Originally Posted by
djende
He informed me that he's had many customers with such a problem and the solution is never drop handlebars it is in fact flat bars with ergonomic grips. I told him, I already have those. He then said then we need to bring the bars up and closer. I told him that I already have an adjustable stem to bring the bars up and closer to me. He then talked about replacing the adjustable stem with a stem riser/extender tube and a solid stem to bring them up even higher and keep them close with a more secure stem. That the adjustable ones will break over time and for that reason are dangerous.
So is he right? Are these the better solutions for hand problems, or are drop handle bars better for that?
I would say that he is wrong in my case.
I grew up riding drop bars and didn't ride flat bars until later into adulthood, but find them very uncomfortable. Have a set of ergo grips also that are no help. My hands will start going numb in 10-15 min of riding, whether it is roads or single track while I can ride a drop bar for hours on end. To me it is simply the unnatural position that a flat bar puts my wrists in. The flats on the top of a drop bar are similarly uncomfortable and little used on my bikes. What I have recently found that does work for flat bars is to have a bar with a fair amount of backsweep. Not quite sure what is the optimal number for me, but somewhere around 15 degrees or more probably. I also give the bar some rollback so that the grips are sloping down and back. That works and for the first time ever I have a flat bar bike that I enjoy riding.
I still find drops more comfortable though. My preference is for something in the vein of the newer "gravel drops" that have some amount of flare and maybe sweep out somewhat. I find that an even more natural hand position than drops that are already pretty natural.