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

[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?