By Adam Baskin
Dec. 4, 2007 -- How often have you seen other riders in the group take their hands off the bars and shake them out, in a futile attempt to restore feeling to their hands or fingers? Have you ever been that rider? Some riders may shrug off this numbness as a normal consequence of cycling and while it may be common, there is nothing normal about it.
There are a number of reasons why one's hands or fingers may become numb when cycling. Hand and finger numbness, sometimes referred to as Cyclist’s Palsy, is typically caused by compression of the median and ulnar nerves of the wrist and hand. While this compression can sometimes be alleviated with a good pair of cycling gloves, many times this compression can only be fixed by changing one's position on the bike. When positioning a cyclist, it is important to achieve proper weight distribution. Typically, the rider should have approximately 40% of their weight at the handlebars and approximately 60% of their weight at the saddle.
Too much weight on the handlebars may cause numbness and also negatively affect the handling characteristics of the bike. Having one’s seat excessively nose-down, or having excessive drop from the saddle to handlebars may be a contributing factor. While there are some exceptions, particularly with some time-trial and multisport designed models, bicycle saddles are designed to be ridden flat, relative to the ground, not in varying degrees of nose-up or nose-down, as you may have seen on the group rides or racks in transition. Riding the bike shouldn’t feel like you’re doing a chronic push-up, constantly having to push oneself back up onto the wide part of the saddle. Having the seat high and handlebars low may make your bike look more pro-moto, or perhaps closer to the images in catalogs or magazines, but it may also be the reason that you are uncomfortable on your bike.
Other contributing factors to numbness are bar angle, reach, and improper brake hood, bar placement (road bikes). It is important to have a smooth transition from the bar to the brake hood, creating a flat resting place for the hands. With most handlebar/brake lever combos, this can be achieved by placing a straight-edge (ruler) on the bottom edge of the bar drop, lowering the brake lever tip onto the straight edge during installation. This method also helps insure that the brake levers are level from right to left. When gripping road bike brake hoods, wrists should be straight, not bent, relative to the forearm, and there should be roughly 25-35 degrees at the elbow. Lastly, try not to put the “death grip” on the bars. The handlebars should gripped firmly, but not to the point where it can contribute to numbness.
Hopefully these tips will help you make your next ride a little more enjoyable. If you continue to experience numbness in your hands and fingers when riding, seek out a professional bike fitter.
Baskin holds a degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology and he is a USA Cycling Elite Coach. He works at the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida, conducting sports science tests including LT, VO2 max and bike fits. Baskin is also a Category 1 rider on the road and track. He was named one of the country’s top bike fitters by Triathlete Magazine (2007 Road to Kona issue).