Numb Hands on the Drops
Gene is getting numb hands when he is riding his Trek bike, he has bought himself a great pair of Cannondale gel gloves, but this is not working, so he wants some suggestions how to cure a possibly dangerous and uncomfortable problem
Question: I’m new to cycling and have a Trek 2200. The only discomfort I’m experiencing is numbness in my hands after about 15 minutes of riding with my hands on the drops. I have Cannondale gel gloves. How can I correct this?
Hi Gene,
This sounds like it could ruin a good bike ride and I say it could be dangerous, if your hands are numb then you can’t feel the handle bars and more importantly, the brake levers.
Without seeing you on your bike it is hard for me to pin point the cause of your problem, but I will give you some suggestions to try and alleviate the symptoms.
You don’t say if this happens when you are riding on the top of the handle bars, I’m guessing it doesn’t, so maybe you are either stretching too far down or forward when you are on the drops. The other cause is that your position on the drops could be to compact and your elbows come to close and you have a squashed position. I would say it will be one or the other, or if you feel comfortable on the bike it is being caused by something else you do when off the bike
The problem, in my opinion based on what you have said, is that you are trapping a nerve in your neck or upper back, this will cause numb hands. I get the same on the two smallest fingers on my left hand, not just on the drops but most of the time when cycling. My position is correct and comfortable when cycling; the problem is more likely caused when using the computer, bad posture. I go to an Osteopath/Chiropractor once a month and have my neck and left shoulder cracked, which helps a lot.
So, what should you do? Go to an Osteopath/Chiropractor and get your spine checked out. Have someone look at you position on the bike, a professional coach or go to a shop with a bike fitting system or try lifting or dropping the handle bars or changing stems, if you can.
What I do on a ride when it happens is shake my hand vigorously, which seems to sort the problem for a little time, personally I don’t get down on the drops very often anyway!
I hope this all helps; please let us know how you get on.
Good Mitts
