GhostRider62

Isn't fore/aft determined by balance, meaning the bent torso puts little weight on the hands or the reverse where this would tend to load the shoulders where the median nerve can be impinged causing hand numbness. It is often the left arm

I doubt the problem is gloves.

Iride01 

Part of that equal and opposite reaction thing we were taught a long time ago.

Think about it. If your saddle were also a scale, and you were not pushing on the pedals. Then consider what would happen to the weight it shows when you are pushing on the pedals. The amount of power you use to push on that pedal at any one particular moment will affect how much weight the saddle is carrying.

Similarly it affects the weight on your other attach point to the bike which is your hands. But balance of your body over the BB for your power vector affects how much weight is on either.

Also, there is some core body strength maybe could be sort of though as a working similar to a cantilever to relieve weight on your hands also. (Probably technically an incorrect analogy, but go with it). After all, you can only bend so far. The stronger your core is to hold your upper body in a certain position, then also the less weight on your hands.

Carbonfiberboy 

Bending the elbows is good and solves some problems. But elbow bend should be independent of bar height, unless one were lowering the bars more than max hip angle would allow, which does point to the possibility that getting one's hip angle measured might be a good idea. My guess is that's not an issue with the OP since they found increased power and muscle activation after lowering the bars. That makes sense.

Other than that, yes, gloves with an ulnar nerve relief channel will help a lot. What helps a lot more is proper hand position, meaning the exact way one holds the bars. It's not always obvious what that is. We have a very good explanation of that in the famous Numb Hands post:
https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycl...l#post12953035

And yes, using saddle setback to manage hand weight is the way to go, though as Numb Hands mentions, more reach will also reduce hand weight. Saddle setback first, then reach.

rsbob 

Followed the advice contained in the first video and went on a 50 miler today and had no problem today, for the first time in months. Thanks for posting.

sfrider 

You could have excess weight on your hands for many reasons. You might lack the core strength to maintain a light touch on the bars for the full duration. Or there could be a fit issue where you're too far forward of the BB. Your weight should be centered over the forward pedal spindle, slightly in front of the BB, when pedaling. Think of your seated position with your butt on the saddle, hands on the bars, and pedal/BB as a triangle that can be rotated around the BB point at the bottom. Moving either of saddle or bars requires moving the other to maintain the same geometry, and the effect of doing so is mainly to shift your front or back. Another way of viewing it is that the weight should be over the BB, and the other two points are adjusted for fit, but changing one requires changing the other; for example, to reduce reach (the top side of the fit triangle) requires moving both handlebars and saddle, or your weight will no longer be over the BB.

ofajen

With that saddle height, I would be riding a larger frame with the option to have bars closer to saddle height. YMMV.

Otto

lyle.coop

Update

** My left hand and elbow were numb for a few days. I decided to lay off the bike for a few days.

**I moved the seat up 20mm. That works out to half way forward. I went for a 15 mile ride 6 days after initial numbness ride. Hands felt good. But I had a slight right knee pain. The pain was on the top of the knee. After the ride I was fine.

** I slide the seat back 10mm and went for an 18mile ride this morning. Less pain in the right knee and it was more in the center of the knee. Hands felt fine. Knee was fine after the ride.

I'm going for a slightly longer ride tomorrow morning. Will report back.

I'm riding gloveless. I ordered a couple of pairs from Amazon and I'll see which pair's padding doesn't impinge my ulnar nerve.

Thanks for all the advise.

lyle.coop

Made one more change last night. I noticed the hoods on the handlebars were cocked in toward the center of the bike. Not sure why they were setup that way. I read in one of the articles a user posted above that the wrists should be perpendicular to the flats on the handlebar. I straightened them out.

Did a 18mile ride today and I felt pretty good. Less pressure on my hands. Hopefully I can get a 30 miler in tomorrow morning.

Before and after shot of the handlebars:

cave12man

All great info, but I'm so glad core strength was finally mentioned in addition to ditching padding gloves for an unpadded version as well as a proper bike fit. Strengthening my core has been crazy effective in relieving many of my pain points on the bike. It'll allow you to take unnecessary weight off your hands, feet, and saddle at different times during your ride.

MoAlpha

This may well be pressure on the ulnar nerve in the hand, but if it’s really involving the elbow, that’s a C8 or T1 root or possibly a lower brachial plexus issue. The sensory distribution of the ulnar nerve stops at the wrist.