# Hand Cramps! Caused by grips?



## Jnthomps08 (Mar 22, 2010)

I just got a new bike; I joined the 29er revolution. I love it. The only problem that I have had is I get hand cramps on long descents. I rotated my brake levers up and that helped some, but the cramps will still arise in the outside (pinky edge) of my hand.

While riding yesterday, I remembered that I had a similar problem with my road bike: if I wore padded gloves, I would get the same cramps in my hands while on the hoods. I attributed it to not being able to close my hand enough, so that they werent stressed.

So, is this cramping caused by my grips being too large in diameter/circumference? I do not wear padded gloves while mountain biking, just a full fingered glove.


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## slalomnorth65 (Oct 18, 2009)

get ergons


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## alexrex20 (Dec 20, 2005)

ergons will definitely help. you could also try some bars with more sweep. i would try the grips first, much cheaper.


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## c0ld (Jun 29, 2010)

oooops double post


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## c0ld (Jun 29, 2010)

Ergon GP1's in Small, that will solve your problem. My hands wont go numb on descents now


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## Jnthomps08 (Mar 22, 2010)

I forgot to mention that the bars on the 29er have a 12* sweep. I have never ridden with a bar that has that much sweep. I like the way the bar feels: it is comfortable and stable. Could this be the cause of the problem, though?

On my last bike, I had Lizard Skins Peatys. I really liked them (small diameter, grippy).


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## YuoGotOwn3d (Jul 23, 2010)

are you putting alot of weight on your hands when you ride? adjust your riding position so you not putting all your weight on your hands. especially when you are braking. My pinky would hurt and cramp after long rides. I got Oury grips and fixed my position and Ive been good .


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## Keepthechange (May 18, 2010)

I have relatively small hands and switching from the factory grips to ODI rogue lock ons feels infinitely better


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## Carraig042 (Nov 12, 2009)

I have the ODI Rogue lock-ons and they are very nice.

Make sure that you are not grasping the handlebars for dear life. That will cause cramping no matter the grip. Just keep hold of the bar with a snug grip and if you go over a jump or something then you can hold on tighter if you feel the desire.

-Brett


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## theMeat (Jan 5, 2010)

ODI Rouge's a are great and I use them but they're not a race type small diameter like some others. 
Check out PRO Atherton. Smaller diameter, very grippy. and single clamp lock-on with no clamp on the outside were your pinky is. Bantrager makes some like that too.
Sounds like sweep or over gripping the bar might be the problem.
Could try some bar ends to switch hand position around for less fatigue on long rides.


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## carverboy (Sep 5, 2009)

When you grasp your brake lever is your hand in line with your wrist? This will prevent pinching the nerves in the carpal tunnel. This and switching to Oury grips helped me. In my case I found running softer/bigger grips relieved my cramps. The Ergon's others suggested look sweet and if I still had trouble I would give them a shot. Also what is your cockpit position on the new bike like? If the stem is to long or low so that you are cranked forward this could contribute to your problem. Good luck!


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## Joedub917 (Jul 4, 2010)

I was having problems with death gripping and it was causing my hands to tingle. I have learned to keep my body relaxed and not grip so tight or keep to much weight on my hands. So it could be as simple as relaxing.


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## mythosman (Aug 19, 2010)

A similar question -- I've noticed from DH riding I'll get some nasty soreness, starting at my hands, but also in my wrists and forearms especially. My question to you guys is -- is this normal muscle/tendon building soreness from using/stressing muscles and tendons that weren't being worked before coming back to mtb? Or is this something along the lines of tendinitis (hate to say it but arthritis and nerve issues run in my family, and I'm tall and slender so I'm prone to tendinitis).

By the way I'm on a hardtail so I get a lotta bumpy rides.


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## HamfisT (Mar 31, 2010)

Do you have your brakes set up for one-finger operation?

Using two fingers over bumpy descents leaves just your ring finger and pinky on the grips. You'll get monkey-claw in a matter of minutes


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## Jnthomps08 (Mar 22, 2010)

HamfisT said:


> Do you have your brakes set up for one-finger operation?
> 
> Using two fingers over bumpy descents leaves just your ring finger and pinky on the grips. You'll get monkey-claw in a matter of minutes


I wonder if this may be the cause. Ill try moving my lever inside of the shifters and adjusting them tonight. Tomorrow afternoon, I hope to get in a 2hr ride, so I'll be able to see if that makes a difference.

I never had any issues two-finger braking with other bikes, but I have also never had brake levers on a 12* swept bar. Ideally, I would be able to keep the bar and address my cramping with another adjustment.


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## Lost Biker (Jun 7, 2009)

alexrex20 said:


> ergons will definitely help. you could also try some bars with more sweep. i would try the grips first, much cheaper.


+1 for reply. Since using Ergons, no more hand numbness. Three of my friends have converted over to Ergons too and all were wondering why it took them so long to get them.


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## frdfandc (Sep 5, 2007)

I'm currently using these Ergon grips GA1 with the Pearl Izumi Cyclone full finger gloves. The gloves have minimal padding. By switching to this combo from gel gloves and ODI Rouges, my hand numbness is down to almost zero. I still get it occassionally on really technical rides.

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/product/ga1


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

I have to say, numb hands are a product of bike fit more than any grip diameter. Your body position is probably putting more weight on your hands than you are used to. 

I would check your saddle angle first, if it's tipped nose down it will easily overload your hands and cause numbness.


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## Bikinfoolferlife (Feb 3, 2004)

HamfisT said:


> Do you have your brakes set up for one-finger operation?
> 
> Using two fingers over bumpy descents leaves just your ring finger and pinky on the grips. You'll get monkey-claw in a matter of minutes


Nonsense. I'm a two finger braker from before one finger brakes, still do it, too. No monkey-claw ever. Not even sure what monkey claw is. I don't get tired hands from v-brakes or mechanical discs, either. Hydraulic brakes where two finger vs one finger makes a difference to your hands cramping just means you have girly hands from too much time on the video games or something


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## mythosman (Aug 19, 2010)

I get most of my hand/tendon stress from the DH riding.. hardtail shock absorption, death grip, and also front end lifting.. I'm def thinking about grabbing a pair of these Ergon grips... do ya'll think the classic Ergon grips (the large non-cylindrical) would work fine for DH riding, or would it be better to grab one of their ones specifically made for freeride like that GA1, etc.?


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## c0ld (Jun 29, 2010)

Yeah they will be fine, just get the small ones so you have better control. Most prefer the small ones, I got the small because I have tiny hands for my height.


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## mythosman (Aug 19, 2010)

Sounds good brotha. I actually have pretty big paws, but the small still sounds like the better choice for the kind of riding I like to do. Got an amazon gift card lying around.. time to spend that sucker.


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## c0ld (Jun 29, 2010)

Awesome free grips haha. Yeah small suits most unless you have uberly large hands. Immediately changed my grips after a few rides since I had sore hands on the descents even with hyrdro brakes and everyone raved about ergons. Jumped on the bandwagon


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## HamfisT (Mar 31, 2010)

Bikinfoolferlife said:


> Nonsense. I'm a two finger braker from before one finger brakes, still do it, too. No monkey-claw ever. Not even sure what monkey claw is. I don't get tired hands from v-brakes or mechanical discs, either. Hydraulic brakes where two finger vs one finger makes a difference to your hands cramping just means you have girly hands from too much time on the video games or something


Nonsense?

Using your pinky and ring finger, you have maybe 1/3 the grip and control that's available when you put three fingers on the bar.

You may be in a minority with B.A. Baracus hands and a more refined technique, but for most of us, using the one finger prevents a lot of muscle fatigue.

Monkey-calw is when your hands cramp and ball up into a claw... I remember the old cantilever days... pretty much FOUR finger braking!


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

mythosman said:


> I get most of my hand/tendon stress from the DH riding.. hardtail shock absorption, death grip, and also front end lifting.. I'm def thinking about grabbing a pair of these Ergon grips... do ya'll think the classic Ergon grips (the large non-cylindrical) would work fine for DH riding, or would it be better to grab one of their ones specifically made for freeride like that GA1, etc.?


The large wing-shaped Ergons are absolutely not suitable for DH. You do not get enough hand wrap and won't be able to properly grip the bars. Ergon grips are over rated for actual mountain biking, just find a grip with a proper diameter for your hands. I like the Oury lock-ons.


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## mythosman (Aug 19, 2010)

zebrahum said:


> The large wing-shaped Ergons are absolutely not suitable for DH. You do not get enough hand wrap and won't be able to properly grip the bars. Ergon grips are over rated for actual mountain biking, just find a grip with a proper diameter for your hands. I like the Oury lock-ons.


Would you say the same applies to the small-size wing Ergons coupled with big paws? I was planning on stopping by the shop today and checking out what grips they have around.. most definitely would want to try 'em out before ordering online.


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## Sid Nitzerglobin (Sep 17, 2010)

mythosman said:


> Would you say the same applies to the small-size wing Ergons coupled with big paws? I was planning on stopping by the shop today and checking out what grips they have around.. most definitely would want to try 'em out before ordering online.


I'm not doing any DH, but I've found that the wings on my GX2s (large size as I have pretty big hands) get in the way a bit on more technical descent/climb sections of single track. They also tend to dig into my outer palm a bit when standing or leaning into/pulling up on the bars for a decent amount of time and re-introduce numbness as a result. Others don't seem to encounter the issue though.

I'm going to have a set of the GE1s and GA1s to try out as soon as I get a new lock ring from Blue Sky and GA1s from Ergon.


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## 247 (Apr 23, 2009)

The *GA1'*s I got work great!--But the Large one's seems pretty large att first(because maybe my old Bontrager grips were small??)---i got mine online and did not try them on at first...


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## mythosman (Aug 19, 2010)

Thanks for the input on the Ergo's from you DH guys.. I'll hold off on ordering 'em and if my local shop has a good deal on some lock-ons I'll pick 'em up. I actually don't have that many finger/hand issues, but much more wrist/forearm strain.. I'm thinking take the money I would spend on new grips and put it in the new fork piggy bank. Or for that matter, the FS piggy bank.


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

mythosman said:


> Thanks for the input on the Ergo's from you DH guys.. I'll hold off on ordering 'em and if my local shop has a good deal on some lock-ons I'll pick 'em up. I actually don't have that many finger/hand issues, but much more wrist/forearm strain.. I'm thinking take the money I would spend on new grips and put it in the new fork piggy bank. Or for that matter, the FS piggy bank.


Wrist/forearm issues are a completely different issue. Check the angle of your levers and shifters. You shouldn't have to bend your wrist when you go for the brakes. A good starting point is about 45 deg downward then adjust from there. You want to just reach out your fingers and hit the levers without having to move your wrist to do so. Is your forearm discomfort "pump" from fatigue or is it a pain issue?


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## mythosman (Aug 19, 2010)

zebrahum said:


> Wrist/forearm issues are a completely different issue. Check the angle of your levers and shifters. You shouldn't have to bend your wrist when you go for the brakes. A good starting point is about 45 deg downward then adjust from there. You want to just reach out your fingers and hit the levers without having to move your wrist to do so. Is your forearm discomfort "pump" from fatigue or is it a pain issue?


I get wrist pain from stressing 'em when I run into objects (i.e. not from braking) and my weight being thrown against them suddenly, and forearm pain from shock absorption and pulling up the front of the bike to clear objects... basically I do a lot of DH stuff on a rockhopper hardtail (so it's kind of a "what would you expect??" situation here).

My original post was asking you folks if this is just normal muscle/tendon building wear and tear, or whether this might be a tendinitis type issue since tendon/arthritis/nerve problems seem to be a family trait.


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## zebrahum (Jun 29, 2005)

mythosman said:


> I get wrist pain from stressing 'em when I run into objects (i.e. not from braking) and my weight being thrown against them suddenly, and forearm pain from shock absorption and pulling up the front of the bike to clear objects... basically I do a lot of DH stuff on a rockhopper hardtail (so it's kind of a "what would you expect??" situation here).
> 
> My original post was asking you folks if this is just normal muscle/tendon building wear and tear, or whether this might be a tendinitis type issue since tendon/arthritis/nerve problems seem to be a family trait.


If your body position is set up correctly, you will not experience wrist pain. If your levers are angled too far upward, even when you are not braking, you maintain the hand/wrist position of a bent wrist and therefore will suffer greater strain through the wrist joint. You should have your wrist angled so that the force is directed right up your arm with no deflection of the wrist.

At this point, you are probably dealing with a repeated stress type injury and only time off will cause it to improve.


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## Jnthomps08 (Mar 22, 2010)

*A Resolution*

I just thought I would follow up on this, so if someone searches it, the resolution will be here.

I bought some lock-ons will a comfortable diameter. I moved my brake levers inboard of my shifters and set up one-finger braking. Hand cramping=gone.

It only took a few minutes to adjust to braking with one finger. Now, it is just something that I dont have to think about.


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