Riding position?

[NTECUK]

Yes grip pads are good but care is needed as some are quite abrasive and can wear out your leathers.
It like Bibo says with the forarm parallel to the road surface. Your have better control of the bike with less effort required to counter stear too.
Too much weight on the wrist will kill your arms.
I'm 52 middle aged spread. But can still ride 360 miles on an arze up 675.
Time to man up

What I do if I find I'm starting to lean on my wrists I arch my back and puff my chest out and it takes all the strain off your wrists and then relax and try again

[Red Herring]

Originally Posted by Niall_farley

What I do if I find I'm starting to lean on my wrists I arch my back and puff my chest out and it takes all the strain off your wrists and then relax and try again

Or just ride faster...?

I've only been riding a couple of years, so no expert but I found this video very useful to help reduce stress on the wrists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfN9Z6IlI0

[JulesW]

Originally Posted by Foot

Again I can't see this hugely being the problem, I'm very active and exercise, particularly core strength, I swim and rock climb which both need it. So do you suggest I should just work a way of letting the rest of my body taking it?

Use your legs, as others have said, to grip the tank with your knees. You should not be leaning on the bars at all. Handlebars are not there to support the rider. When on the bike your wrists/hands/arms should not be bearing any weight, they should be unburdened and relaxed for steering and control whilst your lower body/legs holds the bike and the abdomen and back support the body.


If this posture is something you're not used to it will take a little bit of time to get adjusted but once you're used to it wrist ache will diminish and control will improve.

[carelesschucca]

Originally Posted by JulesW

Use your legs, as others have said, to grip the tank with your knees. You should not be leaning on the bars at all. Handlebars are not there to support the rider. When on the bike your wrists/hands/arms should not be bearing any weight, they should be unburdened and relaxed for steering and control whilst your lower body/legs holds the bike and the abdomen and back support the body.

+1

always got told that bars are for control not supoorting your weight. it might take a bit of adjustment to start off with but you'll notice a difference in both your arms and how the bike handles.

Some really good advice, been out for a bit this morning and I keep my arms straight. Only over the last few weeks I've started to bend my arms when cornering (which has made a ridiculous amount of improvement, especially to active counter steering) so I know what I should be doing. No more straight arms!
I will grip the tank with my legs more too, which again, I have only just recently started doing.
3 weeks might not sound a lot but I've done 3000 miles in 2 months of being in Manchester (woo peak district!) and I've made a lot of improvements with my riding.

Originally Posted by Bibio

my suggestion is stop riding with your arms straight.


what! how can you 'load the suspension' any more than the weight already on the bike, you can only shift the weight distribution by shifting your body mass you cant add any more mass to 'load' the suspension any more than there already is.

being fit or doing rock climbing etc has nothing to do with the core muscles you use for riding a motorcycle if it did then your wrists would not hurt. you use more lower back, shoulder and inner thigh muscles than you would normally.

grip the tank with your knees and bend your elbows so your forearms are as parallel to the road surface as possible. this makes your arms act like a hinge and doing so takes the weight off your wrists.

the other thing you have to do is set your levers up properly.

By load the suspension I meant almost standing some of your weight on the footpegs, so your legs act like a hinge, plus it's comfortable. You probably do it I've just not explained it very well!
And my core strength is fine, I know for sure. (Core strength is vital when bouldering and the muscles being worked on a bike aren't that dissimilar). Especially since you don't have to be physically strong (including your core) to ride a bike, and if you're using a lot of muscle then something's being done wrong - like I've just realised! It's definitely down to my arms being kept straight and not parallel with the road.. I remember being taught this but everyone develops bad habits.

Originally Posted by Red Herring

How tight is the clothing around your lower arms and wrists? Anything that restricts movement or blood flow to the hands/wrists is going to lead to earlier fatigue. Even silly things like your watch strap being compressed by the cuff of your leathers can make a difference.

2nd checking the levers as well. As a general rule if you rest your fingers on them there should be a straight line down the top of your forearm extending along the back of your fingers. If your fingers are bent back then for most people they will be to high.

All my gear fits perfectly, no discomfort or tightness.
The levers are at the right height, although could do with being brought closer in. I brake with my middle two fingers since my index doesn't reach properly. Which now I realise is pretty daft .

Originally Posted by NTECUK

I'm 52 middle aged spread. But can still ride 360 miles on an arze up 675.
Time to man up

In progress!


A while back I damaged my right wrist playing rugby, which doesn't help the situation which is why I want to change more fundamental stuff.
Thanks for the help everyone

Originally Posted by Red Herring

Or just ride faster...?

Best advice! To be fair I don't ache when going for it only if I'm doing a lot of motorway miles I get a bit of bum n back ache

Originally Posted by R-Unit

I've only been riding a couple of years, so no expert but I found this video very useful to help reduce stress on the wrists.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfN9Z6IlI0

Summed everything up nicely thanks!

[JulesW]

Originally Posted by Foot

All my gear fits perfectly, no discomfort or tightness.
The levers are at the right height, although could do with being brought closer in. I brake with my middle two fingers since my index doesn't reach properly. Which now I realise is pretty daft .

Get some cheapo Chinese dog-leg levers, multi adjustable, less than £20 a pair, loads of colours available, tons of them on ebay.