Pressure on Wrists and Upgrades

[Malinois]

Hi,
not exactly retro but this looks a good place to be. I have a Trek 7200 Hybrid with a very large frame as I am 6'7" and about 24st in weight. So I can't ride these flimsy road bikes (YET). When I do get my first road bike I will get an old one and do it up. I have started to learn to do bit and bobs myself and amass some tools.

I want to tinker about with my current bike. I have greased the hubs. I am putting a new cassette chain and pedals on tomorrow. I have changed the tyres and the seat to a B17 which is far more comfy. I am up to 23 mile rides now.

I want to take some pressure off my wrists and not exactly sure which aspect of the geometry I can alter. I also want to get rid of the RST T4 suspension front fork and put something solid on there. My bike currently I has 700x35c tyres on it.

Any suggestions re alterations to make the bike more comfy and faster would be much appreciated.

Mal

P.S. I know I can make it faster by losing some bloody weight

 

[wynne]

Re:

Good work.
A more upright posture might help your wrists, so try raising the handlebar stem if you can or getting a more upright one. Also, maybe try some spongier grips / I like the Ritchey foam ones.
Good luck with it all.

Rich

 

[REKIBorter]

Re:

I find these a big help. You have to experiment with the angle, I run mine almost horizontal, but they can make a big improvement to wrist comfort and support.

Ergon GP1's

 

[jimo746]

A stem with more upward angle may help take weight off your hands and distribute it more evenly between saddle and bars.
Some riser bars may also help.
With it being a hybrid, your fork options are more limited, but I'd stick with suspension on the front end to make things comfier on your hands/wrists.
Also worth looking at the position of your levers/shifters etc as ideally you want a straight line down your forearm and through your hands and controls....

See Point #7...
http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/fit-bike.htm

 

[hamster]

I'd emphasise that point - if you are riding with your wrists twisted so they are at the level of the bars or below you will over-extend the joint and get pain. You need to grip so that you feel as though your knuckles are pointing slightly downwards. It feels a bit odd at first, but will soon become instinctive.

Bar-ends give a second hand position and allow you to shift grip, which helps massively too. You can but Ergon grips like the above with small horns for a second grip.

 

[Raging_Bulls]

I'd emphasise that point - if you are riding with your wrists twisted so they are at the level of the bars or below you will over-extend the joint and get pain. You need to grip so that you feel as though your knuckles are pointing slightly downwards. It feels a bit odd at first, but will soon become instinctive.

Bar-ends give a second hand position and allow you to shift grip, which helps massively too. You can but Ergon grips like the above with small horns for a second grip.

+1 on the levers thing, it's often overlooked.

I usually set my levers up this way :
1 ) Loosen the levers (and shifters if necessary) just enough so that they stay in position but you can move them by hand.
2 ) sit on the bike, with your arms stretched completely. Straight line from your shoulders to your fingertips.
3 ) take one hand off the handlebar and use it to move the lever on the other side up or down until it touches the bottom of your fingers there.
4 ) repeat with the other side (or get next to the bike and do it by sight
5 ) tighten the bolts again

If the position is good but you are still experiencing pain, you may indeed have too much weight resting on your wrists. In that case a stem with more rise or a riser bar can help.

Whatever you do, don't replace that suspension fork with a rigid one. You'll only put more strain on your wrists because they'll need to absorb every single bump that the suspension fork now deals with.
Also, if the new rigid fork isn't suspension-corrected (most 700c forks aren't) , the front end of the bike will become lower. That will tilt you forward a bit more and put even more weight on your wrists.

 

[IbocProSX]

Levers pointing down is a very good point. Often overlooked also by shops.

Another to consider is the sweep as that affects the wrist angles directly. I am completely converted to "Alt bars" anywhere from 10 degree Ritchey 16 degree Salsa and Syntace, 20 degree Answer 27 degree Ragley all the way to 45 degree Jones. The 20 to 23 degrees is a good starting point to see if it Works for you. A very reasonable aluminium Salsa 2 bend or if you fancy Carbon the Answer 20/20 are good examples of the breed.

Enjoy!!

 

[Malinois]

Re:

Thanks for all your replies. Been tinkering today and altered the angle of the stem. Thinking about it at 6'7" as you can imagine my shoulders are wide. I have noticed my writs toe in and this may be the cause. I may have to go for wider bars.

I have a ride planned tomorrow to check out my new chain and cassette. I have also put platform pedals on as wait for it. I have size 17 feet so no cleats for me.

Cheers.

 

[xerxes]

Re:

I have size 17 feet.

I imagine toe-clip could be a bit of an issue.

 

[Malinois]

Re:

That's right, shorter people always say they would love to be tall. But the truth is the world is build around smaller people not taller people. I have to get what I can get and not much other option.


Ian