Grips for Jones bars-- finger numbness issues

[Couloirman]

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.

[bmike-vt]

Have you tried riding without gloves or gloves that don't have padding?

[Couloirman]

Yeah, I hate gloves so never wore them until this issue started. Since then I have tried everything from minimal padding, to tons of it and all gloves in between. No luck yet

[cccniuk]

so nerve pain/inflammation can take quite a while to heal. i suggest you attach some aero bars to keep up your training, but effectively rest your hands. once the nerve problems are away i would suggest you start experimenting a bit more, but not during the numbness, and it is completely away and then a fortnight after that build it back up again. (months not weeks).

As for a solution i would be looking at a number of things.

(I have ridden Jones bars for all of 400yards. didn't like them. but my friends do.so here are a few of my observations)

are the extra chunky grips correct for you.
if the grips are too big for your hands you hold on tighter, same if there too small for you. it was one of the reasons i didn't like them.

are the bars correct for you do they promote you putting weight through your hands, by making you sit in a certain position. I have noticed that my friends have a very upright sitting position with Jones bars. which very much reduces hand pressure. but at the end of the days riding when they are tired they have terrible posture, are you the same, could this change in posture when tired be a factor.
the smaller of my ridding buddies seems to sit very up right but his hands are very wide, and although he says he is, he doesn't look comfortable.

so would a bike fit be a good idea. or even an experienced eye giving an opinion on your posture.

would carbon/steel/titanium reduce vibration?

main thing let it heal, as nerve problems can be permanent

lots to think about.

[wahday]

I have had a pair of Jones Loop H-Bars for a number of months now and spent a good deal of time dialing things in. I have not had numbness issues personally and am very happy with the setup. Below is how I have set things up:

Height: Because the bars have no rise, I had to raise the stem a good bit to be level with the seat. I run a level from the seat to the bars and have it leveled just behind the brake levers (which are behind the loop – not using thumbies). If I slide my hands back for a descent, they are below level and if I hook my thumbs in front of the cross bar and grip ahead of the levers (or grab anywhere up there), I am above level. This seems to be a sweet spot for me as far as pressure and control. If your bars are too low, you could be putting a good deal of weight up there that over such a long ride could cause problems.

Angle: Apparently, 6% is the ideal angle (bars should angle down toward the back of the bike, of course). I have a suspension fork, so I had to account for sag. 8% angle when I am not on the bike seems to be ideal. I have had to tweak it at times if I am loaded or not and I go by feel. My hands, at rest on the bars, should fall at the same angle as the bar itself. If not, it can put pressure on specific parts of your hands.

Grips: I am using the chunky ESI grips (not extra chunky). Never used the extra chunkies, so I can’t really comment on that. I do have some GC1 Ergons on the newer Jones bend bar, but am still building that bike up, so I can’t comment on comfort. My concern with long hours in the saddle is that it doesn’t provide as a wide a “Grip zone” to move hands around.

100 to 150 mile days is pretty intense, so I am not sure the setup I have wouldn’t also create problems at that level, but this is how I do it. 50 mile days is about the farthest I have gone with this setup, but even with multiple days, I haven’t had issues. One additional thing I will mention is that I went from a 90mm to a 70mm stem when I started using the Jones bar and this also impacts weight on the hands.

Good luck. Numb hands are no fun and in my experience the discomfort can linger for days afterward. If you can afford it, I think a professional bike fitting may be worth the money. Then at least you will know if the bars are just not going to work for you and that it is not an adjustment issue. But personally, I really like the Joes bars, though it took a little while to get things set up properly.

[Couloirman]

Thanks for all the tips guys. Lots to think about for sure. I'm starting to wonder if rigid maybe isn't the way to go for me anymore. Maybe more squish up front will reduce the pressure on my hands some as well? I'm already on the niner rdo fork which supposedly is great at vibration dampening on long dirt roads, but maybe I'm just not tough enough for it vs a real 100mm suspension fork

[the tortoise]

I don't know what the fascination with rigid is? Even if it is fire road and gravel road the washboard can just kill you. Holding on to the bars tightly and having all that shock go through your hands, arms, neck etc is just asking for trouble in my opinion. I rebuilt my rockshox reba with Enduro seals and it made it much plusher. I would try a suspension fork set up fairly soft, Ergon grips and lower tire pressures to see how that works out. I also use a thudbuster. Putting in massive mileage days requires a good fit and reducing the shock to your body.
Also see a physical therapist, a chiropractor and do some research on hand numbness.

[trebor]

I've had major bouts with hand numbness. Over the years I've found my (emphasis "MY") key contributors of numbness to be:

Backpack
Gloves too tight
Padded gloves
Static hand position

In that order.

Everything posted already is very good info. Caution on damage is correct. I now have a significant deficit in hand strength and dexterity when compared to the time before I started multi-day riding. It's not coming back I'm afraid. I used "Chinese" exercise balls for many weeks after some of the most damaging (on my hands) events. It helped a ton during the recovery - but prevention is better.

For long events where rigid works (TD) I triple wrapped my Woodchipper bars with great success. I have big "mitts" and most any glove in XXL on the market it too small - Bigger was better for me and added dampening - but because wrapped very tight, wasn't too soft.

Don't do damage, and heal well!!