Numb Hands While Cycling – What to Do?
If your hands fall asleep or you experience numbness and pain in your hands while cycling, you should read these tips.
Numb Hands While Cycling – What to Do?
Few things can ruin your joy of cycling more effectively than pain and numbness in your hands. Unpleasant tingling, numb fingers, and painful pressure in the palms are among the most common complaints while cycling and are the number one topic for many cyclists when it comes to riding comfort. In this article, we explain why numbness and pain in the hands are a problem and give you tips on how to prevent it.
Why Do My Hands Go Numb While Cycling?
Where does the numbness and pain in your hands and arms come from? On the bike, your body weight rests on three relatively small contact points: saddle, grips, and pedals. Numb hands and pain in the forearm are mainly caused by the grips, on which your hands, arms, and upper body rest. Sometimes, your discomforts have other reasons. For example, your seating position also contributes to the pressure at each contact point. But first – how exactly do these complaints arise? The most common cause is high pressure on your palms and incorrect wrist posture, usually caused by non-ergonomic grips or an incorrect saddle position. The pressure compresses the median and ulnar nerves, which can lead to numb fingers. Unpleasant tingling in the thumb, index, and middle fingers is a result of an overly bent wrist, which narrows the carpal tunnel. Blood vessels are also compressed by the weight load, leading to numb fingers. The small and ring fingers are often affected by pressure on the outer palm.
What Can Help Against Numbness and Pain in the Hands
To prevent the above-mentioned problems, it is necessary to better distribute the pressure exerted on the hands while riding. Ergon grips are equipped with wings that enlarge the contact area for your hands and thus better distribute the pressure. The wings are adapted in size and shape to their intended use and effectively ensure that the wrist does not bend and always maintains an ergonomic posture, relieving the carpal tunnel and tendons.
The ability to change grip positions is also very important, as a static posture quickly leads to numb fingers. The grips should therefore allow for micro-movements and have features that enable you to vary your hand positions. The wing grips of the Ergon GP series have, for example, different length bar ends that you can use to regularly relieve your hands by changing grip positions without losing control of the bike.
Finally, the targeted use of high-quality materials provides additional damping, better grip, and significantly improved riding comfort. The material is also an important argument against cheap grips, which are often made of harmful materials that can transfer to your hands.
Relief for Drop Bar Riders
On road bikes, gravel bikes, and some other handlebars, you cannot attach grips due to their shape, size and the way you grip drop bars. Therefore, handlebar tape (also known as bar tape) is typically used. This is wrapped around the handlebar to provide good grip over the entire surface. It is not possible to use wings or other ergonomic features on this style of handlebars. Therefore, proper damping is a particularly important factor for pain-free hands. The experts at Ergon have developed special bar tape for road bikes, all-road riders, and gravel bikes that offers you the best possible damping with maximum grip in all weather conditions. Whether with or without gloves and no matter what position you grip the handlebar, your hands will remain pain-free – something that will also affect your performance.
The Right Configurations to relieve Numb Hands
In addition to the grips, the settings of the saddle and handlebars are the most common reasons for numb hands and painful nerves. The correct saddle adjustment and handlebar position are very important for pain-free cycling. For example, if your saddle is set too high, the load on your hands increases – and pressure on the hands leads to discomfort. For the correct ergonomic settings for your size, weight, and cycling discipline, you should perform a bike fit. You can either invest a few hundred euros and go to a professional bike fitter, or you can get an Ergon Fitting Box, which includes all the tools and aids you need to perform the fitting yourself.
In addition, well-padded cycling gloves can also be an important tool in preventing pain and numbness in the hands.
Now you know how to prevent your hands from falling asleep while cycling. We wish you enjoyment with the correct grips and a good ride.