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So I seem to have messed up my hands while riding down "The Gap" in the Brecon Beacons. I only had mild discomfort in one hand while riding it and no pain for a day or two after, but 2 days later the bit of my hand between my thumb and forefinger on both hands has swelled up a bit and I can't grip anything with my left thumb. Doc says it's bruising and to keep off the bike and rest it.
Although the rocky nature of the decent is rougher than anything I recall riding before, I've never experienced anything like this and I've been riding for years.
Has anyone else had this issue, and if so how long did it take to go away? Any ideas on how to avoid in future?
Bike setup is a 100mm 26" full sus XC bike with suspension set up very supple (Marzocchi MXC fork) and low tyre pressures in 2.25" tyres (double pinch puncture ensued!)
Although the rocky nature of the decent is rougher than anything I recall riding before, I’ve never experienced anything like this and I’ve been riding for years.
That's probably your answer - a bit of death-gripping and stiff-arming on a short-travel bike. Out of interest, do you brake with one finger or more? I found that when I moved to single-finger braking, I was gripping far less with the thumb.
Also check your rebound, if is too slow, and the fork set up too soft, you will be spending the entire rocky section after the first 50 yards with it stuck in the bottom of its travel, your weight over the bars and even more pressed into your thumb - effectively riding a rigid.
I do - it is a sign my Yari is at the right air pressure to not sink down through its travel...
I just have some places where frankly an alloy bar, Yari with iffy damping and tyre pressures high enough not to pinch = sore between thumb and forefinger. I find a couple of Munro or rock descents (Golspie and Laggan) can leave proper purple bruises.
Thanks for the thoughts guys, will check the rebound again. I was being careful to only use one finger on the brakes, I often use two on other bikes with weaker brakes. When I've had trouble with death gripping in the past (20 years ago!) it's normally caused more immediate pain and my hands have felt very stiff when I stop. Maybe I'm just getting too old for that kind of terrain 🙁
You could try moving your levers up a bit.... I use to get aching thumbs after rough rides, partly down to various hand injuries and having to much pressure on the area you mentioned. If roll your levers back a bit it takes some of the weight off that area.... At least that's what I found.
A mate of mine had a similar pain, I tried his bike and found his bar roll and lever position was terrible, for me anyway. I convinced him to alter it slightly, after a bit of resistance he did and hasn't had the problem since.
ESI chunky grips are a must for me or that bit of my hands gets very sore.
My controls are set up quite high to roll my wrists back a little and this helps put the weight on my palms rather than having to hang off my thumbs when the going gets exciting.