Inpd

Hi,

I rode a century on the Breezer Venturi on Saturday morning. With the narrow compact dropbars I think it fits perfectly as I can now ride in the drops without being too stretched out.

During the ride I had the normal tingly sensation of pins and needles in my left hand and slight sore feeling on the back of my right leg. These are normal for me and I just take a break and they go away.

But on Sunday I did some exercise with the left hand (some lifting) and the pins and needles in the left hand came back and Monday morning they are still there.

I'm guessing its not normal to feel the pins and needles days after the ride?

dr_lha

Essentially the pins and needles you get in your hands while riding is a bad sign, and in no way "normal". The fact that you're feeling them a few days after a century means that you're likely causing nerve damage. I had this issue in my feet from riding with shoes that were too narrow. Changing the shoes made the issues go away, eventually.

I would suggest that you need to fix your fit so that you don't feel the pins and needles during your ride. It's a warning sign, and not normal, even on a century ride.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes, nerve damage. Do that much and it becomes permanent damage. Never have pins and needles anywhere!

The Numb Hands post.

Always wear cycling gloves which have the padding arranged for ulnar nerve protection. Bontrager Race Gel gloves are my faves.

You might also try moving your saddle back to reduce the weight on your hands. Check out the reach being used by the women in that Numb Hands post.

dr_lha

Oddly I find padded gloves give me hand numbness, so have to wear unpadded gloves. So if you're using padded gloves already, try unpadded.

Bassmanbob

Is there any numbness in you forearm as well? Any muscle weakness in your hands. I had this and it was Cubitol tunnel syndrome. The ulnar nerve was getting trapped in the Cubitol tunnel, right after the elbow. It comes from having your elbow flexed too long. Get it looked at by an orthopedic surgeon and/or neurologist.

ShortLegCyclist

That's not odd at all, it's the same reason that cushy padded saddles can cause leg numbness, the padding compresses even more soft tissue and nerves than the unpadded versions.

OP may be describing Cyclist Palsy:

7 Ways to Prevent and Treat Cyclist's Palsy | ACTIVE

Grant Peterson, the Rivendell and former Bridgestone guru, believes strongly that if you need padded gloves that what you really need is to raise your handlebars up higher, which is also one of the solutions you'll find on the Active.com linked page.

Your mileage may vary but I found that problem all but went away once I moved from aluminum framed bikes to steel and titanium, even when all the bikes involved had carbon forks.

I can still get left hand numbness and tingling on steel or ti after very long rides without a break, but where I used to get that less than 30 miles into a ride in aluminum, I rarely get that before 85-100 miles on a steel or ti bike and only if I don't take breaks. The theory is that micro vibrations cause the issue as well as pressure on the nerve, and aluminum is the least effective frame material at damping or soaking up those micro vibrations.

And yes, for me it's definitely worse on chipseal and almost never happens on glass smooth asphalt.

If you do get it, my advice is take all the pressure off the affected hand and either ride very casually sitting upright or stop and take a break and walk around.

The longer you let the numbness build up the longer it takes to go away.

Then when you are done with the ride, try raising your handlebars higher. Might need a new stem to do that if you've already cut your steerer down.

And then try out a steel or ti bike if you are riding aluminum.

dr_lha

How's that cheap Breezer frame working out @Inpd?

It's already steel, but raising the handlebars may present an issue!

Jarrett2

Which fingers?

Inpd

The smallest and ring finger only. The other fingers are fine.

I should mention I feel no discomfort when my fingers are curled. When i straighten then out I feel the tingling in the last two fingers and when I make them into a ball.

UnfilteredDregs

Cubital tunnel. Either way your fit is off, you're bearing too much weight on the bars.

Inpd

Thanks.


But I don't think I have the condition. I have ridden 5 x 50 miles on back to back days and not had a problem. But this time I think I just pushed myself too far. I probably lack the core strength to ride that long in an aero position.

velociraptor

It's not necessarily fit that's causing the problem.

It may just be an issue of working on your core strength.

Your hands should only ever be resting on the bars, not supporting your upper-body weight.

Inpd

Okay .... that's happening for the first 10 minutes.

Do you guys really just rest your arms on the bars for your entire ride. That's truly amazing!

ellemenohpee

I had those Bontrager gloves and they barely lasted 4 months before the gels started tearing out of the stitching. Never again!

Chi_Z

the new roubaix and trek domane slr with front suspension should help

UnfilteredDregs

What the esteemed Mr. Raptor points out is important. Core strength is really essential, besides if you have too much weight on the bars and you hit something...that amplifies an already unintended control input.

Your setback needs to be such that you're cantilevered over the bike, and even when driving hard in the drops you're arms aren't holding a lot of weight.

A good read, go down to the "Point of Balance" section...

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...or-road-bikes/

Carbonfiberboy 

Huh. I've had mine for years. OTOH, my hands are pretty light on the bars so I don't put much strain on my gloves. So what are your favorite gloves with built in ulnar nerve protection?

RushFan2112

I have the same problem and have found that the Giro Bravo and Rapha Classic Mitt work well for my hands. I tend to go with the Giros because they're about 1/5 the cost. The Raphas are obviously ridiculously overpriced, but they are quite nice and they do prevent my hands from going numb.

Coachgordie

Went through the exact same thing about a month ago. Numbness in the side of your ring finger and pinky is probably handlebar palsy. Another poster said it perfectly, you've squashed your ulnar nerve. This can be caused by either a bad bike fit that is causing your 4th and 5th vertebrae to pinch or not moving your hands around. Try to either get out of your drops or off your hoods. Moving my hands around has really helped me get rid of that numbness.

Inpd

Hi,

So a guy looks at me whilst I'm filling up my water bottle. He looks at my crotch, then at my saddle, then at my crotch and back at the saddle, then he asked to buy me a drink ...

I just made the last bit up about the drink, but he did point out that my saddle was slightly leaning forward. I have this saddle https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and you can't easily level it with a spirit. So I adjusted it back every so slightly and voila pain is gone.

I guess the extra lean forward was causing me to put a bit too much weight on my hands.

Shuffleman

I hope that this works for you. I consider myself a frugal person but there are limits. I do not fit myself to a bike. I always pay for it. I know that there a a ton of people that will say that they can do it, and that is fine. Perhaps they can. My preference is to go into a lbs and pay for a fitting. The $50-$65 is well worth it. I have a great relationship with my lbs. He does not tell me "what I want to hear". He tells me like it is. Sometimes when we buy our own parts and build it, we convince ourselves that we have the right stem or etc.
Core and Fit. Also, stretching. It is important to take care of all of those things. Build your core. It takes 15-30 minutes per day. Get a fit. Stretch before and after you ride. Experts disagree with each other on the benefit of before you exercise but I see no harm in it. I roll on my exercise ball working my hips for about 1-2 minutes in each direction before I ride. After I ride, I stretch for about 15 minutes. Not just hamstrings and calves. Stretch the lower back, shoulders, wrists and etc. It truly helps with many issues.