Mtl01

I should have also mentioned that the guy at the bike shop didn't think that gloves with too much padding was a very good idea. I got the Bontrager Solstice gloves that aren't too padded and they helped.

He verified the fit of my new bike, so that's good to go.

He also said I could consider more ergonomic grips if the problem persists.

I guess the bottom line is that I need to strengthen my core (e.g. lose the extra weight I now carry on my upper torso, lol) and then see if that helps resolve the issue.

John_V 

Not saying these are the perfect gloves for everyone but, if you have a Specialized dealer in your area, try their BG Gel gloves. Even after a Retul fitting, I was having all kinds of hand numbness, especially around my thumbs. I tried these gloves on a friends advice and haven't used any other glove since then. That was about 9 years ago and haven't had problems since.

zarbog

I tried everything I could think of to relieve the pain in my hands while cruising on the Giant Roam. Even put Jones bars on. The new bars solved the numb hands, but then the problem shifted to my rear. Now there was too much weight on my saddle, that caused untold grief. Finally sold it and went to my first drop bar bike this spring and am much better off, now trying to find comfort past the two hour mark.

canklecat

That Norco City Glide should be comfortable, especially with swept bars and ergonomic grips.

Check to be sure the palm shelf support is oriented to keep your wrist straight. This can feel odd at first. But it should help. Check the tips on the Ergon grip site.

Ergonomic grips look odd on my albatross bars, and some folks have asked whether it's comfortable set up as shown. It is very comfortable, but they seem skeptical because it looks odd. But after thousands of miles without pain, I know it helps me. I've tried various round grips but none were as comfortable as these bargain priced ergo grips (about $10 at the LBS, and the material feels the same as the Ergon brand, although lacking the locking collar).

I also tip the albatross bar to an angle that ensures a good forearm/wrist angle. Some folks think the grip ends of swept bars should be horizontal, like the product display photos, but I set 'em so they're comfortable for me, not to advertise a product.

But bars and adjustments depend on bike fit. My Univega Via Carisma is technically my size, but at the upper end of my size. I think it's a 58cm frame. I'm 5'11" with 33" inseam, so it's pushing the margin a bit -- 56 would be closer to my optimal size. And that Univega has a longer top tube than seat tube, 59cm, so it's a long reach. It was uncomfortable with the original flat bars, a little better with riser bars, but perfect with the albatross bars. Some folks will trim 1/2" to an inch off the ends of swept bars but I haven't needed to, even with bar end shifters.

I also tried the albatross bar flipped in the old path racer style last summer, but I was still recovering from a shoulder injury and it wasn't comfortable. I might try flipping the bar again later this year after the current round of physical therapy workouts.

With the handlebar in the conventional upright position I'm upright and comfortable using the grips, which is perfect for city riding when I need immediate access to the brakes. But I often lean forward and grip over the brake lever clamp, or even lean into the forward arc of the bars to get a bit more aero and recruit the thigh/hip adductor muscles more efficiently. Lots of hand positions so I'm rarely in one position long enough for anything to get numb or painful.

But bike adjustments may not fix everything. When I resumed cycling in 2015 I hadn't been on a bike 30 years. In 2014 I was still walking with a cane, the result of a 2001 wreck (my compact car was t-boned by a full sized SUV at highway speed). I started with a comfort hybrid and made adjustments gradually as my conditioning, strength and flexibility improved.

Frankly, it's been a long process, much slower than I'd expected. It's taken almost four years of regular PT to get back to being comfortable enough on a road bike to ride longer than an hour or around 20 miles. And there are still days when I prefer the Univega with swept bar for longer moderate paced and group rides.

If I'd just stopped with the comfort hybrid and did no physical therapy -- lots of stretching and strengthening exercises without weights, mostly using resistance or body weight -- I'd still be riding that comfort hybrid for only 3-5 miles a few times a week, huffing and puffing for breath, walking up hills instead of riding. No amount of just riding a bike was going to improve the other stuff -- neck pain, hand and elbow pain, back pain, the works.

And being hit by a car last year was a serious setback. I had to commit to routine, regular PT sessions every week, if not every day. And it's been exactly a year and I'm still not where I'd like to be. But I'm doing better.



Univega Via Carisma with long top tube. The albatross bar provides a comfortable reach. The angle helps align my forearms and wrists.


Current incarnation, with zero angle road bike stem rather than original angled stem. Same length, but effective length a bit longer with the horizontal stem.


Palm shelf rests angled slightly upward to keep my wrists better aligned. Took only a couple of rides to adapt to.

FiftySix

Lots of good info there Canklecat. Nice ride and set up, too.

FiftySix

Just to add this to the conversation . . .

Last night I went on another ride. (Unable to ride since Sunday morning due to work and high water from heavy rain.)

Last night's ride was on much smoother pavement and my hands didn't go numb until much, much later.

Sunday morning's ride had a lot of wavy concrete on the road which vibrated the fork so much that if I pulled one hand off the bars the front would shake so much that the fender would vibrate into the tire. That's the ride that made my hands go numb in about 10 minutes. Arrrgh.

Anyway, I got notification the 25 degree stem (original 10 degree) I had ordered had arrived at my work. I'll pick it up this weekend on my way out of town for work.

tcs

Well, there are shock and vibration mitigating stems like the Redshift Shockstop and StaFast.

Carbonfiberboy 

Hmm. I don't know what your position is like. For riding any distance, one wants about a 45° torso angle. Many people make the mistake of thinking that position is about aerodynamics, but that's not the case, though it is convenient that the position helps with that. The standard road and MTB position is about comfort. It's been the standard since the invention of the safety bicycle. This is an original Wright Brothers bicycle, built in 1898:



Rather amazing, isn't it?

But back to your hand issues. Looking through the Norco bike lineup I see only the step-through Scene model have swept back bars. All the rest are either flat bars or drop bars. The Scene bikes are designed to be ridden bolt upright, which takes the weight off the hands. If one's position puts any weight on the hands, then drop or flat bars are preferred.

To see how to ride on rough surfaces watch riders on the Paris-Roubaix cobbles:
Leaning well forward, elbows bent, arms relaxed, most riders either on the hoods or bar tops. Set your bike up to imitate that position. There's a reason for it.

So what to do? Change out the bars. Move the saddle back until your hands are light on the bars with so little weight that you can lift your hands off them without sliding forward on the saddle. Lengthen and lower your stem until your upper arms make a 90° angle with your straight torso. It's not complicated and everyone does it this way.

The other thing of course is tires. Run wide rims and wide tires at a relatively low pressure. The new Continental 5000 IIs tires are available in nice widths. What you can run will depend on the clearance in your fork.

FiftySix

My particular Norco is a 2013 Cityglide, which is sorta kinda the predecessor to the Indie.

Below is a pic of it with the original grips. I've had the stem and bar flipped upside down, but having the stem and bars upright has been easier on my hands.

Tires are 700x37 Continental Ride City.

Carbonfiberboy 

You could try it with the bars tilted down like in the Wright Brothers photo. Try them set so that leaning forward and elbows bent ~15°, your wrists are straight and relaxed. As above, make sure there's little weight on your hands in that position. How much do you weigh, what tire pressure are you using? City tires are pretty bulletproof, but have stiff strong sidewalls which increase vibration transmission.

FiftySix

It's hard to see from the angle of the photo, but the grip angle nearly matches the top tube angle. Which isn't level. I have gone lower and higher with the grip angle, yet it feels best with my wrists naturally falling into place at whatever handlebar height I've tried.

Weight? I'm 185 lbs. at 5'9" fully clothed. The bike is about 30 lbs. Tire pressure has been 60 psi on the rear and 55 psi on the front when freshly topped up. Over a week's time the pressure drops to maybe 50 at the rear and 45 at the front before I top it up again. The sidewall of the tire specifies 45 psi to 65 psi.

philbob57

Have you talked with your doc? I had symptoms similar to yours ... carpal tunnel syndrome. The corrective surgery is pretty simple, and if it's done competently, the pain and numbness will be gone. But I don't even play a doctor on TV, so I recommend asking your doc to get tested for CTS.

FiftySix

I have a host of issues throughout my body, as anyone usually does. Right now I'm in the part of my life where all my medical money goes to my wife and my college age kids. Ya hear that money sucking machine going on right now? Lolololol.

Carbonfiberboy 

You could try posting 2 photos of you on the bike, one with pedals level, one with them vertical, over on the Fitting Your Bike forum and complain of hand pain. See what you get for responses..

FiftySix

Just an update.

I mounted up the 25 degree stem last night, but it sure seems steeper than claimed. Anyway, it's 100mm like the original but the handlebar is about 1" higher now. I rode it this morning and immediately noticed that the seat needed to slide back now.

After my ride, I moved the seat back a bit and adjusted the angle on the bars a few degrees. I'll give it another go tomorrow morning.

My hands still got a bit numb, which is still indicating gloves would be useful.

canklecat

Same here. Old C2 neck injury from 2001 car wreck, and re-injury last year, make my neck and shoulder position more critical for comfort on longer days in the saddle. I'm constantly correcting my tendency to hunch up my shoulders.

And I'm hyper-sensitive to stem/handlebar position. Which reminds me, I need to either lower or raise the stem on my hybrid. I put on a longer road bike stem a couple of months ago and while the reach is better with long swept albatross bars, the height feels like it's often in the no-go range. A slight adjustment to my hand position on the bar, higher or lower, alleviates the crunchy neck sensation.

I've been back in PT for a month and it's gradually improving my posture and comfort.

canklecat

I'm usually reluctant to suggest throwing money at ergonomic and comfort issues, because often those change with our physical conditioning.

But I can see a few things in the photo of your bike that might influence your comfort.

One can't really be resolved cost effectively -- that straight fork. Most older steel and even some early carbon fiber bikes had curved forks, which serve as springs and help dampened vibration. There's some cost to responsiveness which is why most racing bikes now have straight forks. But we mere mortals will never notice the difference.

It would probably be more cost effective to try another good used bike off craigslist or other ad site. There are zillions of good older steel frame bikes waiting to be adopted. Even an older mountain bike with simple spring suspension fork will dampen a lot of harsh roads and feel better on the hands, wrists, elbows, etc.

A set of ergonomic hand grips with a palm support will help. Mine cost about $10-$12, friction fit only. They hold position well on a chromed or bare aluminum handlebar, but tended to shift position too much on black painted bars. Ergon brand grips and some others have locking collars to hold the desired position.

And tilting the grip end of the bar downward a bit may help. Sure did for my bike (shown above).

Another factor might be tires, which someone else mentioned too. I like some Continental tires but it depends on the design and intended use. The Conti Ride City appears to be designed primarily for durability and puncture resistance. Sometimes those types of tires respond well to lower pressure, but some just feel squishy and sluggish. Takes some experimenting.

My favorite hybrid tires are Continental Speed Rides, which feel both comfortable and fast. It's a variation of their dry weather cyclocross tire, with a thin puncture shield that doesn't add significant weight, tread thickness or feel sluggish. The sidewalls are flexible and the tire feels supple despite the unimpressive specs and low price. The only drawback I've found in more than two years of riding that tire is they're a bit too wide for my old SKS Bluemel fenders. The Speed Rides come in one size only, nominally 700x42, actually measuring closer to 700x38.

This past winter I wanted to put those fenders back on my Univega, so I bought a pair of Continental Sport Contact II tires on sale cheap when Nashbar blew 'em out. The 700x32 was nominally comparable to the Speed Rides, both just a bit over 400 grams for the wire bead versions. And they fit my fenders. But I couldn't like the ride quality. The Sport Contact II tires felt harsh at recommended pressure and sluggish at a comfortable pressure. Good wet weather grip, durable and puncture resistant. But I just didn't care for the ride. I switched back to the Speed Rides. Much, much better.

Different tires alone might resolve some of your comfort issues with the same bike.

When my neck is aching too much for the road bikes, I'll grab that Univega with the more comfortable tires for longer casual rides. That's my usual casual group ride bike for rides that generally go around 40-60 miles with plenty of rest stops by the time I get back home.

Aahzz

Ergon grips helped me a lot, but the thing that has done the best for my hands is ditching the cycling gloves, and using weightlifting gloves with integrated wrist wraps instead. I use these:

https://www.amazon.com/Harbinger-Wri...s%2C213&sr=8-4

They've been a great boon to my hands . Just a thought - bracing the wrists can help with a lot. I have arthritis starting in my thumbs, and have a history of tendinitis in my wrists, and these have greatly reduced issues with both.