Issues with Hand Pain - not sure what to do?!?

[indysteel]

I, too, would be interested to know exactly where the pain is and is it accompanied by any numbness either during or after the ride.

I got a new custom bike this past March and have struggled with bad hand pain. From my experience, hand pain can be (1) an indication that you aren't balanced between front and back. Ideally, you want most (but not all) of your weight behind your crank. (2) an indication that your reach and/or saddle-to-bar drop are off. Unfortunately, figuring out where in space your handlebars should be is no easy task as it is a function of saddle drop, saddle for and aft position, the spacers under your stem, your stem length and rise and your handlebars themselves; (3) a function of the bars themselves, how they are designed and tilted, the bartape, and your gloves; (4) an indication that you have a weak core.

Sound complicated? It is. I've been to two fitters and changed nearly every element I mentioned above, and my hands (while better) still hurt.

[blueeyesaz]

As far as where the pain is located, the best way I can describe it is on the bottom of my palm and a bit it the sides on the opposite side of my hand from where my thumb is. Not a tingling or numbness, just plain ole pressure and soreness.

I'm thinking it is probably a combination of my posture/laziness, not switching my hand position enough, and my gloves may not be the best for me (looks like they have stretched some and the gel pad is now farther over to the side of my hand as opposed to on the meatier part of my palm).

I really don't think my bike is too big for me as I rode several before I purchased this one both bigger and smaller and this felt the best. I am 5ft 4.5in tall, 140lbs and ended up getting a 50cm frame.

Looks like I will head up to LBS today to at least trade out saddle, can't hurt right? I'll have him take his best guess as to what might be causing the hand pain while I'm there. I got my actual fitting at a different LBS than where I bought my bike.

[indysteel]

As far as where the pain is located, the best way I can describe it is on the bottom of my palm and a bit it the sides on the opposite side of my hand from where my thumb is. Not a tingling or numbness, just plain ole pressure and soreness.

I'm thinking it is probably a combination of my posture/laziness, not switching my hand position enough, and my gloves may not be the best for me (looks like they have stretched some and the gel pad is now farther over to the side of my hand as opposed to on the meatier part of my palm).

I really don't think my bike is too big for me as I rode several before I purchased this one both bigger and smaller and this felt the best. I am 5ft 4.5in tall, 140lbs and ended up getting a 50cm frame.

Looks like I will head up to LBS today to at least trade out saddle, can't hurt right? I'll have him take his best guess as to what might be causing the hand pain while I'm there. I got my actual fitting at a different LBS than where I bought my bike.

I'd add that hand pain can result from too cramped a set up, too. That was largely by problem. My handlebars needed to come up and out from their original set up. So my reach was both too low and too short. I actually do think we've made some progress with my issues. The nerves in my hands were SO irritated though that it might be some time--and maybe the winter break--to find complete relief.

In any event, the only thing you can really do is experiment. Change a bit at a time.

Good luck!

[Loraura]

I am 5ft 4.5in tall, 140lbs and ended up getting a 50cm frame.

That sounds about right for sizing unless you have an unusually short torsoe with long legs. 50cm effective top tube (not necessarily printed frame size) is what fits me best at 5'3''.

Even very small changes in saddle height and bar height make big difference on pressure to the hands. A stem with a bit of a rise can make a big difference compared to a 90 degree stem.

I often practice just riding with my hands hovering over the handlebars, not touching, but just hovering there. I can feel it in my core that my muscles there have to kick in to keep me in that position without having my hands to support me.

Short reach shifters also work well for me. I rode standard reach 105's for several months, then got a new bike with Short Reach shifters, and it's fabulous:

http://www.coloradocyclist.com/product/item/SSFHAWTT

For use with double or triple gearing configurations
Weight: 490 g./pair
10-spd compatible

Ergonomic innovation is probably more critical to the higher standard of the Ultegra levers than the added gearing. The ST-R700 was designed for people with smaller hands. By the use of a 4-degree or 8-degree shim, you can reduce the reach respectively by 10 or 20mm.

They are Ultegra level in quality.

I used to get blisters on long rides between my thumb and pointer finger even with gloves on with the 105's.

[pinkpedalpusher]

Some possible solutions to your hand pain:
1. If the nose of your saddle is tilted down to much it puts more weight on your hands.
2. You could try raising your handlebar height or rotating your bars so the hoods are higher to see if it's more comfortable.
3. Adjusting your position on the bike will help, but it will take some time for your contact points to get accustomed to riding. You shouldn't have to adjust your hand position every minute. If you have a genuine wrist issue you may try some of the elastic wrist bands that weight lifters use for added support.
PPP

[Triskeliongirl]

Sometimes hand pain is caused by having your position on the bike being too far forward, which results in too much weight being supported by your hands. Rather than giving you a longer stem, I am wondering if pushing your saddle back may have done the trick. Its hard to know without seeing you on the bike, but that is what I would try next if it were me.

Also, make sure the angles of the brifters and bars are such that there is no bend in your wrist as you contact them. It should be like a smooth handshake.

[redrhodie]

Sometimes hand pain is caused by having your position on the bike being too far forward, which results in too much weight being supported by your hands. Rather than giving you a longer stem, I am wondering if pushing your saddle back may have done the trick. Its hard to know without seeing you on the bike, but that is what I would try next if it were me.

Pushing the saddle back will change the position of her knee over her pedal.

[Triskeliongirl]

Pushing the saddle back will change the position of her knee over her pedal.

I am well aware of that, but it will also take the weight off her hands. The ideal KOP postion can vary with the individual. Generally for road riding (not time trialling) a position of 0-2 cm behind the pedal axle is ideal. Being further back is better for hill climbing, being further forward is better for flat time trialling (that is why time trialists will have their knee even in front of the pedal axle).

So, unless her knee is already 2 cm behind the pedal axle, which I doubt it is but of course anything is possible (I did say its hard to do this without seeing her actual position), then I think shifting her weight further back on the bike is the next logical thing to try.