Advice for hand pain with the throttle

[mbalmer]

Wednesday I rode to Lake Tahoe and camped one night. Thursday I rode home. I felt really good, but my throttle hand was tired and stiff. Then yesterday I rode to Yosemite for the day. Dang, it was HOT below 6000 feet. 450 miles total on Friday and I felt pretty good except for my throttle hand was very sore. I have one of those flat gizmos to help and I also have a rubber doodad for my thumb. Those were a big help, but, how do you deal with a tired throttle hand? Any tricks? I also had crampy knees the last 60ish miles. Any thoughts there? I was envious of the guy with highway pegs the last stretch home. Oh yeah, I rode an m750.

[Kaveh]

One thing that might for street riding that I got from dirt riding is to hold the bras with just your thumb and pointer finger (kinda like giving an "OK" sign with your hands).  This makes it so you don't grip the bars too hard.  Unfortunately that also means you are not on the levers (brake N' clutch) with your pointer finger. 

I do this on long trips on super slab if the traffic is sparse. 


ps. 750's RULEZZZZ!!!

[desmoquattro]

Throttlemeisters are nice on longer slab rides. They work especially well in conjunction with those thumb tabs. But you may still get some pain, so lots of stretching and vitamin I (buprofen) before and after is a good bet.

[stopintime]

Just some ideas:

Grip Puppies, rotating bars, Rizoma bars (sweep back and rise), shaking/loosening up hands and legs, alternating different grip styles, taking breaks off the bike, maybe MFW Vario adjustable pegs. Feel free to dismiss anything

Even so, I think 450 mile rides will be painful anyhow.

[desmoquattro]

Almost forgot to mention Hunter Flatbars. Some people swear by them, but I have no direct experience with 'em.

[duckwrench13]

A very simple trick... Get some Athletic Coach's Tape, and do a double wrap around your wrist. Not so tight that you can't move your hand, or so tight that you lose circulation. You just want to provide a bit more support to the tendons and ligature in the wrist/forearm.

If you're pounding away the slab miles for a bit, try gripping the bars with your thumb on top, along side your fingers. It will relax the hand and forearm, and will still give you a decent grip on the bars. When the road gets twisty, or traffic starts to crowd in, then keep a regular grip for best control.

You can also get a Forearm Pump Buster Thingy... it looks like a grip with a spinning ball on the end. It has a gyroscope in the ball, and you use it for resistance training. You can find them in with the motocross accessories.

Also, try a search for hand and arm stretch exercises for rock climbers. I used to climb for years, and the simple stretches I learned have been the best things ever!

Good luck.

[Desmostro]

I just did that Tahoe trip. - Ya I know that pain a little too. The best thing I found were tiny breaks. Shake out one hand then the other while riding - when its safe obviously. And just looses hand, change fingers you're gripping with. Straighten one leg then the other. Get off the bike and sit/ walk around a bit too. Staying fresh is muy importante. Subtle adjustments often made the biggest difference to me.