Sore hands from Downhill.

[jarrod839]

Hi all.

So since getting the Banshee Legend and getting the confidence back ive been pushing myself harder and harder and hitting alot of rougher sections harder and faster than what i did and as a result been getting really sore hands to the point where i can no longer hold onto the bars or even pull the brakes and even some slight bruising has developed in my fingers.
Been mainly riding Kinglake and Maldon which are really rough tracks and have tried some hand strengthening exercises and softning my forks.
But after riding maldon yesterday same thing has happened again.
Am running Sensus grips on ENVE carbon bars and BOS Idyle Rare FCV forks.
Has anyone else had similar issues or any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Ivan]

Are you wearing elbow protection? I find this increases my arm pump a lot.

Also, it might be worth trying a thicker grip, I see the sensus grips look quite slim.

Trial different brake lever angles.

 

[jarrod839]

Are you wearing elbow protection? I find this increases my arm pump a lot.

Also, it might be worth trying a thicker grip, I see the sensus grips look quite slim.

Trial different brake lever angles.

yeah i wear elbow protection which are only soft bmx slim lines.

Am trialing different brake positions and contact points currently which not sure is helping or not.

Will order new grips next order i do.

 

[pink poodle]

What do you do for work?

When you ride, does your body angle put a lot of weight on your hands? If so a shorter/longer reach, higher/lower bars, and so on may help.

 

[jarrod839]

What do you do for work?

When you ride, does your body angle put a lot of weight on your hands? If so a shorter/longer reach, higher/lower bars, and so on may help.

Steering wheel attendant in the waste industry picking up bins. So not much hands on stuff.

Have starting thinking about body position since going from a medium to large frame but body weight seems pretty central but might be worth looking into stem and bar height.
Currently stem is 45mm and bars are 23 rise x 800mm wide not sure on sweep.

 

[Boom King]

Try bringing your grips in a bit. 800 is pretty wide and can cause some issues.

 

[johnny]

Not sure if this applies but I get a numb right hand. Likely carpal tunnel syndrome as it I get it when my arm is in numerous positions (such as lying on my back and holding my computer, etc). However I have noted that some gloves are coming out with padding in the center of the palm to take pressure off a particular nerve.

Although the bruising in your fingers sounds like a bit of a thing. Not sure that's something that comes down to body positioning, etc. Have you been checked for Yetiism? Yetiism is a disease caused by the Yeti pineal gland, which contains a concentrated form of the Yeti neurotoxin. It mimics the symptoms of hypermalaria exactly. Except for the part where, instead of dying, you turn into a Yeti.

 

[Ideate]

I get arm pump too, no matter what! These things help ease or delay my arm pump (in order of effectiveness):

1. DVO Emeralds (or setting up the fork for a plusher ride)
2. Leveling the brake levers up a little more than usual (moto style)
3. Thinner grips (not fatter)
4. Gloves that are a little looser and not as thick (TLD Air gloves are my favourite at the moment)
5. Relaxxxxxxxx :whoo:

 

[Freediver]

I've been suffering a bit in the hands as well after long rides and stumbled across an article that I'll try find where the bloke was saying it all came down to core strength. Stronger core means less pressure on the bars as your not supporting your weight through your arms as much. It makes sense to me but I'm still tripping over my rowing machine a lot more than I use it so can't say it worked for me.

 

[padams10003]

I could barely move my fingers by the end of the day at Maldon yesterday and I am the same at Kinglake when I have been there.

I think that loosening my grip will help, it's just a matter of doing it though.

 

[teK--]

A few things I can suggest

1. Bar too wide
2. Stem too short or long (kind of relates to above since reach changes as a function of stem length and bar width)
3. Brake levers angle

First u want to set up your cockpit so when you are in your often most used position your wrists are aligned with your forearm both in the vertical and horizontal plane. Otherwise you end up putting pressure on the carpal tunnel nerves.

Reduce arm pump also by bringing the brake lever reach in as much as you feel comfortable. When not pulling the brake you should be able to have your hands firmly around the grip and comfortably rest your index finger over the lever up to the first knuckle.

When you are in your seated position you shouldn't feel like a lot of weight is on your hands. Try sit down and pedal at a moderate level of power, body leaned over the bars and with your hands only just above (not touching) your bars. If you can't hover for longer than a few seconds then your setup is putting too much weight on your arms. Try adjust your saddle fore/aft position and possibly work on building up your core muscles.

 

[ajay]

They're both pretty short runs, I'm surprised its as bad as what you describe. Does the bruising subside? You may have another underlying issue being exacerbated by riding.

How was your arm pump previous to the Banshee?

 

[mitchy_]

i was getting occasional hand pain, tried some fat Token silicon grips that i found in the LBS sale bin for $5 and they were absolute shit so i went back to my old grips.
after the pain popped up a few more times i decided to buy into the hype and bought a pair of ESI chunkys... best thing i ever did, haven't had any pain since. token grips are now slipped over metal hooks holding up spare wheels.

 

[pink poodle]

Steering wheel attendant in the waste industry picking up bins. So not much hands on stuff.

Have starting thinking about body position since going from a medium to large frame but body weight seems pretty central but might be worth looking into stem and bar height.
Currently stem is 45mm and bars are 23 rise x 800mm wide not sure on sweep.

But you do hold that wheel with your hands...

I'm with TeK, sort of...I think the cockpit set-up is stretching you out and dropping weight on your hands. Bring the bars in and up a bit would be my suggestion. Unless you are a giant.

What angle are your brakes on? On the dh bike mine are rotated down quite a lot. This allows me to sit with my wrist in line as explained by TeK. They are even wound on a long way.

Grip wise...big or small hands? You don't want your hand over stretched trying to reach around the grip, or cramped up trying to hold it.

I had a set of expensove gloves with gel in the palms a.few years ago. I found it had a negative impact on my grip, so I ditched them. Get the right size too. It allows your hand to spread better.

I've had bruised palms plenty of times after a day flogging on a dh trail. One factor for myself is the outer edge and thumb ball of my palm are fairly meaty compared to the centre which forms a "lake". So the forces are concentrated.

 

[8738br]

I'm not familiar with those tracks and how long they are. But if your braking finger is extended for a prolonged period this will make arm pump even worse. I set the contact for my brakes close to my bars so that my index fingers are not pointing straight out. I find this makes a massive difference. When any of my mates jump on my bike they hate it cause they dont think the brakes are going to work. it just takes a bit of time to get use to. Give it a go, it wont cost you anything and you can always change it back.

Is the general rule of thumb for bar width that they shouldnt be wider than the width of you shoulders?

 

[jarrod839]

Hi all.
Thanks for the feedback. Ive always had a little bit of arm pump even when i had the YT but i always managed it pretty good and got through a days riding with ease.
Even jumping on the banshee at the start it was not as bad just getting worse since ive got more confidence and know hitting stuff harder and faster.
Hoping to ride kinglake this sunday and trial a few of the suggestions being mentioned aswell as seeing the physio this week about the slight bruising coming into the fingers .thanks
Jarrod

 

[pink poodle]

This wasn't a problem with 26 wheels...it is obviously the jump to 27.5!

 

[Ezkaton]

Just use a lighter grip when you whack it.

Think of it as 'saving yourself for the trail'. :llama:

 

[Markee]

Try and take notice of you're breathing while you're headed down the hill. Sounds stupid but you may be holding your breath for longer periods and therefore robbing yourself of much needed oxygen.
I found myself doing this on the Moto and had to teach myself to stop it. Ended up giving me much more energy during a race and lot less arm pump.
Oh yeah and just try and relax more, ie lose the death grip on the bars.

 

[wesdadude]

Provided your suspension is set up well, I find hand soreness to have a direct link with bar and grip set up. You need to make sure you've got a comfortable sweep pattern. I'm not a thick grip sort of guy, OURYs are too big for me, I like them a little thinner but they have to be properly padded.