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Struggling on the road bike with pain, pins and needles and numbness in left hand due to arthritis from an old break (right not brilliant either to be fair). Bike is a carbon Defy on 28s (fork won't take larger), Supercaz tape with extra pads under hood contact points. Got some of those Specialized BG gloves. All helps but not enough, only takes a few miles on crap surfaces (which is most of them round here) before pins and needles are building. Di2 helps as it removes the pushing over motion needed for the front change (brother's bike had it but I won't be getting Di2 any time soon).
Currently on Zipp alloy bars and stem. Do carbon bars work on roadies and if so which are some the more deadening ones? 44cm compact drop. Not looking at spending 100s on Enves or the like, well South of £100 would be more like it so used or maybe a more reputable Chinese brand? That said handlebars aren't something I'm too happy taking a chance with on quality but there is good stuff coming from China, I had some Light Bicycle carbon rims that moved between 3 mtbs over a number of years before getting sold with a bike
Not quite what you’ve asked for, but have you considered alloy bars with damping foam in them? Spank do vibrocore drop bars, and Pro (Shimano) have their vibe series.
With all you've already done with tape ect I don't reckon carbon bars will make any real difference. I've got alloy and carbon bars on different bikes, one has 23mm tyres the other 25mm, that makes far more difference IMHO. Not saying you shouldn't get some, they look nice and might be a bit lighter but don't expect miracles.
How do you know its vibrations that are causing the problem? I suspect its more likely due to position, pressure and nerves, which would be more effected by position and/or bar shape than material.
On another note I think you be hard pressed to find a carbon bar worth having for less than £100
I've got Ritchey WCS evocurve alloy bars which were £65, the carbon version is about £140.
If you believe the reviews and the marketing then the flex is built into the stem and top section which means the hoods have some damping without the drops being a noodly mess. Downside of that is you end up spending £100 on a bar and stem that may not solve the problem anyway.
I'd go with a bigger front tyre, a 28 or 32mm tyre is slower, but not massively, you'd still keep up in the same groups.
maybe a more reputable Chinese brand?
What worries me is that even the 'reputable' brands are dirt cheap. I've got Carbonzone forks, as they had a lot of recommendations, yet they do an all in one bar/stem for £30!
There's some 44cm compact carbon bars on planet X for less than a ton
It might seem counter-intuitive but I have found I'm more comfortable not wearing gloves when the weather allows.
That little bit of "Squirm" between my hand and the bar causes me to unconsciously grip a little tighter than is really necessary, tensing hand/arm muscles more and making me feel vibrations more noticeably/get a bit of numbness on occasion, no gloves = more comfy for me.
That and running lower pressure (especially in wider tyres), no point running 28s if you've got them up at ~100psi...
I'd play with tyre pressures and consider whether or not the gloves/mitts are actually beneficial before dropping money on carbon bars....
I find tyre pressure and position on the bike make the biggest difference. What pressure are you running your current tyres/how much do you weigh?
Interestingly getting more weight on my arms/hands really helped. Slightly longer stem, lower down and seat forward a bit. Huge difference to my hand pain.
Also, wearing thin unpadded gloves helped.
On another note I think you be hard pressed to find a carbon bar worth having for less than £100
Prime x light bar is 90 quid at wiggle at the moment..
And it's only 160 gms
How do you know its vibrations that are causing the problem? I suspect its more likely due to position, pressure and nerves, which would be more effected by position and/or bar shape than material.
Agree with this. I use flat bars but find no difference between carbon, alu or titanium. Get the same issues after a few hours of riding no matter what the material. The problem for me is the fixed hand position which I live with as I don't do long rides.
one of my bikes is really susceptible to giving me hand numbness but its very dependent on pressure. 90psi - hand pain. 85psi (28mm tyres) no pain. It must be something to do with the how the frame transmits shocks. Maybe try different pressures or tubeless and even lower pressures to sort the issue?
I have owned various carbon drop bars and I prefer the feel of them, they are a bit more damped.
However I have to agree with:
With all you’ve already done with tape ect I don’t reckon carbon bars will make any real difference.
You may find it more fruitful to investigate bike fit and/or physio options.
I'm no expert, but I'd echo comments that perhaps you'll gain more from looking at bike fit or even core strength.
Oddly, I experience this when out for a gentle pootle with the other half. Not sure what it is, whether it's position, or just the lack of blood flow at that pace, but I can ride the same bike 100 miles back-to-back for days and not experience anything like it.
Thanks for all the ideas. Trust me, it's mainly arthritis related. I'm 86kg and running 80psi, might drop it a bit but I like going downhill fast so below 75 sounds a bit scary. Have been running unpadded gloves for years, basically just a layer of material, only recently got the BG gel gloves.
I did move my saddle forward 5mm halfway the ride yesterday as I felt a bit stretched to the hoods, felt better but will need a ride or two like that from the outset to really judge. It's the biggest Defy they do and it's huge, I have ridden my brother's Rose which is a size smaller and I prefer in some ways but get a bit of toe overlap.
Don't want to be any more upright as I already have all the spacers under the stem and heading for STIs to the sky territory. Struggle to go lower as a broken neck a couple of years back means looking up is a challenge. I'm doomed, doomed I tell you!
Will try the new seat position and a few psi less before I spend any money. Vibrocores look interesting though
Can almost guarantee it's your position, not the bars that's causing the problem... That or the position of the levers/hoods in relation to the bars.
Like others have said, I've run Carbon bars on road bikes for years, in fact my current two bikes have identical shape and make bars, but one is carbon, the other alloy. There's far more difference between 25 and 28mm tyres for instance! I like the carbon bars on my Colnago, but had they not effectively been a freebie, I don't think I would have shelled out for them.
I used to suffer terrible pins and needles in my hand on a couple of bikes, turns out it was more to do with uneven pressure in certain parts of the hands due to position of the bar/hoods. Even rotating the bars back a degree made a difference. As did undoing the tape, then moving the hoods up about another degree on the bars, and re-taping... Minute changes can make a marked difference!
As for your tyre pressures... 80psi is still quite a lot in a 28c, even at 86kg, especially if you're running tubeless... I'm 90kg and got tubeless 28's on my steel bike, I run 80psi rear and 75psi front on that and it's magic. Try dropping 5-10psi and see how it goes.