Hand discomfort and handlebars

I ride a hybrid with a straight handlebar with grips on the ends. I think that the grips make the cicumference of the handlebar too thick for my hands. I have a difficult time wrapping my fingers around the handlebar ( it causes a lot of discomfort in my hands) and so I usually ride with my thumb curled over the top of the handlebar instead of curled underneath the handlebar ( was that confusing?? ) Has anybody else experienced this? Any ideas on how to alleviate this? I've been looking at different types of handlebars and wondered if a "trekking" handlebar might be more comfortable. Does anybody have one of these?

Pat

Pat,
I do not know if I can help or not. I am not a seasoned rider, yet. I do however have a hybrid. My problem was not with the handle bars, but if you have small hands I would understand why it might hurt. You can always switch out handlebars. Go to your lbs and try a few to see if the discomfort is eleviated.
The only other thing I can think of is that you may be gripping them too tightly?

Pat,
Perhaps if you switch to albatross bars instead of straight bars, your hands and wrists will be in a more natural position and will be more comfortable. It's sort of like the difference between holding a computer mouse and holding a pen- check out the difference in your hand/wrist angle when you switch back and forth.

If the issue is that the grips are too bulky, would it be possible to remove the grips and wrap the bars with tape instead? On my old bike, I had grips and bar ends, and I had wrapped the bar ends with tape. I would think you could do the same with flat bars.

I've read in a few places that it's much safer to ride with your thumbs hooked around the bar, not resting along the top of it. Our good ol' opposable thumbs apparently make a big difference in bike control.

Speaking of hand discomfort, my bars are the right size but my hands fall asleep after about an hour on the bike making it difficult to brake and shift. I change positions but it does not seem to help. I have a traditional curl set up on my road bike and a horizontal bar on my mountain bike but experience the sensation on both bikes. Have switched gloves, loosened the gloves, adjusted the height of the handlebar stems...any other suggestions?

Jennifer - I think you're right - my hands are smaller - I have long fingers but a fairly small hand - in fact - using a regular size mouse is very uncomfortable for me so we have a little baby mouse that we use instead - normally if I grip too tightly my hands soon go numb... what I'm experiencing is pain in the base of my thumb - from about the wrist joint to the first knuckle which seems to be made worse by wrapping my thumb around the bulk of the handlebar

Lisa - I don't think it's hand position - but I have considered getting a different type of handlebar and trying it out to see if it helps

Kaludurga - I had wondered if wrapping instead of grips would be a viable option - because like you pointed out - it is safer to ride with your thumb curled under the handlebar! I know nothing about wrapping handlebars!! LOL hmm.... I'll have to check into that.

Thanx for the help - these are great suggestions :)

After I posted I read further in other threads and see there is another discussion specifically about hand numbness. Thanks. Could be my core is not strong enough yet. That third kid really knocked my abs.

[QUOTE=Bicyclette]what I'm experiencing is pain in the base of my thumb - from about the wrist joint to the first knuckle which seems to be made worse by wrapping my thumb around the bulk of the handlebar[QUOTE]

Bicyclette --

OOOH! Mine was a little different, but a similar thing had me talking with the guys at the bike shop a while back. It was just one hand for me, and the solution was kind of silly --

At the time, I was having lots of pain in the pinkie finger side of my hand, and it turned out, as I looked at things more carefully, that I was holding that hand funny, so that there wouldn't be any pressure there. DANG did my thumb hurt! Now, don't ask me how I fixed my poor pinkie area, but shifting "my weight" off that part of my hand made a big difference for my thumb.

easy core strength helpers -- a "dyna disk" that you can set on a regular office type chair makes you "wobbly" if you don't hold yourself upright, or lean hard on the chair back. It also feels good on a sore biker-butt! Sitting on an exercise ball instead of a chair has that same effect.

Karen in Boise