running out of idea's. handlebars/arthritis.

[ton]

sold my very last pair of jones loops yesterday, the only bars i have been comfy with. until recently that is.
now at a stage where i have no backward flex in my wrists, due to arthritis.and the position with the loops was too painful.

so new set up is low risers and ergon grips, with the grips rotated forward, so that the back of my hand is in a straight line with the back of my forearm.
feels comfy riding on the road, god knows what offroad will be like.

any ideas for a set up to try? next step could be a recumbent with under seat steering. ne weight on wrists at all.......

[Chew]

Maybe worth having a chat with Longstaff Cycles.
They make all kinds of special adapted bikes for people. They may be able to suggest something or even make you some specific to your requirements.

[Alpinum]

so that the back of my hand is in a straight line with the back of my forearm

Should be the way to hold a handlebar properly anyhow.
Especially offroad, when things get rough.

I suggest trying to ride in this position with out ergo grips. Get the body to do the support. It should soon feel natural.

I use a Wiser bar from Ragley and love the feel of it for all my bikes and have had multiple fractures in my right wrist and am at the onset of arthritis

[voodoo_simon]

Is your seat more or less in line with your bars? A long drop will put more pressure on your wrist.

Perhaps drop your seat by an inch, this can take pressure if your wrists too and after a short time, especially off road, you'll get used to the lower seat position. Strange idea but can work.

Dare I suggest a drop bar? Ok, so an expensive option as you'll need new shifters and brakes etc, but it will allow you to move around to the bike easier and relieve pressure

Slightly lower tyre pressure will help your wrists with impact, won't help its position but will with cushioning. My friend had the same problem and he fitted suspension forks to his bike

Have you tried a professional bike fit? Should take about two hours but they should get you fitted on the bike correctly. These are normally done for road bikes but a good fitter will be able to adapt their practices to a mountain bike.

[Lawmanmx]

i know i keep banging on about 'diet' ton BUT, just have a look at this (Below) pal, it might be time for a lifestyle change my friend, i was the same 3yrs ago, i could hardly use my hands they were so painful so i know where your coming from, the diet changed my life for the better ... like i had to, you just need to be honest with yourself and make your mind up IF bad foods are more important than the quality of your life.

http://borntoeatmeat.com/

[quimarche]

I've very recently been through the same process, for similar reasons. Had a long chat with Graham Theobald of thebodyrehab.co.uk. Ended up moving the saddle back to take weight off the arms, and rotated the brakes & shifters down so the wrist has to flex less to brake/shift.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Ended up moving the saddle back to take weight off the arms

Did you not find that this made you lean forward more, thus putting more weight on your hands?

[ton]

bars and seat are level. don't feel like a lot of pressure on my hands. my left hand has a bit more movement so hurts less.

bike set up with jones loops
2017-03-29_01-51-34 by 20ston, on Flickr

[Chew]

The front end does look like it could be a bit low. Bars half a brick lower than the saddle?

I'll check the Swift when I get home, but sure my bars are a few inches higher than the saddle.

Not fashionable, but by raising the front you'll take a lot of weight of your hands.
Feels a bit strange for the first 5 mins, but a lot more comfortable riding ridged.

[benp1]

Couple of ideas

1 - take weight off your arms
- lower your saddle
- shorten your stem
- raise your bars (more stack height or higher angled bars)

2 - change your arm position
- I found my 710 loops more comfy than my 660 loops, as it brought hands further out and so reduced the angle of my wrists. What width are yours?
- what about reducing the sweep a bit?
- try bar ends on the loops. Looks really weird but I was running ergon GC3s for a while and it was strangely comfy (though that was on 660 loops). It was horrific for catching things on narrow singletrack though

[Moff]

Have a look at the SQlab bars.

http://www.sq-lab.com/shop/en/handle-ba ... -31-8.html

A bit more sweep than a standard bar, but not to the extreme of a Jones.

Felt good riding them for the first time over the WRT.

[Scud]

What about drop bar set up like on a Salsa Fargo, so the drop is level with saddle, therefore you have the wrist straight on the flared out part of the drop.

I don't have arthritis, but i broke four fingers on right hand and snapped the tendon in my thumb and due to complications, have limited movement in wrist and thumb doesn't bend completely so struggle to wrap round grip.

I find on the Fargo, you are just leaning on the drops and position pushes you into them, whereas on flat bar i'm actively holding on?

[ton]

tried all the various wide and flared drop bar set up's. nothing is wide enough to start with. I had a fargo for a year or so, the set up didn't suit me.

[Ian]

Unless you've already been down this route, I would seriously consider a proper bike fit by a suitably qualified physiotherapist.

Often very small changes in the right areas makes all the difference. Knowing what to change and by how much is the key and better than trial and error, or buying loads of bars and selling them on at a loss

[ton]

buying loads of bars and selling them on at a loss

money is only any good when being spent Ian............

[Physiobikefit]

Hi. What Ian suggests. A bikefit with a fitter who is qualified physio as well who can assess the extent of your joint mobility at the wrist and puts you in a cycling position relative to your core strength and posterior chain flexibility (muscle length of calves, hamstrings, back) not numbers and angles. If you can hold yourself through your core/trunk and sit in a good pelvic posture, this will take the pressure of your wrists. I see a lot of cyclists who ride with straight arms putting a heap of pressure through the shoulders and wrists where the back is in a rounded position so trunk control is switched off. Changing your position at the pelvis will take the pressure off your wrists. This takes a while to learn, for the lower muscles to get stronger but it works. DON'T lower your saddle if it is in a good position. This will just put too much pressure on your knees and you will lose power and compensate through the lower back position.
It isn't always about the bike set up but a big part is being able to hold yourself in an efficient position at the pelvis which takes pressure off the arms/shoulders. Much better for the long run.

[mountainbaker]

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/why-do ... arthritis/

[Cheeky Monkey]

Ton's next ride:



Low steering, unloaded wrists - check
Heaps of ecofriendly, electric motor power to assist on those hard to conquer climbs - check
Likely to be sold at a loss moments after purchase - check



TBH, if my wrists were as borked as you say yours are I would be running a suspension fork, not rigid. If really wanting to stay "semi-rigid" I'd consider the compromise offered (AFAIK) by Laufs. All puking-gnome jokes aside.

Alternatively that bloke who posted with all the qualifications in his signature might actually be able to properly assist or recommend someone in Leeds which might represent appropriate, focused guidance based on professional experience and technical qualifications, rather than the BS of the www. Still, we all like to plough our own furrow, eh

[Cheeky Monkey]

Soz if that sounds a bit arsey, blimey

PS - physio's are sadists masquerading as caring professionals pursuing your best welfare but a good one is worth it IME. As are frozen peas. In fact if it can't be sorted out by the application of frozen peas you should probably have it amputated or take the hourse's-route out.

Sorry - off on one again

[ton]

Likely to be sold at a loss moments after purchase - check

different forum, same old jelous bastards.

[Ian]

Cheeky Monkey in a STW-degenerating-post-shocker

After I posted my comment further up, I contacted Scott (the physio chap) to deliberately point him to this thread. I'll vouch for him as he treated me for Achilles tendon issue after the Highland Trail, 3 years ago. It worked. It took a bit of time but ultimately wasn't that expensive. He gave me advice for me to follow and exercises I could do myself, so I paid for something once that I got lasting benefit from.

Anyway, what else are you (as in anyone) supposed to do?
1. You go to the doctors and say I have arthritis, and it hurts to ride my bike. He (or she) will tell you not to ride your bike
2. You could buy a bunch of books and learn what to do yourself (tricky, and possibly time consuming)
3. You could systematically buy every available handlebar known to man to see if it works (and sell it if it doesn't). Also time consuming and quite expensive.
4. You could switch on the internet and find a forum of largely unqualified people who won't agree on what's best for you.
5. You could go an see someone who's done #2, is qualified in some way and has experience of cycling and who can coach you a little on how you can make things better permanently.

I know which one I'd pick

[Cheeky Monkey]

Likely to be sold at a loss moments after purchase - check

different forum, same old jelous bastards.

Ton my lovely I have benefited quite nicely from your gear selling and am more than happy with it. Not jealous, just ribbing. You big lads and your thin skin

[Cheeky Monkey]

Cheeky Monkey in a STW-degenerating-post-shocker

Watch it bag-boy



(ironically the code for that smilie, if viewed quickly and askance, looks remarkably like "barrington", whodathunkit )

[Chew]

Just back from the basement of doom....

The grips on my Swift are 2 inch higher than the seat.

Suggest that you'll more than likely need a bit more.
Certainly takes the weight off my hands on a rigid bike.

[fatbikephil]

Just a comment about your set up - Surly makes 'em long and you have a long stem on a long bike. Try getting the bars back as far as they will go, say with a 50mm stem. Or try a BBB 35 degree rise 80mm stem which has the same forward extension as a 50mm stem but puts the bars an inch higher. When I first tried loops on the Krampus I got terrible shoulder pain and my wrists didn't seem any less sore than with normal bars. On the Jones the bars are 2" higher than the seat and wrist pain is a thing of the past.

Regarding putting the seat back, this may seem counter productive as it stretches you out more but it should help as it will shove yer butt further back which counterbalances your forward reach and reduces wrist pressure. Sheldon brown goes on about this on his site. If you get a pro bike fit be sure to tell them your looking for max comfort as they tend to default to road racers looking to go fast for a few hours.