# Handlebar angles.....wrist discomfort



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

I switched to a much wider bar last fall and overall I lovelovelove it. However, I'm getting some wrist pain and wondering how best to trouble shoot it without changing bars a lot. (right) What I am wondering if finding a bar that matched the angles of what I had before, just wider, is the best place to start. I'm pretty sure that what I put on is a little flatter. I have a friend that has a barrel of handlebars so cost is not what I'm worried about, just the PITA factor of changing every thing out.

thoughts anyone?


----------



## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

formica said:


> I switched to a much wider bar last fall and overall I lovelovelove it. However, I'm getting some wrist pain and wondering how best to trouble shoot it without changing bars a lot. (right) What I am wondering if finding a bar that matched the angles of what I had before, just wider, is the best place to start. I'm pretty sure that what I put on is a little flatter. I have a friend that has a barrel of handlebars so cost is not what I'm worried about, just the PITA factor of changing every thing out.
> 
> thoughts anyone?


In the past I have loosened the handlebar clamp so that I can just swivel the bar with my hands....

I then went out for an easy 
SAFE ride.....and adjusted the bars...didn't take long til I knew where I wanted it...so I just did up the clamp and kept riding.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

I think finding the right sweep is what I am after, not just the rotation.


----------



## supersedona (Dec 17, 2012)

When the bar is wider the sweep has to be tighter. I just found that out the hard way too on mine, lol.


----------



## patineto (Oct 28, 2005)

supersedona said:


> When the bar is wider the sweep has to be tighter.


^^This^^


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Maybe try the ergon grips too.


----------



## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

supersedona said:


> When the bar is wider the sweep has to be tighter. I just found that out the hard way too on mine, lol.


yup and the older you get the tighter the sweep


----------



## supersedona (Dec 17, 2012)

Yup, especially when carpal tunnel comes into play


----------



## Rae6503 (Jun 30, 2009)

girlonbike said:


> Maybe try the ergon grips too.


I really like mine, but yeah, sounds like "sweep" (which I just learned about through google) is your problem.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

couple a notes:
one of my coach friends reminded me to check hand position on the bars - elbows out, bar across meaty part of the palm) Check. 

Next stop, LBS. Josh measure the sweep of my more narrow bars that I used to run, and he's going to order something in that should be closer to what I used to run. In the meantime, we swapped brakes/shifters and rotated the bar a bit... we'll see how that works out.


----------



## ryankckids (May 26, 2014)

My journey:

Straight handlebars = pain on thumb side (lateral) of wrist. 
Tight sweep = pain on medial side. 
In-between = perfect. 

And ergo grips. And weight-lifters' wrist wraps. Yeah. I have wrist issues.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

I guess I should update. When Josh LBS guy swapped my brakes/shifters.... that was the solution. It almost forces the positions where the bar crosses the meaty part of the palm diagonally and makes one finger braking even easier than it was before. We didn't change bars at all, maybe rotated them back just a smidge...Should I post a pic of the set up? I've been pain free since the change out.


----------



## squareback (Sep 19, 2011)

formica said:


> I guess I should update. When Josh LBS guy swapped my brakes/shifters.... that was the solution. It almost forces the positions where the bar crosses the meaty part of the palm diagonally and makes one finger braking even easier than it was before. Should I post a pic of the set up? I've been pain free since the change out.


Please post a pic. I am having a hard time visualizing.

sent remotely


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Ok, here are a few photos. They are kind of funky as I had to do it all by myself.
So, I'm talking about a couple of different things here.
1. Brake levers have been moved in, on the inside of the shifter (towards the centers) They are about 7" from the ends of the bar. They used to be on the other side of the shifters, next to the grips. It was suggested to me to move them in for better fitting quite some time ago, but this was a fairly radical move, swapping them to the inside. It is at least 1.5" closer in than I started with.








Now, in regards to hand position, I have been taught to ride with the bar end going across the "meat" of the palm of the hand like so







which really changes the wrist and forearm angle when riding. Compare this to to just wrapping your hand straight around the bar like so:















Moving the brakes in makes it much more comfortable to manage the brake lever with just one finger, and sets it up so that going for a meat of the palm hand position feels much more natural.















I work with beginner women a lot, and moving the brake levers towards the center of the handlebar is the #1 bike adjustment I make that seems to really help them.

Hope the photos help clarify what I am talking about.


----------



## cleopatra999 (May 9, 2012)

Wait...what? you are now angling your hands in or inverting them, is that better? seems to me that would be worse, getting away from neutral? 

PS, can someone explain sweep?


----------



## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

Sweep is how much they angle (sweep) back toward you. A flat straight bar would have zero sweep and an old English 3-speed would have a lotta sweep. Kinda like when I used clipless pedals I try to feel "where would my foot or wrist be 'happy' and neutral?" Angled more in or out? If your hand wants to be "out" (relative to your forearm) you might want to try more sweep.


----------



## formica (Jul 4, 2004)

Cleopatra, the photos of how the bar goes across the palm explain it best. It works for me, and it's how I've been shown to teach it, but my PT friend got all up my butt about how it's horrible for my shoulders. <shrug>


----------

