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.

[Kymber]

I've put 200+ miles on my new bike in the first month and have tried all sorts of things to keep my hands from tingling, hurting then going numb altogether. More core exercises helped some, but didn't solve the problem. Finally I lowered the bike seat, which only bought me a strained hamstring and upper glute

On my THIRD bike fitting, a guy at LBS finally looked at my shoulders and said, "your reach is 2 inches too wide on either side, I need to cut your handlebars."

TA-DA! a shorter handlebar and moving my seat back and up just a smidge completely fixed my ride. 20 mile trip w/o so much as a twinge or a tingle!

Bike fitter says clue is that your arms should never reach out in a V to the grips. Now I reach straight forward to the grips with my elbows slightly bent.

I don't know if this works for everyone, but it might b worth considering.

[Kano]

Core strength, Saddle position -- angle, and gloves. Those are the things to think about, IMO.

After fitting the other day, my hands are bothering me again. My saddle (Bontrager Inform that I deliberately purchased, btw, and which has made a big difference in my comfort level in a good way, even if Bontrager saddles are "famous" for being uncomfortable) was too low. Corey raised it about 2.3cm. (almost an inch!) I knew this needed to be done, though I didn't expect that much change, and that it was going to affect the all kinds of other things too, which is why I took it to the fitter. My bar height was adjusted too, by changing the angle of my stem 2 degrees. He says that's it -- put it any higher and downhill will be scary. Living where I do, with hills to cope with on every ride, I don't need descents to be any more spooky.

Anyway, that changes my upper body angle, so I've got to get still stronger in the core to help myself support that change. That's okay. I can do that. I've got a few other muscles to strengthen too, and my trainer is delighted to devise new tortures for me!

I realized something else today though -- my new "favorite" gloves are NOT my favorite gloves anymore! I've been wearing PI symphony gloves for a couple of years now. They've worked well for me for the most part. I wore size large two seasons ago. Last year, medium was better -- the large would slide on my hands and I had all kinds of interesting pain. This year, I needed to buy some in Small. One day, I forgot them when I went on a shop ride, so I figured no biggie, I'll pick up another pair -- I'm at the LBS anyway, eh? I bought the medium. They felt good when I put them on.

Shouldn't have done that. They were pretty blue ones, and until this morning, they've been my favorites because they're the pretty blue ones.

My hands have been bothering me a bit lately, but now, with the change in my bike's set up, and the new body position to get used to, my hands have been BOTHERING me! My gloves are "sawing" into the "webs" between my fingers, the padding is TOTALLY in the wrong places, they're just all wrong. Back to my yellow gloves! I really do like my blue ones, and I did like having two pair, darn it!

Good thing tonight is a shopping night with my daughters. I'll add one more stop to my list, before I meet them, since the bike shop isn't their favorite place to go like it is mine!

Karen in Boise

[Crankin]

The horrible pain I had in my hands when I started cycling was purely from gloves with gel pads. I cannot take even the tiniest amount of padding or gel in my gloves. It is very hard to find gloves with hardly any!

[Seal]

You might want to try a horseback riding store to find gloves w/out gel. They will probably be spendy and have fingers but no gel.

[kenyonchris]

You might want to try a horseback riding store to find gloves w/out gel. They will probably be spendy and have fingers but no gel.

Riding gloves may work, but you might find them too restrictive. The hand position for riding a bike is more open than holding a rein. And, because of the need for riding gloves to take a lot of friction and abuse, they tend to be pretty thick and reinforced in the finger area.
I don't like any gel under my bar tape, and I don't like cycling gloves because of the gel pads in them. I am a full body sweater and that includes my hands and arms...the gel pads wind up creasing in weird ways.
The best I found were driving gloves. They are much, much thinner than riding gloves without the reinforcements that come with riding gloves. They are pricey, tho.

[mtbdarby]

Here's just an alternative thought for those that do have the bike dialed in and still get hand pain. C7. I had a LOT of hand pain after a road crash a couple years ago and had my bike dialed in, went to PT, orthopedic hand dr., cortizone injection, etc. Then I went to my chiropractor. After an adjustment to my neck the swelling in my hand went away and so did the hand pain. FWIW...

[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

[lunacycles]

Generally for road riding (not time trialling) a position of 0-2 cm behind the pedal axle is ideal.

That's a bit generalizing, I would say. For example, if you have any kind of low back issues or hamstring tightness, being behind the pedal axle is usually to be avoided....

...back to the OP. It is really hard to know what is going on given the info you have been able to provide. I often find hand pain or numbness, like Indysteel suggested, is by having too short of a reach, generally combined with too big of a drop between saddle height and grip (handlebar) height. This results in too much weight being borne by the hands, holding the body upright. But, again, it is really hard to know without knowing more specifics about your body and position.

My suggestion is to go somewhere completely unaffiliated with the shop who sold you the bike, and get a complete, professional fitting. Get a fit not influenced by the shop or the brand you have a relationship with. Just because you are 5'4" does not mean WSD is for you. WSD is definitely geared for those shorter in the torso relative to leg length. Is that you?