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Keeping this post as brief as I can,
When riding for extended periods I get awful pain in my left wrist only, it feels like the type of pain you’d get if you bent your wrist for a long time and then tried to straighten it,
I have tried adjusting where I put my hands on the grips, raising my seat (within reason) lowering my stem, rolling bars back and forth but still get the pain often,
Rolling my bars forward, lowering my left brake lever and dropping the stem (all done individually and tested on separate rides) seems to have helped a little but not cured the issue
I’ve looked at my hands when riding and it looks (and feels) like both my right and left hands/wrists are laying in the same position
Currently have 50mm stem with 800mm renthal bars
Still trying to work out what could be causing it in my left wrist only, could this be a bike setup issue, my position on the bike or something more?
Anyone suffered this or have any ideas what could be causing it?!
…
Do you wear the same gloves all the time? Only ask as I was feeling some uncomfortable hands one ride I started with my warm waterproof gloves on, which went when it warmed up and I changed to a light no padding pair.
Also, I'd try narrower bars as you've done everything else setup wise.
Could it be the sweep on your bars is aggravating it?
I get awful wrist pain when riding due to a number of injuries. The only thing I have found that helps to any real degree are rev grips, expensive but they work for me.
As it's only one wrist, could it be something off the bike that's aggravating it?
Left handed and use a mouse all day? Dog pulling your arm out on the lead?
Undiagnosed injury, or even arthritis?
@spooky_b329 in hindsight, it could be, I’m also a bassist/guitarist and have been exclusively sitting when practicing since the whole COVID thing, no wrist pain whilst playing but could be a contributing factor
@longmover I thought so to hence rolling my bars forward but might try a little further before I head out this afternoon
@tthew same gloves always, rarely do I Velcro the wrists straps up
Starting to wonder if moving my saddle forward might help, don’t know if I’m leaning on my wrists too much to get myself on the back of it, might try that too
You could try some more ergonomic grips? These sorted me out. You need to tweak the angle of the grip a little. 3-4 hour rides no longer a problem. https://www.specializedconceptstore.co.uk/product/5419/2017-contour-xc-grips/
@susepic Thankyou for the suggestion, will certainly look into ergonomic grips
Rolled my bars forward again this afternoon and it SEEMS to have eased but I was out for only a short hour so difficult to tell at the minute
Angle of brake lever and/or shifter too parallel to ground, so you're bending your wrist up?
I have big wrist issues due to a previous injury, I run 12° backsweep bars which certainly help. Bars keep getting wider but backsweep isn't increasing at the same rate,
Your bars are putting your wrists in a very unnatural position. the grip should be angled back and down towards you to put your wrist in a neutral position. wide bars will exacerbate this. this is the cause of the pain is my bet.
@n0b0dy0ftheg0at great suggestion, only brake and dropper levers on my left, have rolled them round as far as I can within reason, did seem to ease slightly
@dc1988 running renthal fat bars, no idea what the backsweep (if any) is, they do seem to be getting rolled further round though
@susepic ha ha pretty much, just a couple of weeks to go
@tjagain good point you make and definitely something to consider, I must say I’m struggling a little with seeing how bringing it closer to me will help, will try rolling bars all the way back on my next jaunt, see what happens
Over training? Does it ever get a break? Just I felt a big difference when I stopped commuting daily (on rigid mtb frequently cross country) my wrists have been much happier. Or bars too low, so leaning forward putting too much weight, after a long ride maybe you're pressing into your wrists without realizing?
@sirromj definitely not overtraining, definitely more a case of “lemme see if I can squeeze a couple of hours somewhere to get in the bike” ha ha
Interesting point you make about bars too low, they were higher than they are now and, whether it’s just my imagination or not I’m not sure, it seems to be a bit less severe, I do wonder though, is it possible that it’d be one wrist only if my bars were too low?!
@donslow keep us posted on your progress re SDW, am about 7 weeks away from SDW-in-a-day
@susepic weather permitting, may 22nd…
If you’ve not heard from me by the 24th, I belong to the South Downs now……
what I did with my bars is spend a bit of time getting the roll right when in the attack position. tried various different positions till I found the one I was comfy with.
Then I sorted by brake lever position. I change it depending on the trails I'm riding. If it is steep I have them more horizontal but for trail centres or riding with the kids I'll have them further round. I used to get pain in my left wrist riding with the kids because of the brake lever position.
Also make sure you tyre pressure and forks are set up good.
@donslow - good luck on the 22nd. how did you decide - are you doing SDW east to west or west to east?
@susepic thanks, looking forward to it albeit with a little trepidation, gonna be a loooonng day
Going to start at the Winchester end, no other real reason than just following advice given on the other thread if I’m honest
7 degree backsweep at a full 800mm could be the issue, I switched to nukeproof horizons with 9 degree and it is more comfortable for me, I've also settled down to 770mm width after switching between bikes and finally figured out what works best for me, I do think a lot of people are running to wide, not suggesting you are. I wonder if anyone is crying out for 820mm or more, funny how it's settled down around 800 and people from 5 foot nothing to 6 foot 7 are running the same width. It's surprising how many downhill and enduro guys of all heights are running 760.
In your normal riding position is your wrist straight from the elbow to your knuckle? Any bend horizontal or vertical could cause strain. Float your hands over the grips like you are going to play a piano before holding them, if you have to bend your wrists to grip I'd look to make adjustments.
As it’s only one wrist, could it be something off the bike that’s aggravating it?
Had a similar issue last year. Hand was going numb when riding.Spent a fortune on new bits for the bike I'd been riding for years with no problems before trying to solve it.
Went to a physio. Found tight muscles in upper back and shoulder I had no idea were tight. She off handedly mentioned it was something she sees in people who sit on computer all day at work.
It clicked. Was lockdown and I was on the tablet a lot at night using that hand to swipe....
Stretching and ball massage eventually sorted it. Took ages mind you but no numb hand anymore....
Interesting stuff, after braking my wrist two weeks ago, it’s due to be fixed just in time for the Jenn Ride. Lots to consider regarding neutral hand/ wrist position.
Renthal bar shape gives me problems too. More sweep, as suggested. I get on well with Burgtec but Nukeproof is another good option
I'm another that's found increased sweep has helped hand/wrist pain. SQLabs 12 degree in my case.
Stretching and ball massage with a numb hand?? 😉
@robo89 some excellent points you make and certainly some things to chew over, might attempt to ride with my hands a little further in to see if it helps before I commit to cutting down my bars
On the other hand (pun not intended but still worth a chuckle)
@fooman slight bend in the wrist but no more than my right and I get nothing from the right hand wrist
@reeksy @peaslaker suggesting more sweep, excuse my idiocy here but is the sweep where the bars, if sat central, go forward or back?! If so, could be something in that, I did wonder if my reach is a little too short (sorted with a longer stem maybe?!)
@susepic no words…too funny…
@survivor thanks for the input, certainly something(s) to consider as a cause
Stretching and ball massage with a numb hand?? 😉
It's the stretching that helps... I just like my balls massaged while I'm on 😂
@reeksy Thankyou, some helpful information in that article, looks like a bigger back sweep could be just the ticket in order to straighten my wrist-elbow line when riding, now to find some suitable bars that don’t cost the earth ha ha
Nukeproof horizon bars helped me in similar circumstances. Sqlab 12deg bars were good but only for one position (seated or standing, not both). Rev grips are good if you have med to small hands, otherwise wolftooth (mega) fat paws work for me. Slightly narrower bars also seemed to help. Used to use 785mm fatbar, now use 770mm horizons at 6ft with +3 ape index.