Hand position question

Yesterday I took my new spiffy 7.6 FX to a local church parking lot for another practice session. While the lot wasn't very wide, it was long enough for me to practice circuits around the lot - so I went around and around and... you got the idea. Over all I was pleased with how things went - starting/stopping was much easier and I felt like I had the bike under control. My body seems to be getting the idea ;)

My bike wasn't wobbly, and I was even able to pick up a little speed! Ok, perhaps it might be a little early for that but it was fun. Shifting is a mystery, and riding in a straight line is a challenge, but I am working with an instructor who will help me with that. (With 50-year old bones, I figure that working with an instructor might save me some bruises).

During my ride I basically had my thumbs on the handle bars and my fingers were touching the brakes - not putting any pressure on them. I do have smallish hands though relatively longer fingers. Of course, by the end of my 45-minute session the base of my thumbs were aching. Is this a good hand position for a beginner, or am I teaching myself a bad habit? I like having my fingers there just in case I need those brakes...but I also know bad habits learned early are hard to break.

I find it best to change my hand positions periodically. If you stay in one position for your entire ride you can get some stiffness and soreness in funny places like your shoulders. Try not to grip the bar either -- stay relaxed through your shoulders and allow that to flow down your arms into your hands. Put your core to work to hold you up and keep only light weight on your hands whenever you can.

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Originally Posted by Catrin

During my ride I basically had my thumbs on the handle bars and my fingers were touching the brakes - not putting any pressure on them

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I don't know if it's right or wrong but I don't tend to leave mine on the brakes - I've had to brake in a hurry more than once and it's not a problem to grab them when you need to. I think it's more of a confidence thing than a habit thing - once you get more comfortable on the bike in general you won't feel so reliant on "needing" the brakes for security.

That said, the "reach" on those brake levers can be adjusted.. you shouldn't need to strain yourself to reach them, or cause fatigue/pain because of them.

My 7.6 came with ergonomic grips but I put some of these on.

I put GC2's on my 7.2 before I swapped out the bars.. now my 8yo has them on his MTB. They were a huge improvement for me before I opted for new bars (I have inverted Soma Sparrows on my fx now).. ultimately my problem with hand fatigue was related to wrist position, and something I couldn't really fix with flat bars.

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Originally Posted by Zen

My 7.6 came with ergonomic grips but I put some of these on.

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My 7.6 has trigger shifters - did yours? I know what can be changed if desired. As a newbie I have no preferences either way.

When I ride my flat bar road bike (Jamis Coda) I generally keep my hands just like you describe. If your hands are getting sore it's likely that you are putting too much pressure on your hands. As you improve your core strength you should get better in supporting your upper body from your core rather than from your arms and hands. Give it time.

Are you wearing bike gloves?

I like the Titec Hellbent grips

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Originally Posted by Catrin

My 7.6 has trigger shifters - did yours?

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yep.
But I'm thinking of changing to either the Soma Sparrows or trekking bars. My hands have been going numb on my last rides. So much that I can't feel the shifters or brakes
:(

I do have a pair of Pearl iZumi gel gloves and a pair of Shebeest winter gloves for when it is too cold for the others, and I like them a lot (so far). At this point I am hesitant to ascribe the soreness to anything more than just the learning to ride process. It seemed good to ask about it though, and I will certainly remember the good advice to try and vary my grip and so forth.

I have a custom fitting session at my LBS scheduled for Jan. 16 and I will ask him if my brake levers might need adjusting. I want to wait until I've been riding a few months before I start considering changing things like seats and so forth, let my body get adjusted to this wonderful activity.

The fitting session will take 2.5 hours! I am really curious to see what will take so long, but apparently a computer is involved. I figure the better the bike is fit to me, surely the easier it will be to learn to ride it!

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Originally Posted by Zen

yep.
But I'm thinking of changing to either the Soma Sparrows or trekking bars. My hands have been going numb on my last rides. So much that I can't feel the shifters or brakes
:(

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Get those sparrows already.. I bet you'll love them :)