Cycling UK Forum

I can ride dropped handlebars for hours without a problem, but straight mountain bike bars make my fingers go numb. I don't whether this is simply a question of wrist angle, lack of alternative hand positions, geometry differences between bikes, or what... but I need to consider whether a very high riser bar, just bar ends, or porteur bars would help.

(Edit - might these really wide mtb bars make things worse re weight distribution?)

What do you think?

Yes. It's pretty common.

One of the causes is riding with cocked wrists.

I suggest that you post some photos of your position on the problematic bike, including your hands and fingers on the bars.

Jonathan

I get on very badly with ‘flat’ bars. Hand pressure, neck and shoulder aches etc.

By much experimentation, I’ve found that the things that seem to make it all just about work are:

- cutting the bars down to a more reasonable width than they are supplied at, about 100mm wider than shoulder width seems to work for me;

- using those ergotec grips that have a bit that prevents the palms “falling under” and causing the wrists to be bent all the time;

- steering very well clear of bikes that have a long effective top-tube in relation to seat height. Lots of modern hybrids are derived from modern MTB thinking, and IMO are waaaaay too long-fronted for general purpose bikes;

- setting bars no lower than seat, and possibly a smidge higher;

- short bar-ends at the bar ends or, better still, fit bar-ends at the inside end of the hand-grips.

But, even after all that tinkering, I still find drop-bars more comfortable and more efficient. I know other people who are the exact opposite though, they simply cannot get on with drops.

PS: at one point, I tried a very short stem as a way to shorten a long-fronted bike, but I don’t recommend that at all, because the steering became as twitchy as a mouse’s nose.

PPS: I also tried a set of Ergotec aerowing bars, which are swept back. To me, they feel inefficient, requiring a very upright stance, so I took them off again, but I’ve stashed them away, because I can imagine they might come in useful in the future.

Bear with me, I’m trying to do this on the phone.
There is a board called”non-technical too good to lose”
A thread called “fingers either numb or tingly” which will give you a very good start. For example, which fingers are involved tells you if it’s the radial or ulnar nerve getting irritated

531colin wrote: ↑22 Jun 2023, 5:13pm Bear with me, I’m trying to do this on the phone.
There is a board called”non-technical too good to lose”
A thread called “fingers either numb or tingly” which will give you a very good start. For example, which fingers are involved tells you if it’s the radial or ulnar nerve getting irritated

Aha, found it viewtopic.php?t=35438. Thanks!