liberalswine

So my gf suffers from carpal tunnel and sometimes cycling just kills her hands and wrists. She has been riding drops but wants to switch it up to something else to alleviate any discomfort and toget more hand positions.

She was looking into bullhorns like rb018. Also, she checked out some tri/tt style thingies (sorry for lack of terminology) that would allow her to rest her forearms down when her wrists and hands get tired. Do any of these things work for bullhorns or pursuits? She was messing with my rb021pursuit style bullhorns and says she can rest her forearms down the middle of those, but that just sounds sketchy to me.

carleton

Yes. Aerobars are sketchy and should never be used except on a closed course.

If she switched her bike to more of an upright beach cruiser / townie type setup, there would be little to no pressure on the hands.

hairnet

Well, drops+hoods offer the most variety, but you'll have to find also find the most comfortable drop bar. You may also want to raise the handle bars to reduce the weight she puts on her hands. I don't know where you ride but if there are a lot of cars or other riders I would not recommend aero bars.

or go with townie bars as Carlton said

yummygooey

I would imagine that the best bars for your girlfriend would be either high risers or a bar with a substantial sweep back, like porteur bars or something.

carleton

Which is more comfortable?

carleton

Notice the difference in hand position in relation to the top of the tires or the saddle:




Plus, upright bikes allow for better field of vision (refer to the diagram above).

liberalswine

Hmm, awesome feed back guys. I think she definitely wants an aggressive riding posture when needed, but also ability to relax her hands when needed as well. She definitely does not want to ride townie style. I think she wants my rb021's with aero bars. Would this be over kill? Seems like this fellow on velospace did it.

https://velospace.org/node/32561

Looks pretty gnarly

liberalswine

If anything I think switching to bullhorns from drops will help a lot. When she rides she's rarely in drop position and usually riding on top. So I'm thinking either bulls or pursuits with aerobars might help?

yummygooey

I've thought about getting aerobars, but I'd only use them when I ride out to the cornfields/middle of nowhere. It gets pretty windy when there's nothing to break up the wind. Aerobars in an area with traffic/people/whatever does not seem like a good idea, as it limits your field of vision and makes steering pretty difficult.

What kind of riding does your girlfriend do?

I think a good option for her would be a set of ergo drops with hoods.

Squirrelli

Aero bars might not work for her if the head tube angle is too steep and if she pushes her saddle all the way forward, more weight will be placed onto her arms and wrists, which is probably not what she wants.

Try bullhorns first and if she gets tired, she can do the invisible aero bars by resting her arms on the tops.

carleton

Aerobars are a bad idea for street use. Period.

Why?:

- You can't steer with them. You can lean, but you can't steer.
- Your head is positioned down, so looking forward strains the neck. Notice how many times these guys look down. It's because their necks are tired.
- You will have little to no peripheral vision.
- Even if you have a brake, you will have to get out of the aerobars to grab the brake lever. This will not happen in an emergency situation.


If you want to know how the neck feels to ride in aerobars, lay flat on your belly/chest (no help from the arms). Now lift your head to look forward. Now hold it.

liberalswine

Is it that when using aerobars obstructs vision when being used that makes it dangerous? We both ride for fitness purposes around town as well as weekend commuting and some group rides.

Can someone link a great example of ergodrops with hoods? I think overall, she is done with drops and would like to transition over to bullhorns.

Yeah, she wants to utilize the invisible aero bars via resting her hands on top, but to me that's a little dangerous. Id rather have her use hoods on top so that she wouldn't slip off or anything. Do they have hoods only that can be installed without the aerobar?

Sherblock

I can't possibly be the only one who laid down... can I?

carleton

She would probably benefit from moving her saddle back and her bars up (or bars with less of a drop).

"Aggressive riding position" is only effective if you are riding aggressively. Otherwise it's uncomfortable. This is why you don't see any serious saddle-bar drops on road racing bikes.



Get your lady to move backwards and put more weight on her butt and off of her hands. Or she can just deal with the discomfort.

Squirrelli

Bingo! If you think invisible aero bars are a little dangerous then aero bars would be worst.

You could get her a shorter reach, flatter bullhorns with a taller hook at the end. EighthInch comes to my mind in that category.

liberalswine

Hmmm maybe mustache bars will solve everything. How hard is it to even find mustache style bars? Does nitto make this style by chance?

carleton

Many group rides explicitly disallow aerobars. Most frown upon using them. You get more aero benefit from drafting the guy in front of you than you ever will with aerobars (or Zipp wheels for that matter).

531phile 

Syntace Stratos Bullhorn Bar. They are not perfectly straight like other bullhorns, they have a more anatomically friendly bend to them. I find them very comfortable.

Anthropy

I have CT and my wrists were so bad at one time I could not hold onto objects. Keep the weight off of the hands, keep changing positions often and rest the wrists when they get numb. Ride more upright. I avoided surgery by resting and taking care of myself. I still get occasional pain, but I have learned what not to do.

Otherwise, she will get so bad, there will not be any more riding for a long time.


Tom

yummygooey

I really want these bars, and have been trying really hard not to pull the trigger on them. They look so comfortable!

indiglow

Ironically some my second pair of Syntace Stratos bars just arrived in the mail today.
I have broken my wrist twice and I have problems as well, but since I switched from RB021s to the Stratos (with cross levers on top) I have not really experienced any pain. As mentioned above, they have a bend which is more comfortable than any other bullhorn Ive used and she can get low on the horns when she wants.

chi-james

maybe re-check your gf's fit on the bike? Drop bars, with hoods, have the more hand positions than bull horns. I would try moving her center of balance by moving the seat back a bit and getting a shorter stem if necessary.

adriano 

i agree with your sentiment, but this comes to mind.



really though, thats not that much drop for someone that tall.

Build your own

Always posting pics of racers when peoples daily rides are being discussed makes me think you're not getting it at all.If you dig a big bar drop that's fine, just don't assume it's right for everyone.Besides, if the girls CT gets agrevated from riding on the tops there might be something wrong with the fit altogether.

adriano 

i get the feeling youre not getting it at all.