Numbness in fingers??

Question

I went for a 22-mile bike ride on my schwinn ranger yesturday, and after about 4 miles, by fingers kept going numb, especially my thumb. The bottom of my palm, under my thumb hurt awfully bad, and it was difficult to continue on only because it hurt so bad. Why? Normal? My seat is adjusted to the perfect height.(My inseam multiplied by 0.883) I changed hand positions regularly, from the handle bars to the end bars that point up and forward. How can I prevent this on my next long ride? Or is it just another pain that accompanies bicycling?

Answer 1

Hum...

Hand numbness is often a bicycle fit issue which is causing your weight to be thrown forward onto your hands and arms.  Seat height is only one component of getting the seat right.

First, is the nose of your saddle tipped downward?  If it is tipped down, your weight will be thrown forward onto your hands and arms.  Your saddle should be level, or even slightly tipped up.  This looks as if it may be uncomfortable, but it really isn't.  It actually helps distribute your weight properly across the length of the saddle and allows most of your weight to be borne by your pelvic bones.

Second, is your seat in the correct fore/aft position?  A starting point is to position your knee roughly over the pedal spindle when the pedal is at the 3:00 position.  Now go for a ride and do the following:  Without allowing your body position to change, take your hands off the handlebars.  If you feel like you are straining to hold your body up, you need to move the seat back so that your bottom will counterbalance your upper body.  When you get your saddle positioned so your body is balanced, you won't feel a lot of weight on your hands and arms.  This method of acheiving the correct fit is described here:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting....

Third, is the handlebar in the right place?  When you get your saddle in the right fore/aft position do you have to stretch to reach your handlebars?  On a mountain bike, climbing performance is compromised if you have too short of a stem.  Furthermore, there is nothing worse than having too short a stem and yanking your bike over backwards on a climb.  So, a bit of a stretch to the handlebars is OK.  If you have to stretch a lot, it is going to put to much weight on your hands and arms and cause numbness.  In this case, you need a shorter stem or can try moving the seat forward a bit.  Unless the steering tube is cut too short, you also may be able to slightly raise the handlebars by adding a spacer.

Finally, a couple last tips.  You want to ride with your elbows bent.  Never lock you elbows when riding.  Also gel gloves are great for comfort and reducing vibration.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

not normal... try to wear bike gloves

Answer 3

Make sure your saddle is perfectly level, you're putting too much pressure on your wrists, you saddle may be pointing down.

Padded mitts definitely help as well.

Answer 4

gloves...the reason cyclists wear gloves is to prevent this.  if you are wearing gloves and it still happens, try different gloves.  they have gel and different brands some better than others.

Answer 5

That is definitely not normal.

It might be that you are using the heel of your hand (especially on the thumb side) to support a lot of your upper body weight.  I would suggest:

- getting some riding gloves with gel pads on the heel-of-hand area.

- try shortening your cockpit length by either moving the seat forward or trying a shorter stem.  It will give you a bit more upright posture and have your back support a bit more of your upper body weight.

- If your bar ends are angled too far up, when you grip it it might put too much force on the heel of your thumbs.  Maybe angle the bar ends closer to horizontal would help.

Hope this helps, and good luck.