[Closed] Carbon Road Bars?

Double wrapped my bars, and spent a bit extra on some gloves. Still get numb hands unless i keep moving them around the bars every couple of minuets or so. As for carbon bars I cant say. I know some of the pros prefer double wrapped bars.

Maybe pay for a bike fit? or search online for some setup dimensions.

Never had that problem but Specialized to a Roubaix BAr Tape which is thicker than standard. Got to br worth a go, failing that you could always double wrap.

Specialized also do decent gloves with nice padded palms.

I tried carbon (bontranger race-x-lite) bars and found they just felt dead, and not much more comfortable, the worse shape was certainly less comoftable than any increace in vibration absorbtion.

I've now got Ritchey Evocurve aluminium bars with lizzard skins DSP 2.5mm tape and they're far more comfortable, while at the same time you can feel the road through them.

Endura FS-260 gloves are nice as well. To the extent I only wraped to the first bend on the bar and not the tops.

Carbon bars seem to be the first thing Pro's metaphoricaly throw in the bin (as 90% of their bikes need heavier parts than the team replicas you can get in the shops), so they'd be the last place I'd 'upgrade'.

I'd recommend the opposite - get rid of the gloves completely, learn how to hold the bars correctly. Padded gloves just compensate for bad technique, but won't help in the long run.

Try to tweak your hand position and/or get fitting advice before shelling out for new bars.

Is the pain a recent thing? Maybe it's just a symptom for another problem?

I have creaky, crunchy wrist joints. Orange juice makes them worse but I don't know why.
I'll try fat bar tape.
Ta

I would try a bike fit first.

TBH after I changed to carbon bars (EC90) I couldn't feel any difference. [i]Possibly[/i] they are less fatiguing after a long ride but it's impossible to say really. I think RealMan has a point re: the grip. Overall bike fit is v important too IMO.

i wouldn't go down the carbon bars route.

cinelli make gel pads which fit beneat the tape and can be placed where you need them. these do make a big difference.

you can also get vibration damping bar end plugs

oh, and DSP tape is fantastic stuff!

RealMan - Member
I'd recommend the opposite - get rid of the gloves completely, learn how to hold the bars correctly. Padded gloves just compensate for bad technique, but won't help in the long run.

Good or better though? I'd happily ride without them, but they're just nicer on long rides. Not entirely sure what you mean by correctly? I presume you're refering to not hanging on with a vice grip for dear life and relaxing elbows?

Damn, now I don't can't hold onto a handle bar correctly as I use gloves.
The list of things I can't do on a bike continues to grow.

Hang on a minute.....

[img] https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZ0V_dZrMqzC7zfieMouELqmGH2w6-UiJ9is4Rdnn3uP2gTaTe [/img]

i'm not sure RM is suggesting never wearing gloves, I think he's suggesting learning to ride in such a way that doesn't rely on padded gloves.

if so, i think he's got a point.

Lift the bars a bit with some stem spacers if you can.

Get some Specialized BG tape with the gel pads, very comfy.

Id get a proper fit to make sure you dont have too much weight forward on your hands as step one

then think about padding up/ new bars (bars with aero tops are pretty comfy for when you are chillin)

Make sure your gloves aren't fastened too tightly at the wrist when you set off, allow for a bit of expansion so your circulation doesn't become restricted (which will cause numbness) during the ride.

I'm pretty sure the numbness is a result of vibration doing something weird to my nerves. I always used to get it riding the MTB on roads when going to to the railway station to do an off road ride.
I've put as many spacers under the stem as the forks will allow. Short body and long legs means that the saddle is crazy high and the bars probably too low.
Maybe I should chop my feet off?!