Hands

[betagirl]

Hey everyone

What can I do about my hands falling asleep on me on long rides? I'm a roadie, and I usually ride on the lower part of the bars. I did a 72 mile organized ride today and the last 20 miles or so I really fought with my hands. Nothing a little shaking out didn't remedy, but if I go all summer with this it'll get old. When I mentioned it at my LBS they said i was putting too much weight on my arms. Ooook. On an aside, I'm enjoying the post on building your core. A co-worker suggested getting a ball to sit on, so I've done that the last week or so. I guess my question is how much weight "should" you be putting on your arms? My bike is well fit to my proportions, so I'm not over extended or the like. I wear specialized gloves with a little pad thingie that goes by your thumb. Maybe I need to upgrade those?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[CorsairMac]

I know you need to have some bend in your elbow and yes - your core should take most of the weight. I also had a pair of Specialized gloves with the lil gel thingy in the palm by the thumb and I lost all the feelings in both hands in that area and had tenderness there for days. I bought a different brand of gloves (Trek) and that seems to have helped greatly! I always think:

scrape gum off shoe (read thread about cadence) and
light hands, strong core

when I'm riding the road bike.

Now if I can just figure out why the PI attack shorts have messed me up fairly bad!

[nuthatch]

Now if I can just figure out why the PI attack shorts have messed me up fairly bad!

Me too. There's something about that stepdown from the really thick center chamois to the thinner side panels that just wads and rubs and, dang it, I want to pull, tug and twist to get them to stop that!!! What happens to you?

[betagirl]

Cool thanks. I'll try some different gloves in the interim until my core gets stronger. I wish I could help with the chamois issue. Have you tried BUTT'r? That stuff is a gift from the gods, I swear

[CorsairMac]

oh Nut - tytytytytyty!.....everyone here loves PIs sooo much I thought I would try a pair. I found the attacks on sale but they were just awful. I thought it was me!....first the padding is so thick they're actually really hard to walk in! I kept thinking on the bike they should be fine but it just got worse. I rode Allez my first day in them (Wed) and I've been swollen, and very tender and itchy ever since. I almost couldn't ride Thurs, putting on my other shorts was very painful and riding was almost too much. Even wearing underwear hurts. My other shorts have real chamois in them and these PIs seem to have some type of synthetic material??....I don't know is that's what did it but I have no desire to wear them again. Funny thing is: it wasn't Allez' fault - I've ridden him before and I was wearing my new Bellweathers that time and had no problems whatsoever! I'm still very swollen and tender and itchy today and it's what? 4 days after I wore them?......I truly can not remember ever experiencing anything like this before.

Sorry Beta - did Not mean to steal your thread.

[slinkedog]

I have some PI's with a thick, grey chamois, and I can't stand them. They bunch up horribly in the girly bits. I love my Shebeest Triple S shorts with the SheLastic Chamois. It's got a microfiber layer over the padding and I slide around on it much more. Much better. I'm hoping for a pair of the new Elite Distance 2 shorts for my b-day... that chamois is nice, too.

And Chamois Butt'r or Assos chamois cream (my fave) helps with the friction.

[AutumnBreez]

Me Want Cookie! I am a CookieMonster Fan myself. And of course COOKIES!
Oatmeal raisen w/chocolate chips....YUM!

[Melody]

I have some PI's with a thick, grey chamois, and I can't stand them. They bunch up horribly in the girly bits.

I have a pair of PI shorts with that same grey chamois. I wore 'em this last weekend at Primavera and they ended up chaffing like I had never experienced before. I have another pair of PI shorts that have this multicolored chamois and I've never had problems with those.

But yeah, the grey one does bunch up horribly. Things were rubbed raw yesterday and still hurt today.

Mel

[yellow]

While I firmly believe fit is a personal thang, I found that once I wore my true size, things got a lot more comfortable.

I tend to wear all of my clothes a bit on the large side, so when I first started buying shorts, I just did what I usually do...buy something that really is a bit on the big side. Dumb! Chafe city! But when I bought the next size smaller, the problems disappeared.

Re: your hands, they often on fall asleep on me on long rides. I find it's more of a position rather than the amount of weight I put on them. I give then a shake every now and then. But then, my hands fall asleep pretty regularly because of--I'm guessing--where the nerves are in relation to how I lay my arms on things (chair arms, my bed if lying flat), so I've gotten to the point where I try not to let it bug me (mentally) anymore.

[SadieKate]

While I firmly believe fit is a personal thang, I found that once I wore my true size, things got a lot more comfortable.

I tend to wear all of my clothes a bit on the large side, so when I first started buying shorts, I just did what I usually do...buy something that really is a bit on the big side. Dumb! Chafe city! But when I bought the next size smaller, the problems disappeared.

Good point, Yellow! I went through the same phase and had forgotten about it. If the shorts are too large they move around too much.

[Melody]

Good point, Yellow! I went through the same phase and had forgotten about it. If the shorts are too large they move around too much.

hrm. Well, my other shorts are an XL, so I bought an XL with these PI's. Maybe I need to go down 1 size. If so, I know I won't complain.

Mel

[spazzdog]

I always wore mens PI mediums. I needed new shorts and tried the men's small then, naturally tried on womens (PI Perls - purple chamois) mediums. I thought they were fine... but the salesperson intervened and had me get smalls.

Much mo better!

When I started cycling I was bigger... and my brain thought (incorrectly) that lycra is stretchy; smaller body it just won't stretch as much.

With cycling shorts I now go into "pantyhose" mode. Fit like a skin...

[nuthatch]

Well, I never would have thought of the size thing! So, instead of being tight as hide, they need to be tight as aunt fanny's girdle... That actually makes a lot of sense and I think I'm buying "comfy" instead of "fitted" sizes. Thanks Yellow! Hmmm... wonder if I can shrink lycra....

[bounceswoosh]

Hey everyone

A co-worker suggested getting a ball to sit on, so I've done that the last week or so.

...

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

A few words of caution ... my chiro told me to use a ball as an office-chair replacement a max of two hours a day, or I'd be overdoing it.

[spazzdog]

nope, lycra doesn't shrink. it does melt nicely though

spazz