How To Stop Getting Numb Hands On The Bike

Have you ever had numb hands while cycling? It can be VERY uncomfortable. So if you join us in saying yes, then you're in the right place! In this video we are going to give you our top tips for preventing numb hands!

Welcome! 0:00
Hand position 0:20
Bike setup 1:19
Gloves 2:21
Relax! 3:07

Have you experienced numb hands? ✋

Let us know in the comments how you prevented it! 💬

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We Are Alright (Instrumental Version) - Layn

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📸 Photos - © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Sirotti Images

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[saksham]

You can also add core strengthening here. A strong back and abs also help with comfort and balance

[christocan]

Missed a very important tipp. Direct from my hand surgeon. Dial the levers inwards. Simple. Much better angle at the wrists.

[shavedheadwonder]

I take an old tube and wrap it around my handle bars before I put the bar tape on works great for me and no numb hands!

[ianstewart]

In GCN history, I posed this question to the tech channel when Matt Stephens was hosting. Loved when he answered my Q. I saved it too. Great advice

[donaldoutterson]

I just installed handlebar shocks and love them. They were advertised to reduce hand numbness by 38%, but in my case, they reduced numbness by 100%. I also raised the handlebar with an extender and have always worn gloves. The comfort is amazing. Ride on!

[jaycamp]

I've found that a major cause of numb hands on long rides is that my core strength weakens allowing more torso weight to fall down towards the bars. Initially, I can maintain an aerodynamic position without any hands at all. But in a short amount of time my core tires forcing me to use my arms to hold me up. Two hours later I 'm moving my center of gravity back towards the seat which starts another problem, aching butt!

[kentwong]

Do this on the turbo: if you take your hands off and can’t keep them on your hips safely without falling forwards, then your bike setup is wrong. You’ve got way too much weight being loaded on your hands

[richardmiddleton]

I was suffering from this for quite a while and strangely I raised my saddle and rotated my bars/levers down so the hoods were more horizontal. This create more of a saddle to hoods drop but strangely I don't get numb hands anymore! I might also add I stopped upper body strength training and lost around 5kg which would obviously help as well. All the above combined helped but I do think that raising my saddle allowed me to push the pedals harder and more efficiently to 'prop' up my upper body. If you think about it the pros have very slammed stems, very light torsos AND they can push the watts needed to keep the weight off their hands.

[Djstevedee-zl]

Great advice from you all.. Thanks so much. I feel much more comfortable on my bike now.. Thanks to you guy's.. much appreciated.. Steve 😁

[micko]

After suffering from numb hands a lot, I fitted a suspension stem. It was like night and day, the difference it made.

[KWB]

Crazy as it may seem, on century rides I carry a second pair of gel padded gloves. When numbness sets in, I put on both pair of padded gloves and the relief is grand. Worth the wee bit of warmth and wee bit of weight.

[richardwest]

Using a Powerball Gyroscope before and after the ride I find help reduce numbness. Also help strengthening too.

[Timinator]

I switched from alu to carbon aero bars and it helped immensely. Carbon absorbs some vibration but the wide flats are just wonderful. Easton EC70

[geoffreyhoney]

Great tips Manon, Conor and Hank! Love the content! I used to get ulnar neve issues riding long rides on my Kona Sutra Touring Bike. Because I was an registered clinical massage therapist, this was a profession threatening problem. I took to covering the tops to the hoods with closed cell foam and covered that with black hockey tape. That 'solved' the problem but only recently did I clue in that my bars were ridiculously wide for my shoulder width. My shoulders are quite narrow, such that I need a width many women would be comfortable with. I switched to narrower radonneuring bars and then got a shorter, more upright stem and that REALLY solved the problem. Solved the pinch in the base of my neck too!

[rbonn]

My hands suffer more on the bike than any other part. Some of it I chalk up to arthritis, but remembering to shift positions and optimizing my setup makes such good sense.

[JoeyKlu]

It should also be mentioned that if numbness occurs and continues in the hands with sustained forward flexion at the shoulders regardless of any of these tips (especially if you continue feeling that numbness in other daily activities accompanied with upper back and neck pain), you should have a doctor or sports medicine specialist have you tested for thoracic outlet syndrome, which is when the nerves or blood vessels passing under your clavicles to your arms are getting pinched off.

[bengt_axle]

It is the position of the hips that will determine how much pressure is on the hands. Further back behind the BB will cantilever the upper body and reduce the pressure on the hands. Therefore, if the distance between the saddle nose and the bars INCREASES by sliding back the saddle, it can actually reduce the pressure on the hands. This is why many pros who want a low position and also ride a frame that is smaller than recommended by manufacturer, have a 32mm offset seatpost. I think the current trend towards very narrow bars can also make it worse, as it causes the shoulders to roll inwards.

In the first few minutes of the video it sounds like Manon's brakes are rubbing. Perhaps it is something else or another bike.

[michaellane]

I am in excellent shape for a 68 year old. I've now been riding a gravel bike for a change of pace and terrain challenges. Getting up to speed I am riding mostly on chip seal and sometimes smoother roads. The glitch is that of the larger mud style tires, 29s. Changing the hand position is good yet finding comfort is not systematic. My interests will be incorporating a suspension stem and seat post. All about comfort, seat, cleat position, seat height, fore and aft, stem angle. I also am up out of the saddle quite often to reduce fatigue.

[gigglingchicken]

Getting back to your weekend campsite in the mountains as the sun is about to set, cracking open a beer while cooking a few steaks over the fire, medium rare with my friends and my pups.

[Blitzer]

People always talk about reach being too long and drop too low, but if the bars are too high or too close, that can also make you prop more weight on the hands. Seems counterintuitive but could be the case.