Grips for Jones bars-- finger numbness issues

[myrtlehandel]

I have been putting in a lot of 100-150 mile days recently on my rigid carbon bike as training and have been dealing with serious finger numbness in the ulnar nerve distribution over my 4th/5th fingers. I am on 710mm Jones bars and use the ESI extra chunky grips as recommended by Jones. I change up my hand position constantly, try to avoid putting pressure on the nerve, have tried lots of different gloves with padding in all sorts of places, don't wear a heavy backpack and still can't shake the issue.

What grips are you using on your Jones bar setup? Any hand issues? Can I see pics of your handlebar setup to see how you have it setup? Also, if you look at your bike from the side is your bar tilted backwards at all, or flat to the ground? How far tilted back is it?

Who here has tried the Ergon GC1 grips which are supposedly made for very swept bars like this? I was debating putting the GC1s on and wrapping tape the rest of the way along the bar since the Ergon's seem like pretty short grips and I'd like to keep as many hand positions as possible. I am willing to try absolutely anything here to fix this issue. Having numb hands 5 days after a ride is disconcerting to say the least.

Lastly, do you know of any good small bags that fit well in the center loop of a Jones bar? Nothing big like a sweet roll setup, just something nice and shallow to bridge the gap in the center and hold some goodies in easy reach. I know it takes up hand position space, I am just curious.

[myrtlehandel]

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[bmike-vt]

I use the Jones ESI and I also use the simple Ergon grips (not the paddle ones, the longer straight ones... not sure on the model). I found the angle of the bars and my saddle to bar position needed tweaking - I also suffered hand fatigue when first moving to new bars until I got things dialed in.

Frosted by Mike, on Flickr

Surly Krampus in Bikepacking Kit by Mike, on Flickr

IMG_3774 by Mike, on Flickr


What gloves are you wearing? I moved to thin leather gloves, no serious padding or gel, unless I'm out for a quick hammer session on the single speed (rigid). I ride the same gloves on road / gravel / and my Krampus - made a huge difference - too much padding didn't work for me.

[bmike-vt]

I taped my bars, and I added some TOGs.

Finally wrapped the Jones bars... by Mike, on Flickr

This is the little bag that I have. I don't use it, PM me if you are interested, I'll see if I still have it and let it go cheap.

Wildcat Tomcat for Jones Loop. Will be part of my electronics charging / managing scheme for bikepacking. by Mike, on Flickr

[the tortoise]

I have the 2.5 inch riser Jones bars on my Trek Stache. They work very well for me. In fact I put them on my Ti 29er hardtail as well. I run the standard Ergon grips on both bars.

Putting in 100 to 150 mile days is going to take a toll on your body and pressure points.
My suggestions are:

Make sure your bars are above your seat level to take the pressure off you hands and wrists. Of course when you do this you put more weight on your saddle which can lead to other issues. I don't like to ride with a backpack as it adds more stress to your shoulders and increases the weight on your saddle.

Try some aero bars to give you another position and transfer the weight off your hands and saddle onto your arms. I was able to put in 324 miles in 24 hours (flat paved course) and had no hand issues since I spent most of my time on the aero bars.

Shake your hands out regularly, move your neck around, get out of the saddle and change things up as you ride along. Stretch when you get off the bike. I also learned how to do some self chiro adjustments (look at youtube)

[schillingsworth]

I too have had numbness issues in my hands, even on short rides. Mostly due to wrist surgery in 2015. I had tried all kinds of grips on both my HT 29er and Egons GX MTB series on Jones Loop bars without success. I had pretty much resigned myself to Rich's suggestions above, shake out my hands, etc. I was recently turned on to REV Grips and borrowed a pair. Whoa. I did 3 test rides here in rocky AZ including a 7+ hour decent off Mt. Lemmon & the Catalina SP trails without any issues - no tingling sensations, no numbness, etc. I was pleased enough and bought a pair. I've only done one ride on my new set, I went with the largest diameter 34mm (demo'd the 31mm) since I tend to like larger grips. The initial cost is a bit steep for grips, but you can replace individual parts at a reasonable price as they wear out.

This isn't quite my final setup, but close. I'll add Togs & all the K-Lite powering magic. There's a small strip of velcro under the bottom center of the map case to prevent flopping, yet easy access to the center bag.



My TD rig. A Binary Bicycles Havok Ti 29er. I'll be putting 2.0's on it, currently setup with 3.0's - left over from the Tally Tango 160.

[Salubrious]

Seat height, setback and angle all affect hand tingling and other issues.

Handlebar height, reach and angle do too.

Pedal cleat position affects hands as well.

They all inter-relate!  Jeff Jones is adamant that the grip could be concrete if the bike is set up right and you would not have hand problems. I set my Jones Plus up over a period of 2 months, just small tweaks. After riding 3 weeks continuously I had no hand problems.

I'm not going to deny the comfort of a nice grip though    The Jones bars are the most comfortable I've used.

[wahday]

One thing Jones does not discuss much in their materials is the proper angle for the bars when installing. They should be 8-10 degrees, sloping toward the back of the bike. I use my phone which has a built in level. This makes a huge difference in handling and comfort. Otherwise, I use the ESI extra chunkies as well. I need my bars level with or a little higher than my saddle to be comfortable on really long rides. But with the kind of mileage you are talking about there is going to be some pain. That's some serious distance!

[Salubrious]

Actually Jeff recommends about 11 degrees. Steeper than that and you start to get too much pressure on your hands. But The Jones bike have a really upright riding position, very similar to an old British 3-speed. He is adamant that unless you are doing crits or the like, you've got no business with dropped handlebars. For endurance stuff I think he's on to something- when you're younger, it might be that you can tolerate more aggressive positions but as you get older they can be a problem.