Discussion
I fitted bigger 'ergonomic' grips (isn't everything you use ergonomic?) and found that they made a difference. I was getting pain accross the middle of my hands as I think it was pressing on the nerves in my thumbs.
You do need to hold on less tightly though, the grips I got have small bar ends built in so I feel mopre secure as my hands won't slip off the ends.
You do need to hold on less tightly though, the grips I got have small bar ends built in so I feel mopre secure as my hands won't slip off the ends.
Rouleur said:
The size of your hands or grips won't make any difference IME.
And in typical internet fashion, I'd disagree and say the opposite IME! 
I experienced hand cramp but mostly just sore hands after long days of DH MTBing. I've found larger diameter grips certainly help in my case, but there's other factors too:
- setup of bars
- amount of weight you have over the front of the bike
- how tightly you're gripping the bar (although too loosely can cause friction issues over bumpy stuff)
- brake performance (IME better brakes reduce strain on the hands: less effort to pull the levers I guess)
I use these grips because they work for me and they're cheap: http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cP... - I've got a spare set of unused orange-coloured ones that I'm selling (blatant plug - I changed the colour of the frame so now they'd clash horribly!) if anyone's interested.
from experience, most people who suffer from hand cramps whilst cycling are a result of one of three things
1/ hand position - most people who get cramp in their hands ride with their palms flat on the bars with their wrists almost at a right angle. the shocks go through the bars but stop at the hand because the angle between the hand and the wrist is too severe for the shock to go through the forearms. try moving your brake levers down a touch and seeing if that helps. when you are off road, the shocks should be absorbed by your arms hence the hand position being important, suspension forks mean people have got lazy but back in the day of rigid forks we became adept at it to the point where your chest ached as much as your legs.
2/ grips do make a difference. you may be gripping the bars too tightly (most likely a result of the grips being too thin) or the grips arent offering enough comfort. if you are not using lock on grips try them, they are secure and reduce the pressure you need to apply. lizard skins are pretty good and about £15.
3/ gloves, if you arent wearing them the cramp is a result of the vibrations through th grips, if you are they either have insufficent padding in the contact areas or they are too tight.
1/ hand position - most people who get cramp in their hands ride with their palms flat on the bars with their wrists almost at a right angle. the shocks go through the bars but stop at the hand because the angle between the hand and the wrist is too severe for the shock to go through the forearms. try moving your brake levers down a touch and seeing if that helps. when you are off road, the shocks should be absorbed by your arms hence the hand position being important, suspension forks mean people have got lazy but back in the day of rigid forks we became adept at it to the point where your chest ached as much as your legs.
2/ grips do make a difference. you may be gripping the bars too tightly (most likely a result of the grips being too thin) or the grips arent offering enough comfort. if you are not using lock on grips try them, they are secure and reduce the pressure you need to apply. lizard skins are pretty good and about £15.
3/ gloves, if you arent wearing them the cramp is a result of the vibrations through th grips, if you are they either have insufficent padding in the contact areas or they are too tight.
scrwright said:
that could be true, is it worth moving the bars up a bit to shift my weight back a bid
I would say not....you just need to work on your core fitness and make sure you aren't resting on your handle bars. Shifting your weight back is not a very athletic position so will make riding harder. right, had a good look at what I am doing today and I think I have my hands/wrists at the correct angle. If I stretch out my fingers while riding they are inline with my fore arms and rest on top of the brake levers. I think I just need to get som bigger grips and work on some upper body strength, I am putting too much weight in my bars.
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