Too much pressure on hands when cycling means that your riding position may not be right for you or you don’t have enough padding in the handlebar grips or bar tape. Do not fear, a few adjustments or additions can make your riding a more pleasant experience.
Adjusting body position when there’s too much pressure on hands when cycling
If you get a pain in your hands or wrists while riding it might be that some components such as the saddle, seatpost, handlebars and stem are not setup to suit you.
By adjusting them, you may be able to put yourself into a more comfortable riding position. The seatpost can be raised or lowered.
The stem can be either raised, lowered
or flipped
and the handlebars can be angled.
If you want to find out more information about how to make these adjustments click here to read our article about adjusting handlebar and saddle height where we show you how to do this step by step.
You can also watch our video tutorial here:
How to make flat bars more comfortable.
If there’s too much pressure on hands when cycling and you get pain you can swap your standard handlebar grips to make hands and wrists more comfortable.
Silicone grips.
Grips with a cushioning comfort that offer a good level of vibration absorption. However they are hard to fit and wear relatively quickly.
Foam grips. Made of a dense foam tube that absorbs vibration better then standard or silicone grips. They are easy to fit however they absorb moisture making your hands slip when wet.
Ergonomic grips. They have a contoured design to support the palm of your hand to reduce numbness and aching in the hands and forearms. They are very comfortable however they can be expensive.
Once you have your new grips it’s time to replace them. If the grips don’t budge then in our article here you will be able to find some tips on how to remove old grips easily.
You can also watch our tutorial here:
Bar ends. They attach to the end of the handlebars and allow the rider to move their hand position, so alternative muscles are used and there is less pressure put on the hands and wrists. They come in different shapes and lengths and some ergonomic grips come with built in bar ends.
Fitting bar ends.
Stand in front of the bike holding the front wheel with your legs. Undo the retaining bolts on the gear and brake levers and move them slightly towards the middle of the handlebars. If you have lock on grips then loosen the screws on the lock rings and move them towards the brake and gear levers. If you have push on handlebar grips then spray a bit of isopropyl alcohol to loosen them and using a wiggle and push method move them towards the the brake and gear levers. Some push on grips are closed on one side. To fit the bar ends first remove the grips and cut the closed end. Refit the grips allowing the space for the bar ends. Now fit the bar ends and set the angle to the most comfortable position for you. Tighten them. Fit bar end plugs.
Butterfly bars. To further relieve the pressure on the hands and wrists you could consider butterfly bars. Because of their length and shape you have more chance of finding o comfortable hand position.
Not sure how to fit butterfly bars? Don’t worry as we have a great article here to guide you through this task.
You can also watch this video tutorial:
How to make drop bars more comfortable.
Gel bar tape. This handlebar tape has an additional inner gel strip to absorb the vibration. It’s relatively easy to fit however it can be expensive.
handlebar gel pads. They sit in between the handlebar and tape offering extra comfort to your hands. They can be washed and reused multiple times however they can make wrapping the bar tape difficult.
If you’re ready to change the tape but not sure where to start then check out our article here where we show how to replace handlebar tape step by step.
You can also watch our tutorial here:
Making your hands more comfortable when there’s too much pressure on hands when cycling
To relief the wrist and hand pain you can also consider gel padded gloves or mitts.
They have an extra layer of gel padding on the most vulnerable parts of the palm. It minimises hand numbness and protects wrists from road vibrations. They also make your hands more comfortable by keeping them warm.
Find out how to be comfortable when cycling:
If you get a numbness in your hands or pain in your wrists while bike riding then try these methods to make cycling a more pleasant experience:
– Change your body position by adjusting seatpost height, stem height and reach and handlebars angle
– If you have a flat bars then consider replacing the old grips with more comfortable ones
– Fit bar ends or a butterfly bars to offer more hand positions
– For flat handlebars you can replace your current bar tape with a gel padded one.
– Consider handlebar gel pads that are placed in between handlebars and the bar tape.
– Wear gel padded gloves or mitts.