# wrist and palm pain while riding



## adamant118 (Nov 9, 2008)

it seems that i experience a lot of wrist and palm pain after 5 miles or so riding. i feel myself leaning in the handle bars to mush with pressure. my seat height is adjusted so that my leg is extended on the 6 O'Clock position but i feel that i have to lean to much to reach the handle bars. what can i do? i changed my grips to the 
ergon GP1 Grips and still have problems.

i am 5'11'' ride a large stump jumper


----------



## CaveGiant (Aug 21, 2007)

get the bars higher and closer, basically anything you can to get the weight further back.

Plusher suspension would also help.
With my last forks, I got wrist pain, then I upgraded to White Brothers, it went.
Now the White Brothers forks are damaged and now working smoothly (company is sorting it out) but the wrist pain has come back.

Also steepen the angle on your Ergons, raise the palm until your wrist is straight.


----------



## ncativo (Oct 17, 2008)

Try adjusting the brake levers to an angle that is more confortable to your hands. This used to be the cause of pain on my hands before. Also try using one finger braking. This will reduce fatigue to your hands.


----------



## Tedman (Sep 5, 2008)

Check these out to see if its something you'd be interested in. Several friends, my wife, and myself have all switched over on a recommendation of someone.
We have all seen reduced fatigue and less pain in the wrists, and no numbing effects.
We are all over 40 yrs old, so I guess this must be an aging thing!

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/home


----------



## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Do you feel stretched out at all on your bike? At 5'1" on a Large if you have a long stem _(110/120mm)_ on there you could be a bit stretched out, but being stretched out shouldn't cause wrist/hand pain. Check the angle on those grips and as said the angle on your controls _(brake/shift levers)_ they should not be so close to parallel that they make you roll you wrist back and not so far down to make you reach for them.

Next check the angle of your saddle, make sure the "sit" part is level to the ground and not tilted forward/down - _if mine is titlted down/forward at all it only takes me not even a 1/4 mile before I feel pressure/pain in my hands/wrists._ FYI the nose of my sadddle looks up, so that the sit part is level; I use a WTB PureV.

Next check and see how much drop there is between your saddle height and bar height, some people prefer them level, some like a little drop - _about 1-2" but that depends on your flexibility._ If your stem is flipped down by any chance then turn/flip it the other way so it's a positive rise OR if you have spacers above your stem, remove stem and put them below it. If neither of the two options are available you might need to consider a higher rise stem or bar.

If you can take some pics of the bike side on by itself and with you on it, study them and see if you can notice anything strange and if you want post them up here and maybe we can offer soem more advice. Giving fit advice "blind" on the net is hard, but photos of the person on the bike will usually help alot.


----------



## timberstone (Feb 20, 2009)

Tedman said:


> Check these out to see if its something you'd be interested in. Several friends, my wife, and myself have all switched over on a recommendation of someone.
> We have all seen reduced fatigue and less pain in the wrists, and no numbing effects.
> We are all over 40 yrs old, so I guess this must be an aging thing!
> 
> http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/home


I have these grips and love them. I broke both wrists a while back and when I bought my new bike I had these added. Between that and now having a front fork I have no wrist pain and I have ridden 100+ miles in one day. No complaints.


----------



## rapdaddyR (Feb 4, 2010)

I had the same problem and went from a aluminum flat top bar to a riser easton monkey lite carbon and pain went away.


----------



## markf (Jan 17, 2007)

does your bar have significant sweep to it? if not try one with 11 or more degrees of sweep. sometimes it takes a little time to find the exact right position with ergons. keep adjusting and remember to relax your hands. i've talked to people who were death gripping ergons because the shape made them feel less secure.


----------



## black_box (Feb 15, 2010)

pics of the handlebars and also of you on the bike would be useful. Also, how long have you been riding? I had some wrist comfort issues when i first started but as I got stronger, I think my legs were able to carry more of the weight (which means less weight on the seat and hands).


----------



## CaveGiant (Aug 21, 2007)

You could also try wrist strengthening exercises.

This website explains all

www.ftvgirls.com


----------



## 24 Solo MTB (Mar 3, 2010)

If I were you I would take my bike to a shop and have a proper fitting conducted. It's hard to tell without "seeing" you what could be wrong. I would let a pro-fitter take a look... Otherwise, you might waste a lot of money and just move your problem somewhere else.

-Michael
http://24mtb.wordpress.com/


----------



## bad mechanic (Jun 21, 2006)

Is you're leg completely extended at the bottom of the pedal stroke? It shouldn't be.


----------



## yurtinus (Jun 9, 2009)

I picked up a Sette Duo riser bar which has a noticeable downward sweep to the grips and it has caused my wrists to start aching after a ride. You can try to figure where your wrists "want" to rest and match a handlebar to that.


----------



## Crankenator (Mar 27, 2007)

Assuming your frame isn't vastly too big for you, I started out with a long stem and ran narrow flat bars for a long time....always had some discomfort and that tingle-numbness in the pinky and ring fingers. The Specialized BG gloves helped a little but I never liked the feel of that palm pad. Going from 22"-23" bars to 26" helped a lot, and then using a 1-1/2" riser bar cut around 26" made me happy. That was still with a 120mm stem. I ride a 90mm stem now to suit my style better, but bringing the bars in closer didn't make much difference in hand-feel like using wider bars did. It also removed the neck and shoulder blade tension that I was getting.

I'll second the recommendation for exercises. A strong back and trunk muscles are good for so many reasons but they really help on the bike, too, especially on longer rides.


----------



## dadstoy (Feb 18, 2010)

CaveGiant said:


> You could also try wrist strengthening exercises.
> 
> This website explains all
> 
> www.ftvgirls.com


:crazy:


----------

