protecting my hands

I did not notice this happening at all on my last bicycle.

Of course, as my last bicycle was a substantially cheaper bike I wasn't
quite as likely to ride fast and furious. (for local values of fast and
furious, usually I am going between 15 and 20 kph)

My new bike is a Giant Athena. Don't try looking on their website,
unless you read Chinese, you won't find any specs on it.

When I find myself crashing through a pothole or going over railroad
tracks the banging and thudding the handlebars do end up making my hands
sore. They aren't showing bruises but they are definitely feeling tender.

Other than slowing down, and avoiding bumps in the road, is there
anything I can do to protect my hands?

At the store where I got my new bike all of the bikes I saw with shocks
weren't Giant or Emelle or any other recognizable international brand.
After a year on a Chinese-made bike I wanted something a little sturdier.

-M

In article ,
Marian Rosenberg writes:

Other than slowing down, and avoiding bumps in the road, is there
anything I can do to protect my hands?

No.

At the store where I got my new bike all of the bikes I saw with shocks
weren't Giant or Emelle or any other recognizable international brand.
After a year on a Chinese-made bike I wanted something a little sturdier.

Norco's are really sturdy. Usually the stock forks (usually
cheap-o RST's) suck the big one, though. They'll blow their tops
off on the slightest rut. Marzocchi's are nice. Peel off a couple
of yards off the paycheque for the bike and another yard for the
fork, and your started, if you want suspension and snob appeal.

Then there's wheels.

I'm riding around happily on a foundling Norco Bigfoot w/ no
suspension, and nondescript Araya rims on Weinmann hubs.
She serves me well. I don't complain 'bout 'er, and she don't
complain 'bout me. Me & my bike have an understanding. If my
hands hurt, my bike hurts, too. Anthropomorphism, 'n all that.
But it serves well as a means of developing a gentle touch for
mechanical parts.


cheers,
Tom

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Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
Marian Rosenberg writes:


At the store where I got my new bike all of the bikes I saw with shocks
weren't Giant or Emelle or any other recognizable international brand.
After a year on a Chinese-made bike I wanted something a little sturdier.

Norco's are really sturdy. Usually the stock forks (usually
cheap-o RST's) suck the big one, though. They'll blow their tops
off on the slightest rut. Marzocchi's are nice. Peel off a couple
of yards off the paycheque for the bike and another yard for the
fork, and your started, if you want suspension and snob appeal.

I'm not riding a locally-made bike. This bike cost nearly $60. For
some locals this is a month's salary. I've already -got- snob appeal.

My last bike was $22 and nice enough to steal.

Basically, I don't give a damn about snob appeal. I just want a
comfortable ride.

Then there's wheels.

I'm riding around happily on a foundling Norco Bigfoot w/ no
suspension, and nondescript Araya rims on Weinmann hubs.
She serves me well. I don't complain 'bout 'er, and she don't
complain 'bout me. Me & my bike have an understanding. If my
hands hurt, my bike hurts, too. Anthropomorphism, 'n all that.
But it serves well as a means of developing a gentle touch for
mechanical parts.

Araya, Weinmann, Marzocchi, Norco ... I'll keep these names in mind for
my next trip to Beijing. In Shijiazhuang the non-Chinese bikes or parts
available are Giant and Emelle. Also some Shimano things at the really
well stocked bike stores--the kind of places that also carry helmets.
That's it.

I try not to abuse my bicycle. But, the best places to ride in the
bicycle lanes are already taken by other bicycles creeping along at 5
and 6 kilometers an hour. This means going over manhole covers, and
catching the occasional pothole.

-M

On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 17:10:52 +0800, Marian Rosenberg
wrote:



Other than slowing down, and avoiding bumps in the road, is there
anything I can do to protect my hands?


You could be using too much pressure on your hands all the time, which
makes them sensitive, and then the bumps push them to a painful level.

Excessive hand pressure can come from a set up problem, where you
have too much weight leaning forward. A seat tilted forward can cause
this. Or incorrect stem length, other fit issues.

Some people ride with a tight grip when it isn't needed. Pay attention
and see if you can relax your grip, arms, and shoulders. It really
doesn't take much pressure to keep a bike steering where you want and
to keep the front wheel from being pushed off-couse. Try riding with a
very light grip. See if you can have your hands float off of the bars.

Think of your arms as shock absorbers, not tie rods.

When I hit potholes and bumps, I relax my grip, not tighten it. You
don't want to take all of the impact force on your hands.

Dan Daniel wrote:
On Sun, 31 Aug 2003 17:10:52 +0800, Marian Rosenberg
wrote:



Other than slowing down, and avoiding bumps in the road, is there
anything I can do to protect my hands?

You could be using too much pressure on your hands all the time, which
makes them sensitive, and then the bumps push them to a painful level.

Excessive hand pressure can come from a set up problem, where you
have too much weight leaning forward. A seat tilted forward can cause
this. Or incorrect stem length, other fit issues.

How does one go about getting a bike that is a good fit?

Some people ride with a tight grip when it isn't needed. Pay attention
and see if you can relax your grip, arms, and shoulders.

Relazing definitely helps on the non bumpy fast riding conditions. I'm
not too good at forcing relaxation but, yesterday's ride after getting a
massage was almost as wonderful as the massage. I was kind of
semi-liquid and my bike was an extension of myself.

It really
doesn't take much pressure to keep a bike steering where you want and
to keep the front wheel from being pushed off-couse. Try riding with a
very light grip. See if you can have your hands float off of the bars.

Part of why I am pariticularly noticing the pain is because I have been
playing with the wonderful balance of my new bike and, traffic
permitting, going 5 and 10 minutes at a stretch with hands nowhere near
the handlebars.

Think of your arms as shock absorbers, not tie rods.

When I hit potholes and bumps, I relax my grip, not tighten it. You
don't want to take all of the impact force on your hands.

Okay. I KNOW I haven't been doing this. I've been tightening my grip
in expectation of the possibility of loss of control.

-M

Marian Rosenberg wrote in
:

When I hit potholes and bumps, I relax my grip, not tighten it. You
don't want to take all of the impact force on your hands.

Okay. I KNOW I haven't been doing this. I've been tightening my grip
in expectation of the possibility of loss of control.

If you think the bump is going to be big enough to knock the bars from
your grip then you dont want to keep a nice tight grip with your hands,
but make sure your elbows are not locked, and are free to absorb the
shock.

Also get up out your saddle and move your weight back as your front wheel
hits, and slide forward to move some weight off the back wheel as it hits
the bump. keep your knees bent, so the bike moves but your body does not.
This reduces the shock on the bike.

Active cycling, you cannot just sit on the saddle like a sac of potatoes,
er or rice

fragg

Marian Rosenberg wrote:

Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
Marian Rosenberg writes:


At the store where I got my new bike all of the bikes I saw with shocks
weren't Giant or Emelle or any other recognizable international brand.
After a year on a Chinese-made bike I wanted something a little sturdier.

Norco's are really sturdy. Usually the stock forks (usually
cheap-o RST's) suck the big one, though. They'll blow their tops
off on the slightest rut. Marzocchi's are nice. Peel off a couple
of yards off the paycheque for the bike and another yard for the
fork, and your started, if you want suspension and snob appeal.

I'm not riding a locally-made bike. This bike cost nearly $60. For
some locals this is a month's salary. I've already -got- snob appeal.

My last bike was $22 and nice enough to steal.

Basically, I don't give a damn about snob appeal. I just want a
comfortable ride.

Then there's wheels.

I'm riding around happily on a foundling Norco Bigfoot w/ no
suspension, and nondescript Araya rims on Weinmann hubs.
She serves me well. I don't complain 'bout 'er, and she don't
complain 'bout me. Me & my bike have an understanding. If my
hands hurt, my bike hurts, too. Anthropomorphism, 'n all that.
But it serves well as a means of developing a gentle touch for
mechanical parts.

Araya, Weinmann, Marzocchi, Norco ... I'll keep these names in mind for
my next trip to Beijing. In Shijiazhuang the non-Chinese bikes or parts
available are Giant and Emelle. Also some Shimano things at the really
well stocked bike stores--the kind of places that also carry helmets.
That's it.

I try not to abuse my bicycle. But, the best places to ride in the
bicycle lanes are already taken by other bicycles creeping along at 5
and 6 kilometers an hour. This means going over manhole covers, and
catching the occasional pothole.

-M

More profound answers from otehrs may be forthcoming, but I can
somewhat relate to your situation.

I bought a (very) cheap-o bike early this summer primarily for
recreation and excercise on the premise that it would be 'good enough'
for what I want. That premise might have held up, except that I have
discovered that I *liked* riding and ride it much, much more than I
anticipated.

In my case, the budget bike's first repair cost as much as the bike
and revealed that the front sprocket wheel is not true/bent. I have
since bought a nice Trek, and find the idea of someone "stealing" the
old one immensely appealing.

In your case, the budget approach seems to indicate a bike with some
sort of front suspension might have been a better choice. This need
not be a high dollar one suitable for cycling up and down K2, just
something to take the 'oomph' out of potholes and the like.

My el-Cheapo bike had hard, textured plastic-like grips, which
aggravated even minor road bumps as you describe. If this is the case
on yours, you could explore replacing them with something with a
little more 'give' in the material.

You could also try gloves. In my case, el-Cheapo had twist shifting.
Hard Plastic + Twist shifting + sweaty hands = Danger. Even
department store type gloves (like Bell) have some padding in the palm
which should lessen the impact. I found that athletic gloves, such as
for weight lifting, had *much* more padding across the palm, which
might appeal to you, but the palm leather was more 'grabby' on the
handlebar grips making slight positional adjustments...different.

If you dont like the idea of gloves (or the fashion statement it
makes), you could try them just to measure the effect before exploring
new grips, or a combo.


Hope this helps, but YMMV

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 15:07:39 -0500,
, Kevan Smith
/\/\ wrote:

When you see a bump coming, relax and put your weight
on your butt.

huh? Put your weight on the pedals, your legs are better shock
absorbers than your spine.
--
zk

Fraggle wrote:

Active cycling, you cannot just sit on the saddle like a sac of potatoes,
er or rice

LOL!

-M

Onlooker wrote:
Marian Rosenberg wrote:

More profound answers from otehrs may be forthcoming, but I can
somewhat relate to your situation.

I bought a (very) cheap-o bike early this summer primarily for
recreation and excercise on the premise that it would be 'good enough'
for what I want. That premise might have held up, except that I have
discovered that I *liked* riding and ride it much, much more than I
anticipated.

This is not an el-Cheapo bicycle. It is merely a disgustingly cheap
bicycle.

el-Cheapo would be the bikes that are $10 new.

This is China. As I'm not in Beijing, Shanghai or Hong Kong the price
scale is astonishingly different from North America.

I have
since bought a nice Trek, and find the idea of someone "stealing" the
old one immensely appealing.

I'm actually rather annoyed that the old one got stolen. It was a nice
bike. Not a great bike but a nice one.

In your case, the budget approach seems to indicate a bike with some
sort of front suspension might have been a better choice. This need
not be a high dollar one suitable for cycling up and down K2, just
something to take the 'oomph' out of potholes and the like.

Front suspension would be the forks that have little rubber doohickeys
on them and make it so they jounce one way while the bike bounces a
different way, right?

I can get those aftermarket. Unless I get a totally pointless, for the
North China _Plain_, mountain bike or get a stunt bike, shocks and
suspension don't come on local bikes. In this city, you don't even get
multiple gears for a bike unless you buy them special.

(The students at my school with whom I have spoken who have multiple
gears on their bikes have never used them and have no idea how to use them.)

I did seem some bikes where there seemed to be various kinds of
suspension and bounce-ability built into the frame but they were all
Chinese made. The price indicated that they were _probably_ good bikes
but I wanted a known brand.

If you dont like the idea of gloves (or the fashion statement it
makes), you could try them just to measure the effect before exploring
new grips, or a combo.

I've got gloves. I'd forgotten all about them. They are a standard
part of my kit on deliberate instances of "I am going on a bicycle ride"
but most of my riding is more like "I am going the long way around to
cross the street."

-M