Numb Hands While Cycling? - 7 Causes
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- čas přidán 19. 06. 2024
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I had a customer recently with saddle discomfort (I’m a salesperson not licensed bike fitter). Saddle was definitely too far back, so he’s sitting on the nose. I told him just move it forward and possibly lowering the saddle.
He responded with, “I’ll feel better if I just bought a new saddle”. 🙄
Some people just like to throw money at a problem and expect it to improve
Honestly out of all the bike fit videos on the internet, James’s methodology and the way he’s able to explain it in the laymen’s term makes the most sense.
I’m torn on this. On the one way he gives very useful tips, on the other he recommends a 53 frame for a 178cm guy. I am that guy and I find a 53 frame completely crampy, im riding a 56.
@@michall6376 frame size and geometry differs so much from brand to brand and even models of the same brand! I am 168cm, used 52cm, now using 47.5cm and both do fit 🤷♂ I even have a shorter stem on the smaller frame!
You mean James' not James's
Must agree. I have setup issues for at least for two decades now and thus have watched many videos. These guys are very good, they make a lot of sense.
@@michall6376 Bike fit is an individual thing. Carry on.
Bike fit Tuesday’s have really helped me with James advice. His advice with putting cleats all the way back was spot on. No more sore knees or back. I hand numb hands and fingers. Went from a 44 to a 40 handlebar which also had less reach…Shazam, no more numb hands. These simple changes brought back the joy of cycling
I was ill and sedentary for almost three years. Getting back to cycling with already problematic shape (long legs, short torso) and 20 kgs extra, my hands were killing me and almost sold my bikes but managed to make my racier bikes work thanks to bike fit tuesdays :)
I get numb hands when I am fatigued. When not fatigued, my bike fit is perfect. There is something to be said for good physical fitness. Riding a road bike just isn't always comfortable.
For pros maybe, but it doesn’t have to be for normal humans.
@@miatomi I'm a normal human.
Me too. I had a professional expensive fitting, and I'm fine for about 2-3 hours then it becomes uncomfortable, or if i try to do an easy recovery ride, there's way too much weight on my arms/hands/shoulders.
Greater endurance in the core and lower abs (transverse abdominus) will help. There are exercises that any physio can show you to strengthen them. Core stability will also help a lot when climbing out of the saddle.
@@bengt_axle pilates!
It would be great if you made a video about how to get your fit the same across multiple bikes (road, gravel, climbing, mtb).
Always love the bike fit videos! 🙌 I wish there were more people in the industry with his bike fitting knowledge & enthusiasm 😩
Theres nothing I love more than listening to an expert discuss their craft. This guy oozes competence. For my next bike fit im going to have to find someone on his wavelength. Hopefully thats possible
Every time I've tried out suggestions from this channel it's made a big difference for me. I do mostly ultra-endurance/long-distance rides so a perfect fit is absolutely critical. At 5'6" I've always felt that bike sizing is a bit whack, but this channel is great at spelling out why and how to correct it.
This is so simply and well explained. Gonna refer to this video each time people talk to me about their fit issues. Big thanks
I'm finally changing from my Eddie Merxx era bars on my vintage bike. The stem length is about right, but those 160mm drops! Also crazy long reach on those bars. Constantly riding on the corners just where compact bars would put the hoods. All this was fine 45 years ago when I was more flexible! I also will try canting those Nouveau Record levers inward as I'm going from a 42cm to a 40cm bar. I'm riding a '79 Dave Moulton. Losing some vintage looks for functionality!
You and James are living legends ✊🏾👊🏾
7 top, practical advice notes.
Excellent informative Bike fit Tuesday vlog. Nice one gents 👏
#8 gloves, particularly short-fingered ones. Extending my fingers and arms to frequently shift and brake causes the gloves to pinch the nerves at the base of my fingers, resulting in numbness. Long, fast descents make it worse. A quick shaking of my hands, or slapping my legs, makes them good to go again.
Great content, just got my new addict 10 and I’m having some hand pain so this is perfect timing.
When riding I found myself continually trying to push myself back into my saddle and so I kept moving the saddle forward incrementally thinking it was too far back when in fact I needed to do the exact opposite to improve my stability and weight distribution. Sometimes the solution to bike setup problems can seem counterintuitive.
After seeing this Video, I did buy the Selle SLR Boost S3 and yes, I just love it. Fit's perfectly and for such a small saddle so comfortable. Thanks for the tip°!
Had an issue with thinking that been off the bikes for years. I went ahead to reduce the reach on my bike. Which resulted in me riding hunched, and with hands being numb I thought the reach was still too long and I went on to move the saddle forward. Went for a bike fit on my new bike and was told my stem is a little too short and the saddle was also moved back. Most important, was the riding posture, was told to consciously ride with a straighter back, which helped me dropped my shoulder n was able to bend more at the elbow, reducing the weight on the bars too!
This is interesting to me.
I have an old "steel" road bike, that I use for commuting and weekly rides. Its a great bike (probably my favourite actually), but I feel that I'm "all scrunched up". However there is very little about the problems that this causes compared to having a reach that is too long.
Would love to see a short video on the complications of having a "too short" reach, and how to get into a "ball park" range ~ should we consider elbow angle, or is there some other 'measurement' that can give us a guestimate reach.
Not withstanding that on my old steel bike I have a quill stem ... so quill stem conversion is required !
Just came upon this video. I have made 2 changes, narrower bars, now using 40, and narrower saddle, moved from. 145 to 135, huge difference and no more hand issues
That's the magic of the internet : having good and interesting contents on everything. I'm back on my bike after 20 years of getting fat and out of shape. I've just bought a 2nd hand almost new 29" mtb with a modern geometry and it's much longer. Your video is going to help me adapt my position and I'll get a carpal tunnel check on my left hand, which is getting numb (but, god, this Superior XP mtb is good and has "some horsepowers"). Thank you !
Another excellent video thanks James for the insight
Absolutely fantastic video. Thanks very much.
Hi Francis can you make some video's about bike fit for mountainbikes? Love your video's keep up the good work
No Mountain bikes in London 😁
When speaking about saddle setback, I do not recall James ever speaking about balancing leg muscle enlistment, meaning that when the saddle is further back you use more hamstring engagement to pedal compare to the saddle being more forward and then using more quad engagement - my approach at least is to set saddle setback so as to a reasonably balanced quad and hamstring engagement while pedaling.
If the saddle is very far back then a rider would be very powerful on the flats but struggle on the climbs as the gradient tilts the bike making it difficult to control the pedal at the bottom of the stroke.
I would find it interesting to see a video where James perhaps addresses this consideration to show that it is not only about balancing torso weight, which can obviously also be achieved thru a higher front end.
This is interesting, I like to ride with a really set back position on the climbs and a far forward position in flats. But I realize recently that being farther forward is faster but more painful (can be trained) for me riding up hill because I feel more burn in my legs.
I love the bikefit videos. They helped me a ton!
A very informative video which raises basic but very relevant points
Thanks guys as allways great advice and background knowledge
I recently bought the Selle Italia SLR to replace the Cube saddle the CX bike came with. Thanks to one of your videos, where you mentioned problems a saddle can cause, if it's too wide. Have yet to find the perfect position of the saddle, but I'm close. Once, I'm warmed up, the position on the bike seems to become less important - until I get tired towards the end of the ride ;)
(I didn't buy this particular saddle, because you are selling a lot of these, but because I like my Selle Italia SLS my road bike came with.)
Great video as always guys!
This video was a wake-up call for me, who had always wanted to "look cooler" by lowering the handlebar and raising the saddle. Now I know better, and my hand numbness is completely gone!
I totally agree with so much of this content, saddle height, over long top tubes, mid foot cleats, etc. Turns out my numb hands have been getting worse in my late 40s, turns out to be Cubital tunnel syndrome. Getting the op next week....
Thank you for sharing, I may have this too, as my problem is curiously only in one hand and involves elbow as well as hand pain and numbness
I never knew Francis Cade has been to Mauritius. Big shout out from Mauritius for great channel content
This is just ... I'm a pretty big guy at 1.91 and around 97kg with rather wide shoulders , but just out of interest bought a 40cm bar just 6 month ago. Helped a ton! But 3 month ago I just went for the exact same saddle boost SLR s3 ... Every ID match measure what not System told me: go large. I have 6 saddles here over the past 4 years and all never really were that great. The S3 size just fits, absolutely unbelievable! Great video to watch! Keep it up, really informative! Thanks a lot!
How do you Mount your SLR Boost? Which tilt is the best for you?
@@chrisziehmer I put a level on and have the bubble barely touching the rear line. So a miniscule tilt to the front
Learning a lot from these videos cheers
good points about the saddles - i've used every type of saddle there is and discomfort has always been bc of a fit issue - when that's fixed, they all seemingly get the job done
Rode the Selle Italia slr boost for Triple Bypass Ride in Colorado. Perfect...I was used to the 143 mm width and bought the 130 mm per James' comments in an earlier video. Still need to work on reach...
This is timely, never had problems with this before but I've been off the bike for a few years and now I can't get far without my hands going dead.
Going to try a few of the tweaks, starting with the bars (not enjoying the stock ones on the new whip anyway), and see how we go.
Top shelf video par usual gents
I have the Boost SLR on order. Hopefully it will be the last one.
(Before: Bontrager Inform RXL, Specialized Romin Evo, Bontrager Montrose, Fizik Arione, Pro Griffon, Prime Primavera Carbon)
The inform was the best, but it got damaged in a crash, second is the Prime, but this thing is rock hard....
I was running my tire pressures a little high and that made vibrations from road surface worse . Lowering the tire pressures really helped my hands and also my back .
“Sit Bone” is that what you’re saying? I just found you on CZcams and greatly appreciate this video! I’m experiencing numbness tingling in fingers and toes. Just started looking into this (I understand you’re not a doctor [although maybe you are] I just hope more experienced cyclists have already run into this)
And it looks like you know your cycling👍👍
I’m 56, Lived in the Midwest USA have cycled 5-6 months out of each year (weather permitting) 10-15 miles each ride.
FOR YEARS I wanted to complete a Long bike trip (getting bored with short rides)
I found the KATY trail (and connecting Rock island Trail). 300 miles between St.Louis, Missouri & Kansas City, Missouri! Beautiful paved old railroad line.
I completed it alone 🙌 in July (I ended up losing 38 ponds😁) so I believe I’m greatly improving my health. A few weeks after getting home I STARTED EXPERIENCING annoying tingling/numbness in hands and feet.
So any other information you can share is greatly appreciated 👍👍🤞
3:50 More of this please. Keep the “zoomed in” uhhhhhhhhhs coming!!
Love the eeeeeerrrrr zoom in at 3:50 😂
Purely anectodatal add to the knowledge base: No numb hands but I have tried longer cranks when I bought my gravel bike last year and the GRX cranks' minimum available is 170. Recently I splurged for an Ultegra 165 (unfortunately requires Ultegra front derailleur). My power numbers jumped about 5% and I don't see any change in hand numbness. I am a shorter (168cm) rider so I don't feel like 165 is particularly short. (And all my road bikes up to this point were 165..) I run longer cranks on my Mtb with no issues but in that case I like the longer levers because I tend to ride low rpm out of the saddle on steep climbs.
Reducing saddle tilt, and reducing stem reach worked wonders for me.
Only during a proper bike fitting did I find out that all previous measurements of my sit bones were about 1.5 cm too wide. Consequently I‘d been using saddles that were too wide. The change was incredible and funny enough, the SLR Boost saddle is one of the saddles I use now, conversely on my down country MTB. Didn’t work for me on the gravel bike.
Very interesting! So simply explaining 😅
@franciscade can you do a video on twisted hips or pelvic torsion and what to do to increase comfort on the bike please!!!!
Love your channel you, do an excellent job. Do you have an opinion about the Coefficient Handlebars?
Since when does a BFT coming out on a Tuesday??? You can't just surprise me like that, I was not ready!! 🤣
Can I just thank you chaps for the common sense you talk on these videos. Well done.
Since I keep my lower back more straight than bowed to avoid pain in this region, tip #1 automatically is completely fulfilled and the downward pressure on my hands is so low I don´t feel any fatigue in my hands and wrists at all, even on long rides.
I like how James calls out Fizik every time he needs too but euphemistically talks about Specialized the “big American bike brand”. Clearly not scared of the Italians but worried about the Americans.
Americans tend to play the lawyer game a tad more aggressive....
To be fair 'Americans' have guns and some of them are beyond daft, while 'Italians' have spaghetti and flamboyance.. I know which I'm more worried about 😂
@@kidkarbon4775 the 'ndrangheta begs to differ, they also have parmigiano
History agrees with him.
He did say they like to sue yesterday
I want that saddle... great video
Need James to hit me up with some Lake bad boys 👟
Also flat aero handlebars are massively more comfortable than the usual round aluminium bars.
Hmm...I had a new bike fit by a professional. It was very comfortable on most rides, but on my first Century ride I had serious numbness in my left hand only. Just taking a guess at it, I lowered the saddle 2 mm and raised the handlebars 7 mm. You can hardly see the changes,. I just did a second Century yesterday and not only is there no numbness, I have no aches or pains anywhere (other than a bit of sunburn on the tops of my knees.) So perhaps even tiny adjustments can make a big difference.
Been following you guys for some time! You guys are the most make sense! Anw can i know the full name of your recommended saddle on the video?
Great video... Totally understood... I never had numb hands issues... But after the surgery I had on A5-6 because of cervical myelopathy, numb hands when I push hard the pedals are the only discomfort i get... Just waiting for the healing time to pass... Take care of yourselves...
Just what I needed
Great video. I don't make a living just fitting cyclists......been doing it for 40 years. I have customers who come wanting a new saddle. I look at their mounted saddle and ask who put it that way? They say, "the bike came that way." I reset the saddle and they go out for the test ride. When they come back they ask, where are cycling gloves? Where are the water bottles? You have cycling socks? Amazing how a proper fit makes the saddle comfortable. If a saddle is literally coming a part, I skip resetting and just replace it.
Brilliant this is like a chris greatest hits and hilarious as usual 😂
woah. bike fit tuesdays on a tuesday!
Love these Bit Fit Tuesday videos, they have really helped me dial in a much better position and solve a few discomfort issues. One question I have, when James refers to 42cm bars being too wide for most average male riders, does he mean a centre to centre or outside to outside measure? Eg. The Deda RHM bars in a size 42 measure 40 centre to centre and 42 outside to outside (I believe).
Center to center is the common way to measure, Deda is an exception. He's generally referring to the common center to center method.
There seems to be few slr boost saddles. Is the SLR Boost TM Superflow S3 correct one/best bang for buck?
I can confirm: the slr boost s3 is fantastic. I had a saddle from a certain brand that starts with F (because it came standard on my bike) and boy oh boy saddle sores and the instable feeling are gone
I’m running Selle saddles on both my bikes and during a ride I never even think about the saddle or my bum. I reckon they’re awesome
James and Francis... well said! if only you were in canada :( love the videos
Great vid and to the point. Hi would you ttweak these reccs for mountain biking?
Very interesting video! For some reason it always seemed to me that i get numb hands from the microvibration of the handle, its like if i try holding something like a tool that vibrates at high frequency and short amplitude i get the same hand numbness that i get when i ride a bike.
I ride a recumbent bike now and that solved every pain issue ! iride in traffic without holding my head up and my hands are resting on the grips with no body weight. I am seated in a comfortable chair with a backrest and not on 6 square inches of saddle. Sure wish I had found recumbent bikes sooner.
I've never had so much an issue with numb hands as I have with numb nuts.
Heavy handed with em?
Try tilting your saddle nose down slightly. Ride and repeat until you can feel ya nuts again. Use a spirit level if you have one handy.
That's your peroneal nerve. Get a bike fit because it can be serious and lead to long term problems.
Always enjoy your Bikefit Tuesdays! My fitter has me using a saddle that's between 152 to 155mm wide (like Selle Italia Max SLR Boost). I do find myself moving slightly forward whenever I ride. Should I go size down to an S3 or should I try L3 first (since L3 is still 10mm narrower than Max SLR Boost)?
Try L3 first. The S3 is really small. My sitbones measure 125mm and I tried both. The L3 fits me fine.
Like, shared & well i was subscribed anyways. Happy seeing meaningful videos on this channel!
How can you set the setback more accurately from your road bike into your MTB and the reach?
Thank you and great videos.
Francis/James, tks a lot for all these info. One question, if the numb hand is always in the side, could it be something different from the list of the video.
Very good content. I just have to watch it at 0.75x speed to catch everything. 😄
The only thing James could’ve finished this educational series with was, “thank you for attending my Ted Talk.” 😎🍻
@6:34. I’m thinking this may be my issue. I was sit tested on a machine that measured my sit bones and determined I need to be on 168mm saddles (not sure of the number.. so let’s say “wide”. I end up riding a bit more forward on the sadlle … may try this Sella model. Of exchange my current Specialized saddle for the narrower version. My current is very similar to the Selle model you show.
Hi James. At 6:48 you mention you sell the Sella Italia a lot (really a lot), but in other videos you say you really love the Pro Griffon and an older Specialized model and are also on all your bikes? Times change of course, but there is some discrepancy in the video's. So what changed your mind for changing your saddles.
I got a saddle that supposedly got my sit bone width. Turned out it was too narrow. Threw an old wider gel seat on and was fine for 100 mile ride. Went from barely coping with 5 miles to no worries over 100. I don't think folk take into account size and shape. I'm not very tall, under 5 10 but I'm chunky.inhave a big arse. A narrow seat simply cuts into me. My 120 kg on sit bones width or less doesn't work haha. So a wide seat that cushions you works better. The downside is they rub your legs a little instead but you can cope with that with anti chaff creams. My advice is ignore what folk say and sit on lots of saddles and ride them for some distance. Don't just buy narrow cos it's in a video or a salesman tells you they sell more. Actually find one that fits.
I would love to hear James' thoughts on the trend of flared "gravel" drop bars. Does the angle present any challenges to proper ergonomics? I know he's not fond of the super wide drop trend but was curious about the flare. Thanks!
in the world of "what's old is new again", my sister's godfather rode GB Capo Berta bars for his CTC adventures (1960s/1970s www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/392143041666_/Vintage-Paire-de-GB-CAPO-BERTA-RACER-Route.jpg )
Trend? Is the 1980's trendy, now? Flared is what we called 'randonneur' bars back in the day. I notice a difference between the 'flared' bars on my Galaxy, and the 'vertical' bars on my Renown.
@@jm19592011 Trends come and go. Gravel bikes seem to flare now to "add stability"
Here's a question for you. How does pedal stack, i.e., the distance between the pedal axle and where the cleat rests on the pedal, affect pedal stroke? Does it matter? James never talks about it and he often says that bike fit is not a question of millimeters so I'm guessing it's not something that's terribly important. However, the pedals on the market vary in terms of pedal stack and can increase or decrease saddle height, so it's something to take into consideration if you change pedals on your bike.
It's the stack height between your foot and the pedal spindle that matters, that's why those who've had a professional bike fit will have a shim or two between their shoe and cleat for one leg as nobody has symmetrical leg length.
I have a shorter left leg, so my left shoe has a shim.
That UHHHH edit at 3:48 really got me
Longer stems give you much better sprint and out of the saddle power plus keeping your knees away from the bars.
I'd like to know James' opinions/recommendations on foot placement on the pedal for those of us who ride without cleats!
Me too!
By feel. Your feet will naturally place themselves in the best place. leg length discrepancies are weirder to fix though I guess.
i second the by feel method - your feet want to be as relaxed on the pedals as possible. I managed to find a position where this automaticaly happend. I sit lower and balls of my feet are further forward over the axle. I use Fiveten Freerider Pro's which have stiff-ish soles which allow me to do this (this wont work as well with flimsy soles)
Yes, I wonder if he would say to put our foot farther forward on the pedal.
I'd love a video about "so, you already have this bike, and now you want to adjust reach - here's how", especially with reducing reach. Maybe an emphasis on the order to try things, since I'm trying to avoid buying a million billion parts to experiment with. :)
haha we almost filmed this on the same day as this video... it's on the list👍
I had one of those saddles, and some other short-nosed ones, but for me they didn't work out. After having a saddle pressure fit done, it turned out the nose got too wide too soon for me, giving me too much pressure on the inside of my thighs. I am now sitting on a Fabric Scoop Flat, and happy with it
Nice video 👍
When i do go on the bike i feel all my weight go into my hands so gonna try these out thanks
I know I know, it's anecdata not science but here is what I did to completely eliminate hand numbness many years ago as a complete neophyte.
I learned to ride without touching the handlebars. That's it.
And my initial impetus was just because I thought it looked cool.
I had a professional bike fit. But even still I got to the point where I was double, eventually triple-wrapping the handlebars, WITH padded gloves and WITH a gel insert under the 3 layers of tape. But still my hands would get numb after 30 or so minutes.
But learning to ride without handlebars forced me to shift my weight back, and completely cured my numbness.
Without realizing I was leaning forward supporting my whole torso and upper body with my hands. But learning to shift that weight back immediately helped.
I just hope this comment can help someone else out there with stubborn numbness.
What do you mean “learn to ride without handlebars” lol
Hi, can you please give me experience with which tilt you mount the SLR Boost saddle? Which tilt should this Säle have if I put a board with spirit level on it?
I've always attributed my left hand going numb due to the 2 plates and 13 screws in my left arm
I just moved my saddle tilt to level, I thought it was leveled before, and moved it further front and I definitely got less numbness in my hands.
Are the numbers you get out of power meter pedals of any use for bike fitting? My Garmin pedals suggest that I am pedaling towards the outside on one side.
I get numb hands and fingers on my new road bike a Boardman slr 8.9 which is a small the guys at the bike shop think my upper body is to long my for the bike and suggest a longer stem and possibly wider bars in the short term they turned my stem upside down changing it from a less racier position and moved my seat further back which has helped a lot
My numb hands have made me fearful of buying a bike. Going to a shop and riding a new bike around a parking area isn't great for the bike and not sure its long enough for me to decide if the reach is right. I'm 5-11 and sit at 56 size for some brands e.g. specialized. However when sitting on one I feel the bars are like my current bike- too far. I have a carrera tdf which is my intro to the sport and can't find out the size of it. I am ready for a new bike but would be horrified to be back with numb hands. Mine get so bad they start to have a pedaling sensation if I try and push through.
PS didnt find the link to the handlebar size check video.
What was the saddle you mentioned selle Italia 🤷♂️🤷♂️do I need that on my ebike or is that for more road bikes
It's hard to balance bike fit with handling. Specially on some gravel bikes. I like riding 400mm bars, but with my stem length and tires it gets too unstable, also impossible to bikepack with, as most bags in the market are made for at least 420mm bars.
In my case, I get numb hands and after longer intensive rides I feel more burn in the quads then the hamstrings. I'm guessing I need (to try) more saddle setback.
Any idea, what's the effect of hood position regards front hub on manouverability?
I think farther (towards the front) the hood from front hubb, more difficulty in maneuvering the bike.
I'd like to watch an episode with bike fit tips about flat/riser handlebars.