Help! Small hands and poor circulation

[BikerGoddess]

I just started doing longer-distance rides (i.e. outside city limits) on the weekends and realized that holding the throttle for an extended period of time is causing numbness in my fingers and hands (which are small). I have Raynaud's Syndrome but that only acts up in cold weather. I tried two types of gloves and found one had too-short fingers but the material was soft leather (circulation was better), and the other was so stiff that it cut off my hand circulation after about 15 minutes of riding. I've tried changing hand positions, checking that I wasn't gripping the throttle too tightly, using a Throttle Rocker, and the numbness comes and goes. The riding position is upright and my hands are always below my heart, so blood flow between those two areas isn't really the issue. Since I ride an Aprilia Scarabeo, changing out the handlebars is out of the question (technically impossible without rebuilding the entire front of the bike). I'd really appreciate any suggestions for gloves, hand positions, etc. Thanks!

[Statler]

if you cover the brake lever with your fingers, check that it is rotated down far enough that your wrist is straight when you ride.    Many many bikes have the levers rotated too high, causing your wrist to be bent up when riding.  Instant numbness.

[duqette]

Oh, BG, I feel your pain, literally. I, too, have Reynaud's, low blood pressure, and problems with circulation and numbness in my outer extremities.
First, Statler is quite right about lever position, check that first, and go ahead and rotate it down a bit, especially since you are sitting upright, it probably needs to be lower than you think.

Next, if you are having to reach at all for the handlebars, that could be causing you problems, too. Your arms should be bent at the elbow into a relaxed curve. (I'm sure you know that.) Try scooting forwards on the seat...

Also, and this is a big one for me, it's not just your hands that need to stay relaxed and flexible, it's the whole arms, shoulders and upper torso. If your shoulders are tight, or if you're carrying a lot of tension in your upper body, that's restricting blood flow to your arms and hands, and putting pressure on the nerves that run through your shoulders (and down to your hands). Remind yourself to take deep breaths and drop your shoulders and relax.

I'm one of those people you see shaking out my hands at stop lights and on straightaways, more to try to keep my shoulders loose than anything else....

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.  [moto]

[Embyr]

I have reynaud's as well.  Latex gloves under moto gloves!!! 

[Princess]

Try these solutions!....

http://www.hotgrips.com/

http://www.thefind.com/sports/info-handlebar-heaters


I usually carry an extra pair of riding gloves with me in my tank bag http://www.ridersdiscount.com/street-gear/luggage/14169.php. I have a summer pair and an all-season pair.

[Shorts]

Aside from what has been mentioned, another not often thought of is the pull back angle on the bars.  Even though your hands/wrist are nice and horizontal compared to the vertical axis, your hand might be slightly pointed left or right compared to your forearm.  That will affect nerves as well.

We discovered this when we put DrDesmo risers on the ST2 http://www.drdesmo.com/st24rise.htm  It very subtly changed that pull back angle (and 1" lift) and that stopped DHs hands going numb.  And after I changed my bars out, the rise was the same, but pull back and width wasn't.

I know you said a bar swap isn't really feasible, but justsome info that might help next bike around.

[heatherp]

I do loads of long distance riding.  One observation to add to all of the above: some of my gloves have wrist straps and I have found that if these are tight my hands will go numb.  The straps don't need to be tight as the gloves are a good fit and not likely to slip off anyway.

As a side note for bad circulation/low blood pressure - I drink Hawthornberry tea - it is a general heart tonic. It  has improved my circulation greatly - no more cold feet/hands. I don't have Reynaud's though. 

[mangeldbug]

I dont have what you have, but I too have poor circulation.  All excellent suggestions so far. 

My husband had HotGrips, but when I got my Duc I decided against them because I didnt like how thick it made the grips.  I have Dual Star heated grips, which are basically big stickers wired for heat, that are cheap and honestly work REALLY well.  I have a how-to thread on installation in Tutorials: http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=2520.0

BUT it is proven that a warmer core temperature can improve circulation to the extremities.  Sometimes on cold days when I just have my heated grips on, although my hands feel warm they still go numb.  When I have my heated vest on, sometimes I dont even need to flick the heated grips on.

I also have anti-vibe bar ends and supposedly anti-vibe grips.  For longer rides, you can also get something like a Throttlemeister or CrampBuster

[somegirl]

BUT it is proven that a warmer core temperature can improve circulation to the extremities.  Sometimes on cold days when I just have my heated grips on, although my hands feel warm they still go numb.  When I have my heated vest on, sometimes I dont even need to flick the heated grips on.

Unfortunately a heated core is not always enough, at least with poor circulation and/or Raynaud's.

I can have my heated jacket liner (not just a vest) turned up high enough to burn my neck, yet my fingers will still hurt from the cold (and that is in ~55F weather).

The heated grips help, but they are not sufficient at colder temps - if it's in the 30's-40's my fingers will be in severe pain from the cold even with heated grips and the heated liner on.

I haven't been able to find heated gloves (or even warmer non-heated gloves) that fit my hands comfortably.

[mangeldbug]

The lowest temps I have ridden in is 20's with low wind, and although its only a 20 mile ride to work (1 hour commute due to traffic) my hands are pretty cold when I get there even with all my heated stuff.  Im sure if I was out there longer and going faster, I would be hurting.  I have wind guards as well which help with windblast, but not as much as I'd hoped they would.  Have you ever seen Hippo Hands?<--clicky  There is a guy at work who rides in EVERYTHING and says they are awesome.

The temperatures just took a big dip this week.    I no longer have my heated jacket liner, so Im looking for a replacement.  I hope its not going to be a nasty winter.