Hands getting numb

SpeedyDad

New Member
I know this isn't Rad-specific so sorry if this is not allowed.

When I ride my RadRover, my hands go numb. I hadn't done much riding before this so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if there is a technique to alleviate this.

The keep it Rad related, I now have about 210 miles on my RadRover. I love it.
 
I've got a little experience with this. My wife had this problem quite badly a few years ago, especially on her left hand. It would actually burn a bit after riding awhile, but both would tend to go somewhat numb. In her case it turned out to be full on carpal tunnel syndrome, which has since been fixed by surgery, but that's probably a bit of an extreme situation.

I was having a little trouble last fall after buying my first ebike (not a Rad either, but I doubt we're going to be banned over it). I had always ridden a drop bar touring bike until buying the ebike, which had nearly straight mountain bike style bars. After twenty miles or so my hands were really bothering me. I did a bunch of reading here and elsewhere and it seemed that it was time for a little handlebar experimentation. In my case, I fixed the problem with an Origin 8 Pro handlebar that I read about in one of the Specialized Turbo threads here. It has a little rise to it and just enough of a sweep back at the grips that your wrist stays pretty much dead straight when holding it. I put it on over the winter and now that the weather is finally better, have ridden about 300 more miles on it and find it far more comfortable, so far at least.

I also last fall added an adjustable headstock unit (someone shoot me if my nomenclature is incorrect) that allowed me to slightly raise, and therefore also bring back a few millimeters, the handlebars. That made enough of a difference all by itself to tell me I was on the right track. After that it was just lucking into the right handlebars for me, which I did thanks to a guy named Ron in that Specialized forum here with the Origin 8 bar.

So while your mileage may vary on the specific solution, the detective work you need to do is all about the angle of your wrist and hand where it meets the handlebar, and the amount you are leaning on it when riding. You might just want to go to any bike shop and ride a few different styles that will have you sitting up marginally more or less, and changing that hand angle till you find something that just feels better.

Or you could have some smiling surgeon tell you Hey, you've got carpal tunnel and we are gonna slash the hell out of you, but you probably don't want to go that route right away. I'm sure you can fix or improve it either with different bars or a shorter or (better yet) adjustable headstock/stem.
 
Numb hands was a big issue with my other bike and to a lesser degree with the Radrover with the more upright riding position. I still needed to make some minor improvements to help with long range riding comfort because I would still get a little numbness. I also had to learn to loosen my grip when riding and adjust my hands to move around the pressure points on the grips. I added the following to give me more padding and a better torso angle for riding:

OudoorMaster half finger gloves with gel pad, Amazon, $11: https://www.amazon.com/OutdoorMaste...sr=8-5&keywords=padded+bike+gloves&th=1&psc=1

Sunlite 0-60 Degree 95mm Adjustable Stem, Amazon, $32: https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-0-60...fkmr0&keywords=sunlite+0-60+degree&th=1&psc=1

Wheels Manufacturing 2.5mm stem spacers, pack of 5, Amazon, $9 (only needed 2 spacers per bike): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CJZBH0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

stem.jpg sunlite stem.jpg gloves.jpg
 
Rather than a lot of trial and error, this is something easily solved by a good bike shop. Specifically those that have invested in bike fitting technology. Handle bar design, extension, risers, stem angles make a difference. But so does seat height, seat position, and seat angle. A properly fitted bike can make a world of difference in comfort and efficiency. Expect to pay $100 or so depending on the time required to measure and adjust. Add in a few accessories and I'd say for under $200 you'll be amazed at the comfort improvement.
 
I know this isn't Rad-specific so sorry if this is not allowed.

When I ride my RadRover, my hands go numb. I hadn't done much riding before this so I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if there is a technique to alleviate this.

The keep it Rad related, I now have about 210 miles on my RadRover. I love it.
I had similar experience when I first got my 2015 IZIP Dash. I was surprised since I did not have the problem with my old ebike. When I compared the riding position. The old one has shorter reach, increased height of the handle bar in comparison to the seat, and the hand position is more neutral at 45 degrees. To have the same comfortable riding position, I changed the handlebar with the classic shape;
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...ck+handlebar&tbm=shop&spd=4042716084750401037
and used a shorter stem;
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...#q=short+stem&tbm=shop&spd=794389533030235897

When I got another electric bike, I also did the same plus added a stem riser;
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

That solved the problem of pains to the wrists, elbows, and the rest of the upper body.
 
Thanks for all the advice.

I already got the gloves. They have helped a little but it looks like a trip to the bike shop is in my future.
 
Flat bars simply don't work for me. I changed to a Soma Sparrow bar with Ergon GP1 grips, and I no longer have issues.
View attachment 16338
What size bar and grips did you buy? I really like how this looks! I see three different sizes for the handlebar and two for the grips. Also, did you shorten the grip yourself or buy adapted grips?
 
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