Advice needed

[leix_toffee]

Hi All, maybe someone has had some experience of the following and can give some advice;
I am having an issue where the outside of my hand to my wrist is giving me significant pain and increases with longer runs. It is mainly on one side (Right, shifter is this side and rear brake) but some on other hand as well. Never had this issue on my old bikes (non emtb) so I have a feeling it is the setup I have - cockpit, body position etc. I bought some Ergon GA3 Large Grips to see if this would help but same issue. I have noticed on my last ride that I am tending to have to "hold on" much more than I ever did on my non-eMTB, It feels like my weight is too far back but when I move forward I feel like going over the bars all time. I am shifting my weight continuously, which is helping but still feeling that "holding on" feeling more often than not. The only thing I have thought myself is to change my bars to a riser or change the stem to shift the weight naturally on the bike instead of fighting it. I am getting a little pissed off and taking quite a bit of enjoyment out of my spins. All advice comments welcome.

Bike Details

• Cube Stereo Hybrid 140 HPC SL
• Size Large
• Ergon GA3 Large Grips
• Ergon SE E-Mountain Core Prime Saddle
• Everything else stock

 

[VWsurfbum]

How are your bars rotated?
I've found in recent years that the furth rolled back from the center they are the more my hands and wrists hurt. rolling the bars forward so the sweep isn't so far back is more comfortable for me.

 

[Mikerb]

@VWsurfbum ...........which explains why your bars look like they are on back to front on your video!! You have a good point.
Bars have a rise, an upsweep, and a back sweep. All 3 aspects are at max if the rise from the stem is vertical. When you roll the bars back towards you, the rise and upsweep progressively decrease and effective reach is also decreased. Backsweep increases. If you rotate the bars forward ( beyond the vertical) rise decreases but upsweep marginally increases. Backsweep reduces almost to the point of the bars being effectively straight..........then becoming a forward sweep at the extreme.
The backsweep impacts on the angle your hands hold the bar. Assuming the bar is set with backsweep the width of the bar also impacts on that angle.
So as @VWsurfbum was suggesting, trying different bar settings and widths may help with your problem. The chances are previous bikes you have ridden have significantly shorter bars.
ps you can try shorter bars just by moving your controls inboard and holding the bars further in.

 

[Nicho]

I bought some Ergon GA3 Large Grips to see if this would help but same issue

I have Ergon grips on both my E-MTB and on my old Stumpjumper. I found on both that the angle of the grips is critical to comfort. A degree or two either way and they are no better than ordinary grips, but get them at just the right angle and they make a big difference to comfort.
It is therefore worth spending some time testing them by altering the angle slightly each time then going for a ride between adjustments.
I nearly gave up on my first ones as I thought they didn't work.