Thumb pain on MTB handlebars

[Jewbacca]

Rad... I was eluding to the fact that without actually reading your post, everyone just jumps on the 'get a bike fit' train if someone mentions pain anywhere.

More sweep 'should' move the pressure point into the webbing, unless it has to do with hand position, grips and how you hold the bike.

I wonder if it isn't worth stretching a 30mm piece of eezi grip over your rubber grips to soften the impact for now?

[Giant Moegoe]

35 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

Rad... I was eluding to the fact that without actually reading your post, everyone just jumps on the 'get a bike fit' train if someone mentions pain anywhere.

More sweep 'should' move the pressure point into the webbing, unless it has to do with hand position, grips and how you hold the bike.

I wonder if it isn't worth stretching a 30mm piece of eezi grip over your rubber grips to soften the impact for now?

This is a handlebar with a 9 degree sweep. My hands in a neutral comfortable position. You can see my thumb knuckle (Metacarpophalangeal Joint) is over the bar while on the small finger side the bar is perfect. I've tried to measure the difference with string and it seems to need another 3 degrees. I think my hands were welded on skew in the manufacturing process of me .... ???? I'm thinking maybe I should just bend this bar to get a feeling for what feels right and based on that import the correct bar. The SQlab 3OX 12deg Alloy or 16 deg bar. I'll try padding the bar for now like you suggest. I often ride with my thumb above the bar to relieve the tension or loosen my grip but I can see that ending in less front teeth.... lol

[RobertWhitehead]

Why not try some Ergon grips to increase the surface area for your palms? 

[The Ouzo]

can you take the glove off so we can see your hand properly

[Jewbacca]

6 hours ago, Giant Moegoe said:

This is a handlebar with a 9 degree sweep. My hands in a neutral comfortable position. You can see my thumb knuckle (Metacarpophalangeal Joint) is over the bar while on the small finger side the bar is perfect. I've tried to measure the difference with string and it seems to need another 3 degrees. I think my hands were welded on skew in the manufacturing process of me .... ???? I'm thinking maybe I should just bend this bar to get a feeling for what feels right and based on that import the correct bar. The SQlab 3OX 12deg Alloy or 16 deg bar. I'll try padding the bar for now like you suggest. I often ride with my thumb above the bar to relieve the tension or loosen my grip but I can see that ending in less front teeth.... lol

That is exactly how I picture it too... More sweep and you 'should' land up with the inside of the bar more in your webbing.

I reckon it's definitely worth a crack

[River Rat]

Lol it might help if we all read the post properly! My only other offering is a bit of experience from canoeing, thumb pain is often a result of gripping the paddle too tightly and mostly manifests in big water. Our solution is a wider diameter grip to spread the load we normally resort to a squash or tennis racket grip tape to achieve this. 

[Giant Moegoe]

https://nsmb.com/articles/defying-convention-sqlab-12º-and-16º-sweep-bars/