Larry’s Top Three Aches and Pains – Part 3

By Larry Foss, US National Team, owner The Fix Active Body Massage, specializing in sports massage, bike fitting and FaCT lactate testing.

[Ed. Miss the previous posts? Find them here - part 1, part 2]

Numbing of the hands is also an issue in a lot of riders.

Again this is often due to the reach being too long and causing the rider to have excess weight on the bars causing the rider to stay in the same position for extended periods of time without changing hand positions. This causes compression of the nerves in the carpal tunnel.

First, as mentioned in the previous post make sure that your bike set-up and fit is correct and also make sure that you do not lock you elbows as you ride.

Second, during longer rides make sure to change hand positions frequently (from the brake hoods, to the top of the bar, and to the drops) throughout the ride and this should alleviate some of the numbness. If you are riding a bike with flat bars, you can try adding bar ends and using those for alternate hand positions.

There is nothing that gives the feeling of freedom that a bicycle can. With a proper set-up the bike and rider will work together as one single unit. I know I am never happier than rolling down a ribbon of asphalt with the sun and wind in my face.