, plus I have my own theory.

I use down tube shifters, but ride almost exclusively with riders who use STi/Ergo and notice that I move around on the bars much more than they do.

Using DTS is pretty much the same from whichever position you have on the bars (especially as I move both shifters with my right hand); but try moving one hand to the STi/Ergo while the other remains on the tops or at the back of the drops and it will feel most unbalanced, pulling the bars off centre.

In effect, the advent of STi/Ergo has made riding in one position the default, which removes one of the great benefits of drops: the stress relieving variety of hand positions.

Make an effort to move your hands around the bars or at least remember to flex and stretch them from time to time.

 

[Andy_R]

Width of bars can also be a factor. Why I'm not sure, but certainly the case for me. My tourer has old fashioned "randonneur" bars which are quite wide at the drops but narrower at the hoods. Get numb hands much quicker on that than with the modern "anatomic" bars which are still wide at the hoods, and that's despite the anatomics being set much lower, and having less gel under the tape.

Ahh......I got ranonneurs on mine....maybe a swap over to anatomicals may help.

All the above, plus I have my own theory.

I use down tube shifters, but ride almost exclusively with riders who use STi/Ergo and notice that I move around on the bars much more than they do.

Using DTS is pretty much the same from whichever position you have on the bars (especially as I move both shifters with my right hand); but try moving one hand to the STi/Ergo while the other remains on the tops or at the back of the drops and it will feel most unbalanced, pulling the bars off centre.

In effect, the advent of STi/Ergo has made riding in one position the default, which removes one of the great benefits of drops: the stress relieving variety of hand positions.

Make an effort to move your hands around the bars or at least remember to flex and stretch them from time to time.

I don't think that's an issue as I use bar end shifters, but I may be wrong. Hmm.....

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

...I don't think that's an issue as I use bar end shifters, but I may be wrong. Hmm.....

Like it says on the left "I'm no expert..."!

 

[PpPete]

Long time since I used DTs on a bike that is properly set up for me (the tandem still has them but that position is very much a compromise due to small frame size for smaller stokers)

But I tend to agree with Scilly's theory about less hand movement with integrated shifters ... it's always my left hand that suffers most, and I spend long hours never changing from the middle ring of the triple, whereas I'm up and down through the cassette like the proverbial fiddler's elbow. In my case it's Ergos rather than STi too - more comfortable on the hoods/less easy to change from the drops.

 

[DougieAB]

New mitts today from Chain Reaction, recommended for their padding so will see what difference they make.

 

[Rhys Williams]

I'm sure the new gloves will help

The other thing to consider is to improve your core stability & posture so that your body is supporting it's own weight and your not carrying it on your hands.
I used to get pain in my wrists and shoulders riding with my arms doing too much work, when I relaxed my arms and essentially dropped my elbows I noticed that my lower back and abs were working harder but the pain in my hands & shoulders went away.
Also as many have already said I would make a conscious effort to change my hand position every so often.