Cycling gloves

KNoceros

Hi all. As a relatively new cyclist I’m after some help regarding cycling gloves.
I’m riding about 150-200km / week but am finding that I am getting two problems:
1. A blister is slowly forming in the thumb-web of my left hand
2. Pins and needles in the fingers of both hands (mainly right) after about 30km.

I see lots of people cycling in gloves. Would these help with either problem?
I have tried moving my grip around but with straight handlebars (hybrid rather than road bike) I have limited options there.

Any advice or pointers happily received...

dblair27

Hi! Glad that you are cycling. Welcome to the sport! As for gloves... well, yes, gloves should help some, but this sounds like a larger issue. Gloves will help reduce the pressure you place on your hands over long periods (because they are padded), but you also need to start lifting your weight out of your hands. Core strengthening exercises (like planks) will do a lot of good for you here.

I am a road cyclist coming back from a back injury caused by a weak core. I also used to have difficulty with blistering and tingling of the hands. Take it from me, start strengthening your core now so that it can support you and you don't also end up injured. Core strengthening is something that we cyclists just don't talk about enough.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

@dblair27 makes an interesting point. But, no matter what, you will want some fraction of your weight on your hands. It actually takes the strain off of your back and generally makes your riding more efficient.

Unlike all those cyclists that say that you will be perfectly comfortable if you have the right bike fit, etc., I report that you need adapt to it. In other words, a good geometry will make things as comfortable as possible, but if you ride long enough, you will always find one issue or another. Your butt, hands, back, neck, feet, or something will eventually complain.

Good bike fit helps the most. If the distance from your seat to the bars is too long, you'll have too much pressyre on your hands. You can try sliding the seat forward, but a lot of it is buying the right bike![/c]

Good gloves help by protecting your carpal tunnels using strategically-placed padding. That is very helpful. You should also have nice spongy grips or bar tape. Having drop bars rather that straight bars helps by giving you more than one position for your hands, which is also very good (although you're generally lower, which is harder on your neck). Finally, when you find you are getting sore: stop and take a rest. Even a few minutes can really help.

Best of luck!

myfp67

Without a doubt, wear gloves. They will stop blisters and may help with the numbness. Also, consider fitting bar ends so you have a different riding position.
I just get the cheapest gloves - either ALDI, Decathlon or Planet X and they last me for some rides of over fourteen hours.
If you don't wear gloves, are you lycrad up yet? That also makes a difference when the rides get longer to your nether regions. Saddle sores are nasty things and can knock you back weeks.

myfp67

Ooh, forgot to say, learn the cyclist wrist flick - if you are on a long ride and are unable to take a rest, take your hand off the handle bar and flick on down with a loose wrist. Also, do wrist rotations. It gets as natural as taking a drink after a while.

KNoceros

myfp67 wrote: »

Ooh, forgot to say, learn the cyclist wrist flick - if you are on a long ride and are unable to take a rest, take your hand off the handle bar and flick on down with a loose wrist. Also, do wrist rotations. It gets as natural as taking a drink after a while.

This I am already doing as it brings the sensation back to the fingers.

I found proper Lycra/ padded shorts very early on and they are a godsend.

Sounds like I’ll be looking at the Decathlon website in the next day or so and see what her they have any xs gloves left.


Thanks all for the input so far. Always keen to learn!

sijomial

Blisters - yes will help.

Pins & needles - depends on the cause. If it's caused by vibration then probably, if it's caused by the angle of your wrists then probably not, if it's caused by gripping too hard then maybe yes, maybe no.

If you crash they may save your hands from some damage. (I shredded my gloves in a 30mph plus crash last year and escaped with minor scrapes and some tendon damage to a finger but would have been a lot worse without gloves.)

When I used to cycle long distances on my hybrid I added bar ends (but mounted inboard of the hand grips) for an alternate hand position. You could of course mount them in the usual place!
I also changed the handgrips to ones with a bit of a palm rest.

mjbnj0001

Lots of good advice above. I always wear gloves and always have. But, I also found, when I came back into cycling a couple of years ago, after a couple decades away, that I had some numbness. I know about positioning, fit, core, bar padding and all that, but what changed for me was being on a flat bar rather than the dropdown bar of my old touring bike. I wound up getting the not-so-fashionable-anymore bar-end grips added to my bike. Not only have I increased my hand positioning options, I have grips I can pull on when working uphills if needed. Plus, the style I got has broad ergonomic grips to reduce wrist pressure. Poof! For me, no more numbness. YMMV. Good luck!

Pic highlights the Ergon GP-4 bar-end grips I added to my handlebar. Ergon GP grips vary from 0 to 5, from just the grip to "horns" of various lengths, to a grip that recurves back onto itself for a variety of options. The GP-4 is the longest outreach of the handle, and doesn't curve back into itself like a GP-5. I tried them all in the bike shop before settling on the one I picked.

KNoceros

Thanks.
I think I’ll try proper padded gloves to start with and keep working on my core (although it’s not too bad given the other sports / exercise I do, but there’s always room for improvement). If all else fails, those grip extensions look potentially interesting.

NorthCascades

I don't wear gloves unless it's cold enough to require them, which means I'm not allowed to crash.

Pins and needles in your hands sounds like too much weight on your arms, which is a fit problem. Gloves are very popular and I don't want to talk you out of them, but adjusting the bike may lead to a better fix.

ritzvin

sijomial wrote: »

If you crash they may save your hands from some damage. (I shredded my gloves in a 30mph plus crash last year and escaped with minor scrapes and some tendon damage to a finger but would have been a lot worse without gloves.)

This is the reason I've been considering gloves lately (been coming across a lot more really bad condition roads this season). (I, otherwise, find them to be more of a nuisance and don't wear them, but worth noting that I always have difficulty getting proper- fitting gloves of any type).

For the OP, at least some of your issues will likely go away with more time and core strength.

lorrpb

The tingling is probably what’s called cyclists palsy or ulnar deviation if you want to google it. There are exercises that help some people. There are ergonomic grips for straight bars that might help. The company name is Ergon.

lorrpb

PS Yes definitely try some gloves.

Machka9

I find with gloves is much more comfortable on a bicycle than without gloves. Short-finger for summer, long-finger for winter.

Regarding the pins and needles ... check your bicycle fit, check the angle of your handlebars, and if while you're experimenting with those things you still get it, then ...

Mid-ride, sit up on the bicycle and put your left arm behind your back in an L shape, flex your fingers, flex your shoulder a little, and then do the right arm in a backward L ... _|

KNoceros

Thanks everyone for the replies - thought I’d pop back with an update.

I adjusted the angle of the wrist-rests on my handlebars, and have been concentrating on “crashing” all my weight through my wrists (by keeping a slightly engaged core.
These two things virtually eliminated the pins and needles. 🙂

I did also get a pair of gloves at the weekend, and have only worn them twice, but they seem to be doing wonders for the blister feeling.

So thank you everyone. Great advice which has worked! I love the MFP hive-mind.

Rogus1

Sounds like the OP has solved his issues. However, I'll mention something I didn't see in the replies and what has helped cyclists I coach and that's to relax the arms and/or shoulders. Some riders have a tendency to hunch up the shoulders which can lead to the tingling. Locking your elbows can also be an issue. A slight bend in the arms also makes for a more comfortable ride as the arms then act as shock absorbers for both road vibrations and larger bumps.