RobE30

After I'm on the bike for awhile especially after rough fast descents, my hands get numb and tingly. I probably grip the bars too tight but what other things can cause this? Remedies? Thanks

Daspydyr 

The only solution for me is to ride more and always try to improve my circulation. I did move my seat forward an inch. That gave me a bit more upright position. Helped some. On the downhills I try to balance on my feet more than my seat and keep my butt behind or near behind the seat. Moving the seat forward an inch also helps with getting behind the seat on descents.

When I do take a break, it looks like I am signalling a helicopter or something. Lots of hand waving over my head. Glove thickness has never helped me.

pablosnazzy

if you have a really long stem that is really low, that could cause you to put pressure on your hands, which make them tingle. shorter stem, maybe a riser stem, a riser handlebar. if that doesn't work, ergon grips are pretty sweet and help a lot if you have wrist/hand issues.
https://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/home#

when

This, plus go get a bike fit.

RobE30

Thanks for the input guys. One of my friends suggested carbon bars. I can't see that helping too much plus they're expensive. I'll try adjusting my riding position and style before I buy anything. I'm riding a hardtail so I'm already off the seat during descents.

rumrunn6

B6 & B12 improve circulation

Greyryder

That tingling "hands going to sleep" feeling has nothing to do with circulation. It's caused by nerves getting pinched off. Move you seat forward, move your bars back and/or up, or do some combination thereof. A death grip on the bars isn't going to help either. That's just more pressure on your palms. I've been gripping my bars way to tight since I went to my current grips. I think it has something to do with them being so thick. Gonna switch over to the same grips I have my other bike.

pablosnazzy

that sounds kind of odd, unless i misunderstand. usually people put thicker grips on because they are more comfortable and you don't have to grip as tight as you would on thinner grips....

ed 

HiRise bars with a short stem. Puts all that weight back on your butt and off your ulnar nerves.

Pete In Az

This thread is from the road forum, but it's got some good information.


https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...905-Numb-Hands

RobE30

When figuring out a fit, should I base it off my road bikes fit? I know hand positions are more limited on a flat bar vs drops so I have to take that into account

Daspydyr 

IMO, there is a substantial difference in the posture for riding MTB vs RB. Pete's post does have good info. Your observation is also important. Flats vs drops and the posture and hand position is different. For me, the general XC position is more upright on trails that an aerodynamic position on the pavement. When you need to scoot your butt back for a descent you need room fast. The info on the ulnar nerve is helpful to me and I have made some conscious adjustments. I was also watching some footage from the UCI XC competitions. Many riders switch their hand positions to the outside of the grips as if they had barends on flatter ground. This would take pressure off the outside edges of the hand. For downhills I don't know any other way than to grip and go with my butt over the rear disc.

dminor 

A grip too thick and/or cushy for particular hands is a common contributor to hand fatigue and arm-pump.

bikeme

Road and MTB fit are going to be different because the bike styles are so different. I had my road bike fit first as I had the most discomfort riding it. I actually had no discomfort on my MTB. I then had the measurements transferred to my MTB (namely saddle height, fore/aft). My stem length on the MTB was good for MTB/offroad position--we really couldn't duplicate the cockpit distance because road and MTB bikes are so different.

Anyway, something to look at: I started to have numb hands like you after longer bumpy technical descents. I didn't death grip but had switched gloves. My new Pearl Izumi gel gloves were actually putting pressure spots on my palms. Bad design--like humps that pushed on my nerves. I didn't have any probs with my old regular padded gloves and have since gone back to that style. Look at your gloves, maybe that is one of the issues.

spldart

I was gonna ask about this too... And why is hand tingling circulation problems so much worse in the morning than the evening. Never got that. Suppossedly the blood pressure is higher in the mornings and lessons through the day iirc.

RobE30

So I picked up new grips and after my replacement rd hanger bolt shows up, I'll report back with my findings. Thanks for the input gents

ColinL

carbon bars will kill a lot of buzz, but I'm not convinced that vibration is your main problem.

3speed

If your problems don't get better with the new grips, I'd first look at your placement on the bike and how that affects the weight on your hands. If you're not putting an unusual amount of weight on your hands, and perhaps it's just something about your nerve placement in particular, I would suggest trying the Ergon grips. I've got GP1s. I just happened to get them right away when I got into MTBing, not because I had tingling, but they are really comfortable. And the weight on your hands is definitely more distributed with them than on my road bike bars or my commuter with regular grips. I plan to probably use them for all flat bar bikes I own in the future. They feel a tiny bit weird at first if you're standing high over the bars and wrap your fingers really far around, but you'll find quickly that you get just as much grip on the bars as with any other grip. It's just that you're used to feeling completely round bars in your hands compared to the flat shape on the back of the Ergons.