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

[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.

[redrhodie]

I am well aware of that,

But the OP, new to cycling, may not be. I thought it was useful info she may not know.

[nscrbug]

I too, have been struggling with hand/wrist pain and numbing. I ride a 51cm Cervelo Soloist Carbon (I'm 5'6", 148lbs) with a Terry Butterfly Tri gel saddle, that I was professionally fitted on. I informed the fitter that I had hand/wrist issues on my previous bike (which was too big for me - a 54cm Trek 2100 WSD), so I was really hoping that it would be eliminated with the combination of a "pro" fitting and a correctly sized bike...but unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

The pain and numbness will vary from ride to ride. Sometimes it comes on early into the ride (10 minutes), and other times, it may hit about an hour into the ride. My rides are generally between 50-80 miles, so when the pain strikes early...it makes for a long, miserable ride. Actually, to be perfectly honest...I can't recall a single ride where my hands didn't go numb or were in pain at some point...so, basically every ride is long and miserable! The pain and numbness can be so severe at times, that it makes it difficult to shift and brake because I cannot feel my controls.

For gloves, I'm currently wearing a pair of Spenco Ironman T.2 Elite, size small...which were fantastic for about the first 6 months. But now, they feel uncomfortable. I'm getting that "sawing into the webs between my fingers" feeling that someone else mentioned, and the padding no longer seems sufficient. I'm guessing they are just worn out and I need new ones, but I'm not sure if I should stick with the same glove or not. A riding buddy of mine suggested I look at the Specialized BG Gel gloves. I've also tried other gloves over the last 2 years, including various styles of Pearl Izumi and Specialized gloves, as well as a pair of Castelli gloves...none of which felt as good as the Ironman gloves.

I'm so frustrated at this point, that I'm ready to try a different fitter just for another opinion. I hope the OP is able to get her hand pain issues sorted out...because it can really suck the enjoyment out of a nice ride.

Linda