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I'm just getting used to my bike, I got the smallest bike I could (50cm) as I am 5'2, I find there is too much pressure on my hands after a few minutes.they hurt and go numb..I already tilted the seat as far back as it goes which helped some, any other suggestions? Is it my posture?
mandi
Could be your core strength is lacking...I know mine certainly needs lots of improvement. The stronger your stomach/back, the less you need to rely on resting your weight on the handle bars, which would alleviate some numbness. One of these days, I'll listen to my nagging husband and focus more on that...until then I'll just continue to drive him nuts by ignoring him! :D
Steph
Try to thiink about putting more weight on your pedals.
Bend your elbows, straighten your wrists.
Make sure that you are relaxed in the shoulders and that you don't have a death-grip on the bars.
Don't worry, it gets easier :)
What does seat tilt have to do with hands?
I'd check stem length, and if you are on riser style handle bars ( as comapared to drop) check handle bar width and rise. Gel glove may help.
My experience is that it can be the staticness ( stationary) body position that causes numbness. To this day, if I road ride on my mountain bike, I go numb on the right side, but it never ever happens on the trail because of the dynamic nature of mountain biking.
Irulan
I used to get ALOT of hand numbness while road-riding on my mtn bike. In Fact, after one LONG ride, I had ulnar nerve palsy for a week - the numbness persisted b/c I had so irritated/compressed the nerve during the ride.
I now have a road bike and I find that the drop bars offer me numerous options for change of hand positions. I haven't had any major numbness w/ the drop bars. I also agree about core strength. As my abs and back get stronger I find that I can take more of the weight on my hips and on the pedals and don't have to lean so hard on the handlebars.
"What does seat tilt have to do with hands?"
I've recently learned that it does have something to do with it. I've been playing a little with my saddle, to avoid buying a new one. I found that when I tilted the nose down several degrees, my sensitive parts were much happier, but my upper body was not. I definitely feel more pressure on my hands, even feel it a bit in my neck and shoulders, which never bothered me before. So I'm going to tweak some more, and if I can't get the right balance, will spring for a new saddle.