Speaker: Do you suffer with sore or numb hands? Well, if you do, then this is the video for
you. I'm going to give you tips and tricks so that you can prevent your hands getting
numb and sore and get you enjoying your ride again.
[music] I too have suffered with numbness of hands,
especially on those long endurance rides like I did up north riding for 24 hours. That got
me thinking, how can we prevent it? I'm going to kick off with something really simple.
Now, newcomers to the sport tend to grip on the bars too tight and this can be due to
a bit of nervousness. If you can, try and relax. Relax your hands, maybe giving them
a slight wiggle to make sure that you're not gripping them too hard. Bend your elbows.
We're not looking for a Chris Froome angle, a slight bend will suffice, and relax those
shoulders. Now, a good thing to think about when doing
this is to engage that core. Try and engage that core, and maybe even lift your hands
off the bars. That will show you're engaging that core and you're not putting too much
pressure on your hands. Now, you can do this on the turbo, that way you're in a nice, safe
environment to practice your hands or engaging your core. Here we go. I think I need to work
on my core still. Whew. Bike setup is incredibly important when preventing
injuries and pain. If you're new to cycling or you've got a new bike, what I would strongly
suggest is get a bike fit. If you're finding you've got sore hands or numbness of the hand,
what you could do is try these few tips that will help you prevent them. Now one of these
could be that you've got your bars too low. If you just received a new bike, don't cut
that steerer straightaway because it's cool. No, try it using spaces to find the right
height bars for you, transferring some of that weight onto the saddle.
The last thing you want to do is put all that pressure, all that weight, onto your hands
and your bars because then you'll find these nerve endings in the middle of your hand start
to get too much pressure on and it'll create that numbness, and that's what we're trying
to prevent. Try moving up those bars. Now, the great thing about road bikes is you
can use different hand variations. You can go for the tops, the flats, and also the drops.
Dreamy. It's something that mountain bikers don't have that we road riders can take advantage
of. Make sure when you're out riding mix up your bar position, especially on those longer
rides, moving your hands from the tops to the flats to even the drops, keeping it nice
and fresh. That way you're not putting too much pressure on your hands.
If you want to invest a little bit further, what you could do is invest in your bars.
I've gone for some aero bladed bars. A lot of people find these more comfortable. There's
more surface area and it's a little bit more comfortable on the hands, especially when
you're riding on the tops or the flats. Why not invest in a pair of those? To be fair,
they're pretty quick as well. You're looking at creating a bit more comfort
on your bars. What you could do, a trick the pros use, and also those ultra endurance riders,
is double wrapping your bars. All you need is two sets of bar tape. Put one bar tape
on and then overlap it with another set of bar tape.
This creates a bit more comfort for your hands, a bit more cushioning, but it also creates
a bigger diameter so it makes it that little bit more comfortable for the hands in that
position. Then if you're struggling to get the comfort that you want under the hoods,
what you could do is use a bit of bar tape or strip and put strips under the hood. That
way you create a bit more cushion when you're sitting in the hoods as well. Nice, easy trick.
If you want to take it a bit further, you could invest in your comfort. I'm talking
about your tires. I'm not saying go for some big, thick, heavy tractor size, oh no. No,
go for something like this, 25C tires or even 28. That way you will invest in a little bit
of comfort so you can run your tires a little bit softer. That way you won't have to worry
about punches as well and it will glide over those rough surfaces and it will stop all
that vibration coming from the road up to your bars into your hands. A really good way
to create a bit of comfort without spending too much money. I'm riding 25C, absolutely
perfect, with a [unintelligible 00:04:38] I hope you enjoyed this video. If you have,
then give it a big thumbs up. If there's any more tips that I could have given you that
you find helpful, then make sure you let me know in that comment section below. I'll see
you in the next video. Riding time. [00:04:59] [END OF AUDIO]