Wrist ache

[Vespula]

Went for a ride on my new mountain bike yesterday and by the time I got back my wrists and hands were aching. How do I rectify this?

[Camoradi]

I get this too, generally on longer downhills or when xc racing on hard ground

Look at one or more of:

Front suspension settings - soften up the forks a bit
Front tyre pressure
Decent gloves with gel in the heel of the hand
Handlebar grips with gel, or ones which present a larger contact patch between your hands and the bars
Try to ride on softer ground? (woodland etc)

HTH

[Henry Hawthorne]

Stop gripping so hard.

[neil_bolton]

:titter:

[itsnotarace]

Sounds like you are using a set of muscles that you haven't used in a while, so ride moar.

[dubbs]

Don't grip so hard

+1

You can also damage the Ulnar nerve if you're not careful so get used to a light grip and positioning yourself right.

[rhinochopig]

Wrist ache is a sign of a poorly fitting bike.

Check the following:

• Are you lent too far foward? If so get a riser stem or riser bars or check how high your seat is.
• Is your weight too far forward? Adjust the Fwd/aft position of the saddle and consider shorter stem
• Are your grips big enough diameter? If your grips are too small (you big hands) consider some BG or ergo whatsit grips which are fatter.

The previous posted suggestions are palliatives and will not address the cause. Make sure your bike fits properly because a properly fitting bike should not give you wkers wrist.

[dubbs]

No they're not - you CAN also have that issue through technique, weight balance and gripping the bars too tight. All of the above can occur without "fit" being the issue.

[Vespula]

Thanks for all the advice, lots to think about.

[pdV6]

Also (and luckily the easiest thing to change) are the brakes & shifters in the right position? Too far towards horizointal and your wrists are going to hate you.

oh, and don't grip so hard...

[RRS_Staffs]

+1 to the above post

When riding and grippping the bars in a neutral position your brake levers should be nicely lined up to your fingers

If you need to shift your wrist to brake you will get wicked wrist pains

Good luck