Anyone know what this could be....my right hand is painful when im on and off the bike. its the lower left part of my right hand....the pain is deep inside the muscle. it hurts just to touch it is all the biking im doing knackering it up??

Assuming you haven't hit it, trapped it or banged it ... try searching for 'Ulnar nerve' on the internet Mike, it might shed some light.

I'm currently suffering from pain in my left thumb.

Could well be a metatarsel, I broke mine (5th) and that hurt like a bugger!

I'm currently suffering from pain in my left thumb.

Remove it from your arse and see if that helps

Yetiman, I've never heard of too much cycling causing an injury like this. There's a lot of small bones in the hand so I think it's likely you may have bruised a bone or got some tendonitis. Rest it for a while and take some anti inflamatory painkillers, if it doesn't get better in a week then see your GP.

s8tannorm wrote:

I'm currently suffering from pain in my left thumb.

Remove it from your arse and see if that helps

Nearly spat my coffee all over the iPad.......

You could try some different grips like Ergons and see if that helps Mike. More support to the hand/wrist.
Any other possible over use injuries

Do people really like Ergons, I have a pair and I just can't decide, perhaps I just don't spend long enough setting them up?

Had Ergons and some more swept back bars than usual on for WRT and I was getting a numb little pinkie, since I've taken the Ergons off that hasn't happened but I still have occasional shooting pains in my thumb. This weekend I also changed my bars back to the wide risers I had on before.
This is the second time I've tried ergons and not got on with them. They'll probably be on classifieds shortly.

Have been trying out my new ergons at the weekend. Not sure I have the position correct yet.
Spent most of the ride adjusting to get something I was happy-ish with
Need to get up to londer rides to know for sure

I think I'm going back to the ESI grips, fit and forget.

I like my ergons and they do take a while to set up and get used to. They are designed to stop the ulna and/or median nerves from getting pinched and causing numbness in the hands. They will not stop the pain yeti man describes. Bars giving more than one hand position like jones loop bars will also help on big rides.

flatfishy wrote: This is the second time I've tried ergons and not got on with them. They'll probably be on classifieds shortly.

Shotgun (if they're the shape ones I want!). I've got a set of Ergons on my rigid singlespeed thing which got pretty abused over my uni years (and done strathpuffer twice on it) and I find they worked well with that bike. I don't bother on any of my others, but do find that I really can alter my hand position a lot lot more with bar ends.

The problem I found with Ergons is that while the shape is really comfy, they just transmit too much buzz to the hands because they're still a lock on with a fairly hard rubber and a hard core.
I tried them for a good while, in both large and small versions, but I just found the buzz was causing more discomfort than their shape saved me.

I'm back on foam again...well, ESI silicon anyway, and find them way better, even without the support the ergons give.
I swear by Jones bars too as I find their position way more comfortable, and the multiple position options really work for me.

flatfishy wrote:Had Ergons and some more swept back bars than usual on for WRT and I was getting a numb little pinkie, since I've taken the Ergons off that hasn't happened but I still have occasional shooting pains in my thumb. This weekend I also changed my bars back to the wide risers I had on before.
This is the second time I've tried ergons and not got on with them. They'll probably be on classifieds shortly.

I have just spent the day with these exact symptoms from a very similar set up. They have been fine for a while though, although I did slightly change the rotation recently so going to tweak before I take the nuclear option. End of my little finger is still numbish now 7 hours or so after finishing the ride. Slightly worrying tbh.

I have Ergon grips which I changed to after getting pain in my hands. Like severe pins and needles when I put pressure on certain areas. The first thing I did was take my thumb out of my arse and that helped. The first ride I did after I changed over was a 'Difficult' rated technical ride on a MTB trail and my hands hurt like hell. I mentioned this at the LBS and the comment was 'Ah, the death grip!'
This was exactly the case as I had been holding on for dear life on a ride that I was not really ready for.

I found that on regular off road or on road rides with little technical difficulty my hands were good. However, yesterday, I went on a ride which was longer than I'd ever done before 70 miles (and I was 2 weeks out of the saddle) and it turned out 15 miles longer than I was expecting as I missed the ferry across Southampton water. A combination of tiredness, hunger and terror riding along a dark country road with fast angry motorists caused me to tense up. My hands were sore last night, but they're fine now. I also stretch my hands and fingers while out riding.

To sum up, I love the Ergon grips. Grip lightly, stretch regularly and as Stannorm says - keep your thumb out of your arse.

So over 36 hours later and the end of my little finger is still slightly numb. It was a long road ride that I did Saturday and I definitely wasn't gripping to hard. Going to rotate the grip back very slightly on the offending side and go do a few hours tonight to see how it feels.

composite wrote:So over 36 hours later and the end of my little finger is still slightly numb. It was a long road ride that I did Saturday and I definitely wasn't gripping to hard. Going to rotate the grip back very slightly on the offending side and go do a few hours tonight to see how it feels.

I have a permanently semi numb little finger, and 3rd finger. Along with almost constant mild pain in the corresponding metacarpals and what used to be knuckle joints of the same position.
The pain varies from mild, yet constant to fairly bad. Thankfully it resists being severe most of the time.
All down to a climbing accident about

Oh, the point... Ergons work, mostly. But I agree that they could do with being softer. Specialized make some BG supportive grips They aren't as supportive as Ergons, but are softer. Theres a few models.

http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/gr ... r-xc-grips

Also look into "Handlebar Palsy" it's to do with compression of the Ulnar Nerve that Stu mentioned above. I've been suffering from it pretty badly of late, especially after doing 250 miles on the road bike this weekend. Gets so painful it's a struggle to change gear at times. I've been told the best thing is to rest it, and avoid riding. pffft.

http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_15_3_2.htm

Personally, I find I can mitigate it a little if I concentrate on my posture, and try to support my upper body weight more with my back/core, rather than leaning on my hands. Also, changing hand position regularly (esp on road bike) helps to give the nerve a break.

I wondering if riding on the road meant I was in one position for much longer than I normally would be when riding off road. As I remember it though I was switching between the normal grip and the bar ends. Maybe I was on the bar ends to long. Hmmmm.

mountainbaker wrote:Also look into "Handlebar Palsy" it's to do with compression of the Ulnar Nerve that Stu mentioned above. I've been suffering from it pretty badly of late, especially after doing 250 miles on the road bike this weekend. Gets so painful it's a struggle to change gear at times. I've been told the best thing is to rest it, and avoid riding. pffft.

http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_15_3_2.htm

Personally, I find I can mitigate it a little if I concentrate on my posture, and try to support my upper body weight more with my back/core, rather than leaning on my hands. Also, changing hand position regularly (esp on road bike) helps to give the nerve a break.

Thanks for this link, it certainly describes what I feel I'm suffering with.

I think it must be something to do with either the ergon grips or like I mention above riding in one position as my core is pretty strong in all honesty. Going to try some tweaks tonight and see how it goes.

I got back on Saturday evening and struggled to get the garage and front door keys turned. Combination of 9hrs riding and not quite warm enough gloves I think. Must get around to fitting my gel pads and squishy bar tape.

I actally find Ergon and Ergon type grips too big. It always feels like I'm struggling to get a good, secure hold of them ... which I imagine means I end up gripping them harder than I would something smaller.

Remember that the angle of your brake levers / shifters will also have a massive effect on how and where you grip and how much strain your wrist's under. Try rotating your brake levers so your forearm / hand forms a straight line (no bend in the wrist) when you're stood up and centred over the bike with (what should feel like) 90% of your weight going straight down through your feet ... after all, this should be the position that you do most of your 'proper' braking from*.

*Yes I know it won't help with drops, sorry.