Thumb's Up!

[Jim n AZ]

Before I get to my question, just a brief history. In 1980 I chipped a joint in my right thumb catching a football. Then about 3 years ago while riding a motorcycle I hit some road debris and slid into a guard rail at about 50 mph, and among quite a few other injuries I broke my right thumb again. This time it was a bad break. After 6 months the cast came off and I could no long ride bikes or bicycles. I had to sell everything. I have ridden bicycles since I could walk. I lived in Marin county in the mid-eighties and made the switch from road to mountain bikes. I’ve always had at least one two-wheeler. It was very depressing. A few months ago I bought a stationary bike and have been riding it ever since. The bug is back full on now. I ordered a Giant Talon e+ 3 29er and can’t wait. The problem is the thumb. It hurts intensely after about 5 minutes or so. On the stationary bike I just sit up. Hard to do that on a mountain trail. Is there some sort of brace I can wear that will help me grip the handlebar or is there something else I can do short of chopping the thumb off? Oh and this is my first post.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Welcome !

It's not really the solution you're looking for, but you could try something like these to help a bit ?

Review: LoamLab Counterpunch Bar Ends

I've been running these for about a year now. I'd had a few offs from tree clips and looked at various hard guards - which I didn't like the look of or they had awful reviews, so I tried these. Product name: Loam Lab Counterpunch - Bar...

www.emtbforums.com

Your hand ends up resting against them which gives lateral support, so with less of a grip, at least your hand doesn't slide off the end of the bars ?

 

[Jim n AZ]

Welcome !

It's not really the solution you're looking for, but you could try something like these to help a bit ?

Review: LoamLab Counterpunch Bar Ends

I've been running these for about a year now. I'd had a few offs from tree clips and looked at various hard guards - which I didn't like the look of or they had awful reviews, so I tried these. Product name: Loam Lab Counterpunch - Bar...

www.emtbforums.com

Your hand ends up resting against them which gives lateral support, so with less of a grip, at least your hand doesn't slide off the end of the bars ?

Thanks for the quick reply. I've looked at them but my biggest fear would be snagging a limb. Judging by the scars, that has grabbed a few. But it's definitely worth looking into. That's what I use on the stationary bike.

 

[Zimmerframe]

Thanks for the quick reply. I've looked at them but my biggest fear would be snagging a limb. Judging by the scars, that has grabbed a few. But it's definitely worth looking into. That's what I use on the stationary bike.

Agreed, that was one of my concerns at the start.

In reality your hand fills the space where things would snag so I've not had a single snag in a year of riding with them.

The scars are .. well ... mainly incompetence ! Or a desire to use as much of the trail and bike as possible ??

 

[RickBullotta]

I also have messed up thumbs from dirt biking and mountain biking. The most important thing you'll want to do is configure your bike with SRAM AXS shifters. It got to the point for me that regular shifters were intensely painful partway through a ride. AXS is not pain free, but it's much, much less. Also experiment with different diameter grips.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

I have ongoing tendon problems with my thumb after too many crashes. I now ride with my thumb over the bar however I'd only recommend this on the flat & easy to start with until you get used to it. It feels quite natural now after a year or so. Shifting is still annoying, I try to push the shifter with the end of the thumb so it doesn't have to bend.

 

[irie]

I have ongoing tendon problems with my thumb after too many crashes. I now ride with my thumb over the bar however I'd only recommend this on the flat & easy to start with until you get used to it. It feels quite natural now after a year or so. Shifting is still annoying, I try to push the shifter with the end of the thumb so it doesn't have to bend.

With my Shimano M8100 shifter I can also shift using my index finger to pull.

 

[Doug Stampfer]

With my Shimano M8100 shifter I can also shift using my index finger to pull.

Into an easier gear? I think they are what I've got. I was asking around for something that worked like that but drew a dead end.

 

[irie]

Into an easier gear? I think they are what I've got. I was asking around for something that worked like that but drew a dead end.

When shifting up to a longer gear I can either press the lever with my thumb or pull on the same lever from the opposite (front) side with my index finger.

 

[thebarber]

Thanks for the quick reply. I've looked at them but my biggest fear would be snagging a limb. Judging by the scars, that has grabbed a few. But it's definitely worth looking into. That's what I use on the stationary bike.

Could you not use skateboard wheels or similar grafted on the ends of the bars using bar end inserts?
Bolt, washer, wheel, insert.

 

[Nicho]

Before I get to my question, just a brief history. In 1980 I chipped a joint in my right thumb catching a football. Then about 3 years ago while riding a motorcycle I hit some road debris and slid into a guard rail at about 50 mph, and among quite a few other injuries I broke my right thumb again. This time it was a bad break. After 6 months the cast came off and I could no long ride bikes or bicycles. I had to sell everything. I have ridden bicycles since I could walk. I lived in Marin county in the mid-eighties and made the switch from road to mountain bikes. I’ve always had at least one two-wheeler. It was very depressing. A few months ago I bought a stationary bike and have been riding it ever since. The bug is back full on now. I ordered a Giant Talon e+ 3 29er and can’t wait. The problem is the thumb. It hurts intensely after about 5 minutes or so. On the stationary bike I just sit up. Hard to do that on a mountain trail. Is there some sort of brace I can wear that will help me grip the handlebar or is there something else I can do short of chopping the thumb off? Oh and this is my first post.

I use these Ergon GP2 grips:

You can rest your palm on the grippy rubbery top pad and consequently need to grip the bar much less tightly than with a standard round bar grip. This relieves a lot of pressure on your fingers/thumbs and fore arms.

The small bar ends give your hands a lot of protection when riding through trees and overgrown tracks, and also protect your hands in crashes.

The exact angle you fix them at is critical to comfort; rotating the grip only a couple of degrees up or down can make a huge difference, and it can take a while to find the right spot.

The angle of the bar ends can be adjusted seperately from the grips.

 

[Hardtail]

I have had a physio mould a thumb brace for me so that I could continue work. it worked great and I could still grip and use my hand. There looks to be a lot of products on the market, some are from the same thermoplastic which can be heated and moulded to a custom fit.

something like this: Thermoplastic Thumb Spica

This looks to offer the most support and protection for its intended use, I think you could also bend the metal splint into a more closed grip for the bars and shifter:

Shimano shifters benefit from having an index finger trigger for downshifting, but you still need the thumb for the upshifts. Maybe a grip-twist shifter is required? There was a recent thread about them.

EDIT: I can't get the Amazon link to imbed properly...
https://amzn.eu/d/fakD8O9