Does any one have any advice about handle bar setup or anything to reduce hand and finger fatigue? I realize hand pain is normal for DH riders but what I'm getting seems a little excessive. The outside of my palms gets really tired really fast and my fingers are getting sore and cramped really fast. I have to pry them off the bar at the end of a full run. I have to stop about every minute to let my hands rest. I ride pretty fast and dont ride the breaks. I'm riding an M1 with a 2001 super t, 15wt oil in the fork. 8" hays on the front, 6" gustave on the rear. Any advice?
Hand Pain
- Thread starter farrell
- Start date
Well, 15wt oil seems a little much. Maybe you're getting a little more abuse than you would if you went down to 7.5wt. Plus the 6" rear isn't helping. But you might try rotating your brake levers up. On steeper decents you won't have to reach very far around the bar to pull on the levers.
15w sounds a little much in the fork. Go down to 7.5 and set up your brakes to engage as close to the bar as possible.
Remember a big part of hand fatigue is form on the bike. Loosen up the death grip and only hit the brakes when you have to, dragging them wears out your hands more than pinning it.
Remember a big part of hand fatigue is form on the bike. Loosen up the death grip and only hit the brakes when you have to, dragging them wears out your hands more than pinning it.
i found that rotating my levers down so that when i was standing in riding position my arms and hands made pretty much a straight line. this stopped my cramping in hands and forearms.
read this giant thread of mine on this topicfarrell said:
Farrell - loosen your death grip, and you'll be money...
I used to have the same problem - was gripping the bars WAY too tight from trying to over-control the bike. Keep your hands snug on the grips, but not like you're hanging on to a chin-up bar - let the arms and legs absorb the terrain and do their thing.
I used to have the same problem - was gripping the bars WAY too tight from trying to over-control the bike. Keep your hands snug on the grips, but not like you're hanging on to a chin-up bar - let the arms and legs absorb the terrain and do their thing.
I had the same problem last year with my hands/fingers cramping and locking onto the bars at Whistler. I had Ruffian grips. I switched to Rogues and this helped a little. I was running a super T pro and would get a lot of feedback from the high speed bumps and chatter on the courses. I tried a friends bike with an 888 up front and rogue grips and did not have the extreme hand pains. I had to attribute some of the problem to the fork, too much feedback. I have bought a new bike/fork and have ridden it all winter without pains. I am waiting to hit Whistler to see if I have any more problems. Basicly, I decided to drop $6500 bucks on a new sled to fix a small problem. At least that is what my wife said angrily.
Good luck with the pains as it is a real distraction and annoying.
Good luck with the pains as it is a real distraction and annoying.
to work on your grip strength, as well as arms and back, you can start doing towel pull-ups. there really hard at first, but help out a ton on the mountain.
Try a carbon bar with fat grips.
A friend of mine wraps his DH bars with the specialized barfat tape.
A friend of mine wraps his DH bars with the specialized barfat tape.
It also depends on the size of your hands. I have small hands for a guy so I can only use the thinnest grips. I use the Intense lockons. I use to have the Oury ones, they hurt my hands because they got so tired from just holding on. The Ruffians felt like sandpaper on my hands and the Intense ones I think were the smallest I've found. Now I feel fine. Although, my brake finger on my right hand hurts. Probably because I'm a bit faster and my bike weighs a ton!
yeah, I have huge hands, I wear xxl gloves ( and they tend to be a little snug) so if any one knows any good tricks for large handed riders let me know.
I think I'm going to try the oury grips, and drop my fork oil back to 7.5. I'll post how that works for me
I think I'm going to try the oury grips, and drop my fork oil back to 7.5. I'll post how that works for me
Good advice.ZEDMAN said:
Set your levers to feel right when you are standing instead of sitting on the saddle.
Like other have said, adjust brake angle..play with it until you get it comfortable. Possibly try bars with a different rise and less sweep. Soften up the fork as well.farrell said:
With huge hands, it will be crucial that you get large grips. The oury's are probably yoru best best, give them a shot, they will dampen vibrations as well as give you a more natural grip position.
well, I never got around to getting bigger grips. The first thing I did was make my reboud faster and that made big difference. I have allways run with a really slow fork and I think it was packing up in rock sections ( I ride with my reboud almost totally closed usually ). for the next ride I switched from 15 to 7.5 wt oil and kept my reboud faster then I usually do and now everything feels allot better. my hands still hurt a bit but i dont have to stop druing a run and they dont hurt the next day.
So my advice to people whose fingers are getting brused and sore.
- dont ride with your reboud really really slow like I did
- soften your compression.
So my advice to people whose fingers are getting brused and sore.
- dont ride with your reboud really really slow like I did
- soften your compression.
try to move your brakes upper!!!
try like this!!
try like this!!
Yeah, I see people sometimes running their brakes almost vertical on their DH and FR bikes. But whatever...if they like it and don't get hand pains and nerve damage, then it's all good.danielbender said:try to move your brakes upper!!!
try like this!!
Think i finally figgured out the reason for all the hand pain I was having. I raised my bars about 2 inches and all the pain I was having went away instantly. I can totally bomb down a full run now and not have to stop to rest my hands. Apparently I was just way to far forward and had too much of my body weaight on my hands.
Do late night "personal training" sessions with yourself. Don't forget to switch off. All the pros do it.. I find after riding a dirtbike for awhile that the pain in my hands from dh is bearable in comparison.