Seat, Shorts, Handlebars?

[earthgirl]

Thanks again everyone! Some great advice!!!

Thanks for posting that pic Wildhawk - i will run over to my LBS after this storm passes.

Kona - I was going to pm you but it's annoying to type on my phone. The cable modem went out at home and I'm on my phone now. Lame. The hurricane hasn't even hit. It's not even raining!

everyone else - thanks again for the advice - and the chamois info. interesting! fwiw - i've always pronounced it "chamois (sham-wah)" and I was born and raised in Houston :-)

[wackyjacky1]

LOL, I took 4 years of French (2 in HS and 2 in college) and I know it's supposed to be sham-wah, but I still say shammy. (What can I say, I was a straight C student. )

Bar ends would be a great idea, but you can also get ergonomic grips that provide relief as well: just for example

The straight bars on my FX killed my wrists. Like you, my hands were going numb within the first couple of miles. I did a total switcheroo and had moustache bars installed, along with bar end shifters. It was kind of a pricey modification (I spent around $150 altogether to do it, incl. labor) but the result, for me, has been fantastic. So that's an option you might want to consider in the future.

One other thing, I tilted the nose of my saddle ever-so-slightly up. I found that I was sliding forward a bit, which was causing me to lean too heavily on my hands/wrists. Once I gave the saddle that slight tilt, my hands felt a lot better. Just a thought.

Best of luck to you with Ike heading your way. Stay high and dry!