storckm

The Tandem I have is a little on the small side for me. This is not altogether bad, since my wife can captain it too, but she only has once. Anyway, with the stem all the way up, I've noticed that my wrists are a bit sore when I ride with my children. I attribute this to the fact that I'm not putting much effort into pedaling most of the time, which puts more weight onto my wrists. Raising the handlebars would help, but the stem is already all the way up, and as it's a 1 1/8" threaded stem with a close to vertical extension, I'm not likely to find a stem that will let me put the bars higher. Right now, I have "butterfly" or "trekker" bars, and I like them well enough. In particular, when I'm holding them on the sides or front, they stretch me out about the right amount.
So is there any way to give me a higher hand position without moving my hands too close to me? I'm thinking that "North-Road" and such wouldn't work for this reason.
Since this picture, I've flipped the bars over, which makes them a little higher on the outsides, but still leaves my wrists sore after riding with my children.

trestlehed

Ever consider a recumbent? They do make tandems.

kuan

You could try something like Kore Palmsters. Not sure if it would fit your bars though.

coldbike

I would seeif i could find a longer stem with more vertical extension. Alternately, a longer stem and a vertical extender should get you higher and more forward. I do this quite regularly to compensate for my long legs and short torso.

VegasTriker

You can try a stem riser. Google on "Delta brand stem riser". I installed one on my Balance brand mountain bike more than a decade ago. The cost back then was about $10. I looked online and now the price is a little under $20 plus shipping. It will raise the handlebars 3.5 inches. It helped but in my case it was not a satisfactory solution for my hands going numb. It would happen if I had any significant weight on my palms. I eventually started riding a recumbent with underseat steering and now have zero numbness with an order of magnitude more miles that I used to ride. I still have the MTB but use it only when a recumbent is not suited for the conditions.

mrsocal

Thanks for your personal message, I couldn't figure out how to respond to it, so I thought to respond here.
I went to the LBS today and got gel grips and gloves. Hopefull that would reduce the pressure on my palms. On another thought, I think my 17.5" 7.5 FX is too small for me. Today, I rode my son's 22.5' 7.1 FX although it's a much taller bike for me, somehow I didn't feel much pain in my palms. I'm 5.9 so I guess I got the wrong size bike. I'll ride for a while with the gel grips and gloves and see what happenes.
Thanks again.

robbyrocks12345

Rockfish

I'm guessing the improvement you felt was due to a longer saddle-to-bar distance, which gave you better balance on the bike. Try measuring the distance from the saddle to the center of the handlbar clamp on the larger bike, then see if you can replicate that distance on the smaller bike (assuming they have the same kind of handlebar). You might need a set-back seatpost. Achieving the same length with a longer stem will probably only make your hand pain worse. This isn't ideal, of course, but is one way to make a too-small frame "fit" like a bigger one.

kuan

Ah that's because the handlebars are up higher. More weight on your tush, less weight on your hands. I've also found that Ergonomic grips, like those made by Ergon, make a world of difference.