Kobra Kai MTB Guy Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) About 2 1/2 weeks ago, my wrist started hurting out of nowhere to the point that I can't make a fist or grip the bars. Ended up going to Bentonville for vacation and not getting to ride the whole time I was there. Fast forward to today, I'm still recovering. I got wrist tendinitis (diagnosed) from mountain biking, and unlike most cases, it's from the tendons connecting my fingers (middle and ring) to my wrist rather than my thumb. So it isn't a result of my rear brake lever placement causing me to reach. The only thing that changed over the last few months is I started riding only the difficult sections at Brushy (double down) and City Park. My guess is it happened because I'm braking a lot harder/more often and gripping tighter to get up the steep climbs/step ups on those sections than I am anywhere else at Brushy. Has anyone else gotten an overuse injury like this? Any recommendations to prevent it other than mixing the riding up going forward? As some additional information, I have round grips (grizzips brand), full squish bike. Edited August 20, 2020 by Kobra Kai MTB Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4fun Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Kobra Kai MTB Guy said: About 2 1/2 weeks ago, my wrist started hurting out of nowhere to the point that I can't make a fist or grip the bars. Ended up going to Bentonville for vacation and not getting to ride the whole time I was there. Fast forward to today, I'm still recovering. I got wrist tendinitis (diagnosed) from mountain biking, and unlike most cases, it's from the tendons connecting my fingers (middle and ring) to my wrist rather than my thumb. So it isn't a result of my rear brake lever placement causing me to reach. The only thing that changed over the last few months is I started riding only the difficult sections at Brushy (double down) and City Park. My guess is it happened because I'm braking a lot harder/more often and gripping tighter to get up the steep climbs/step ups on those sections than I am anywhere else at Brushy. Has anyone else gotten an overuse injury like this? Any recommendations to prevent it other than mixing the riding up going forward? As some additional information, I have round grips (grizzips brand), full squish bike. I would start looking at your wrist angle with your bar widths. I always seem to go on and ride with full width bars (800mm) for a few rides and have alot of wrist/hand pain and then start cutting down the bars and have better results around 780-760. Also seem to be more comfortable with 760 on normal grips and can get away with 780 using ergons. If nothing else has changed but difficulty of terrain maybe this has exacerbated what was not a problem before. Hope this helps. Edited August 20, 2020 by 4fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 I haven't had the same thing you have, but I have had golf and tennis elbow and even golf + tennis elbow at the same time, both from riding but I can tell you trying to serve with tennis elbow really shows why it's called tennis elbow. I've also recently come up with TFCC pain. In any case, for me the physical therapy helped me to figure out what causes the pain. It's also helped me to figure out what strengthening and stretching exercises to do. I've subscribed to those Canadian physical therapists' YouTube channel someone (JuneBug?) had shared at some point and it's amazing how quickly I was able to get rid of the pain following their recommended exercises. BTW, my TFCC pain was definitely aggravated by riding, but I think it was originating from too much time holding up my phone while reading. So pay attention to other activities like that which may be aggravating or even causing you the pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) see a physical therapist. changing parts on your bike is going to be a temporary fix, if it helps at all. My wife and I have had good experiences with the wizards at Endeavor. See if Bob and Brad can help you first. Edited August 20, 2020 by mack_turtle 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Can't say it's the same or even related, but I've dealt with my share of wrist/hand pain and numbness. The 3 things that have helped me and some others that I've recommended it to are: 1. Lever position. Point your brake levers down more than you feel is necessary. Your forearm, wrist, and forefinger should be in straight line. Most bikes you sit on have the forefinger point up slightly. This creates stain and limits blood flow. 2. Brake lever reach. If you can adjust your brake levers to bite as close to the bar as possible. Riding with your forefinger extended all the time, but the other 3 tightly gripping the handlebar hurts. Tucking the forefinger in by way of adjusting the reach of the brake lever can help relax your hands. 3. ESI or other silicone grips. This is meant to reduce vibrations. Grips are a personal choice, but these have helped me, especially in technical terrain where it is hard to relax your natural tendencies to deathgrip the handlebar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 contrarian advice on lever position: the real answer: experiment and use what works for you. 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 19 minutes ago, mack_turtle said: contrarian advice on lever position: the real answer: experiment and use what works for you. Very much ^^^^ THIS ^^^^. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 "3 balls front-view." "The balls cable." 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 1 hour ago, mack_turtle said: contrarian advice on lever position: the real answer: experiment and use what works for you. Hilarious. It also exemplifies that are so many variables. That dude rides balls out, all 3 of them. I can tell you, though, if my levers were set up like that, both hands would be numb in less than 5 minutes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) I just tilted my levers up a little as an experiment. I even tried riding with them nearly vertical like the video above, but I could not hack it with that. mine are now somewhere between 30° and 45° from horizontal. there are so many variables to consider: effective stack and effective reach. how far, vertically and horizontally, are your grips from your pedals? affected by stem angles and handlebar dimensions. most of your weight should be on your feet most of the time while riding a bike. if the handlebars are too far away or too close in either direction, that could put undue weight on your hands. (I have a simple calculator to help people measure and optimize this, or at least find a baseline. PM me if interested.) handlebar dimensions: bend angles and width. FWIW, I use a SQLabs 12° low-rise bar and it feels fantastic to me. most handlebars use a 8-9° backsweep. grips: some people swear by grips with weird shapes. I find that those felt good to me when I had my bike set up in a way that did not fit me. the wings were another bandaid fix covering up for the fact that my weak core demanded a position that compromised handling. round grips forever. Edited August 20, 2020 by mack_turtle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notyal Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 I also wonder how much your local terrain comes into play. If you are grinding up a fireroad for 1 hour, then turn around and bomb down an enduro run, the flat lever position like Yoann's might work really well. Grinding up, you're seated high in the saddle and your fingers don't need to hover over the brakes. Point down, drop the seat, your body is now low and in line with the horizontal levers. Here, its pedal, rock, brake x infinity. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntonioGG Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 2 hours ago, mack_turtle said: I just tilted my levers up a little as an experiment. But did you palpate to feel if the cable is indeed pulling up? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheX Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 2 hours ago, AntonioGG said: But did you palpate to feel if the cable is indeed pulling up? Excellent use of the word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 17 hours ago, mack_turtle said: I just tilted my levers up a little as an experiment. I even tried riding with them nearly vertical like the video above, but I could not hack it with that. mine are now somewhere between 30° and 45° from horizontal. there are so many variables to consider: effective stack and effective reach. how far, vertically and horizontally, are your grips from your pedals? affected by stem angles and handlebar dimensions. most of your weight should be on your feet most of the time while riding a bike. if the handlebars are too far away or too close in either direction, that could put undue weight on your hands. (I have a simple calculator to help people measure and optimize this, or at least find a baseline. PM me if interested.) handlebar dimensions: bend angles and width. FWIW, I use a SQLabs 12° low-rise bar and it feels fantastic to me. most handlebars use a 8-9° backsweep. grips: some people swear by grips with weird shapes. I find that those felt good to me when I had my bike set up in a way that did not fit me. the wings were another bandaid fix covering up for the fact that my weak core demanded a position that compromised handling. round grips forever. Sweep plays a bigger part in proper hand/wrist position then just about anything else. Most bars are 9* back sweep which is fine if you're in the attack position with your chest low and elbows out, but for riding in regular seated position a 12* sweep allows your wrists to be in a more natural alignment with your forearm. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taco_junkie Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 (edited) Agree, lots of variables. Seated or attack position, bar sweep, level of terrain, # of balls... I can say I've messed with my brake position in the last year to get more comfortable and I have mine pointed pretty far down on my XC hardtail and not as much on the trail bike. @Kobra Kai MTB Guy Sorry to hear about the tendinitis and missing rides. Edited August 21, 2020 by taco_junkie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mack_turtle Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 I feel that frustration. I had some severe back pain a few years ago and a chiropractor/ physical therapist helped me out tons. I tried different stems and handlebars and moved my saddle around but none of it helped because the bike was not the problem. don't put off getting professional medical help. bad bike fit issues can make body issues more apparent, but the underlying issue is mostly your body, not the bike. Let us know how that works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssorgs Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 On the ergonomic front, I've got a Salsa Rustler Carbon 800 mm handlebar now for sale. Haven't listed it yet. 11 deg backsweep, which is why I got them for hand numbness. Excellent condition. Used less than one season per original seller and I did one ride with them. They have some 3M paint protection film on them to prevent pogies from rubbing the finish. Rise isn't quite enough for me and I can't add spacers to the get the height right. pm me if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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