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I have been struggling with hand and wrist comfort on my MTB, there are a few factors but one I really notice is that my brake levers sit further inboard than I would like and my hands sit to the outside of the grips with a gap of unused grip inside.
A grip that was say 110mm long instead of ~135-140 would let me move the levers in a touch and everything would be simpler. Brakes are Shimano M615, not sure if they are known for a short lever or not. I have long fingers so reach isn't an issue it's setting in front of my index finger instead of having to angle my hand (which I do subconsciously).
Only other option I can see is wider bars or inserts to move grips out wider. I do however seem to use the full width of the bar no matter what it is (bar on my 'trail' bike is 760mm, I am 178cm / 5'10").
Am I thinking total BS? I do have the joy of Scott Twinloc to then sort, but can shim that out without too much bother.
So I'm not completely sure I understand. You want a shorter grip so you can move the brakes further out, while at the same time your hands naturally sit out over the ends of the bars and you have to angle your hands inwards to get to the brakes.? Is that about right.?
Couple of things then.. Are your brakes set so the the hook at the end of the lever lines up with your index finger.? You shouldn't really need more than 1 finger to brake and the hook at the end of the lever provides greatest mechanical leverage.
If that's all set up as you like it then it does sound like you want wider bars.. 760mm isn't narrow but it's at the narrower end of 'normal' these days, 780mm is about the norm to start at and then cut down if you want.
Just for comparison, I have 135mm grips and when descending my hand position has about 4cm of exposed grip to the inside and the 'fatty bit' at the heel of my hand is right over the end of the bar, this is with 780mm bars. I run my brakes way inboard of the grip though so that the hook of the lever is right under my index finger in that position.
It's a tricky one to explain, perhaps a pic of your hand position would be better to judge if you would be better with longer bars or different grips or some other adjustment.
Could have the sweep on your bars to far forward causing excess strain on your wrists/hands
I had this issue and by simply moving my bars towards me a touch so there was more sweep fixed it.
SQ-LABS have a decent guide
https://www.sq-lab.com/en/ergonomics/sqlab-contact-points/the-hand/painful-hands/
H1ghland3r you got it right.
Not matter how outboard I put the brake levers the hook still sits more inboard than I would like. I always one finger brake to.
Will try and grab a photo as that would make it really clear.
trailtom I'll check that thanks.
I have been pondering exactly the same thing recently, due to the remove fitting between the grip and brake I cant get the lever blade far enough over. I also use the outermost part of the grip no matter how wide I set them. Currently on the lookout for shorter grips and might even try cutting some down.
What grips do you have? Some, like Ergon are overly long (Ergon GD1 are 144mm), most are 120-130mm I think. Also, Shimano brake levers are pretty short.
You either need shorter grips, or brakes with longer levers, or both.
FWIW I my hands also sit on the outer edge of the grip, why waste bar width 😀
short grips
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ergon grips
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short grips with Hope
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If you use grips with a single lock ring you can cut them shorter or just move them out a bit. They don't need bars under the whole length. Obviously don't overhang them too much but 20mm will be fine.
Buy some foam grips that are not lock on and cut them to length you want. Esi are very good foam grips.
Still a bit lost TBH but my 10yr old has the same length lever SLX/XT (as do I). On his bike the lever mount is against the grip (deathgrips) almost... on mine (size L gloves but short fingers) they sit at least 2 finger widths (possibly more depending on bike) in (towards the stem) with ODI grips.
I think the difference might be the lever adjustment ... the kids are parallel to the bars when not on... mine are about 1/2 way...
ta11pau1 the grips are Scott own brand, left hand side the dropper/twinloc clamp is also the grip clamp, right hand grip looks longer to make up the size. That setup always means the brake is further in that it could otherwise be but I don't think it contributes to the issue, just a consideration.
More I think about it the more I think I want wider bars (upsweep, backsweep and rise unknown) which might result in my hands not going out to end of grips - even just 10mm more each side would make a difference.
Having a look last night I am not sure how much shorter a grip I could go without my hands splaying over edges anyhow, 120mm is probably the shortest (if it has a small lock on).
In case anyone was interested I widened the grips by just over 1cm, bunged a bit of cork in the ends to pack it. I also rolled the bars a bit to maximise the sweep.
It feels better, hands are on the grips now but I could go another cm wider and I still think I could handle some more backsweep.
Is there a logical relationship between reach, width and backsweep? Like more reach wants more backsweep, less reach more width but less backsweep?