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Bos

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are the latter in their 'indulgences' considered sportsmen.. ahem....

 

That depends on their cadence?

 

Cheers Bos! Seems the bike I am riding is 6cm too big for me. I think I may need to look at the numbers I am inputting.

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cadence? LOL...

 

cadence [ˈkeɪdəns], cadency

n pl -dences, -dencies

1. the beat or measure of something rhythmic

2. (Linguistics / Phonetics & Phonology) a fall in the pitch of the voice, as at the end of a sentence

3. (Linguistics / Phonetics & Phonology) modulation of the voice; intonation

4. (Literature / Poetry) a rhythm or rhythmic construction in verse or prose; measure

5. (Music, other) the close of a musical phrase or section

[from Old French, from Old Italian cadenza, literally: a falling, from Latin cadere to fall]

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That depends on their cadence?

 

Cheers Bos! Seems the bike I am riding is 6cm too big for me. I think I may need to look at the numbers I am inputting.

 

As with all these things, accurate measurement is the key.

 

Inseam measurement is critical. You need someone attractive to help you with that. If necessary, it needs to be measured more than once to make sure its correct. If in doubt, do it again...

 

Competitive Cyclist has a Fit Calculator worth looking at.

 

If all else fails, get hold of Dr Jeroen Swart at Sports Science Institute.

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Not necessarily Bat....research seems to indicate a prevailance under sportsmen partaking in events that place high levels of stress on the wrists, ie cyclists, weighlifters, rock climbers, golfers and teenage boys

 

You failed to mention sitting in front of your PC the entire day surfing Cycling websites! :rolleyes:

 

Would muscle stiffness play a part? Since riding long distances would cause you to clench your hands causing muscles to tighten yet we fail to stretch our forearms? Thanks to the sports doctors and bio's i've seen, they've all given me stretching exercises for my arms (elbow tendons were foooook'd)!

 

My legs just seem to go numb? :huh:

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As with all these things, accurate measurement is the key.

 

Inseam measurement is critical. You need someone to help you with that. If necessary, it needs to be measured more than once to make sure its correct. If in doubt, do it again...

 

Competitive Cyclist has a Fit Calculator: Fit Calculator

 

If all else fails, get hold of Dr Jeroen Swart at Sports Science Institute.

 

 

Excuse my ignorance but i assume most of these calculators and techniques are useless for MTB since the riding positions differ between road and MTB?

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I'm no expert and open to correction, but I've had some minor numbness issues, so have done some research. If the problem persists, it's best to have it looked at.

 

Which fingers exactly are affected? Not necessarily what your issue is, but there are two specific issues that involve 1)numbness affects thumb, index, middle and half the ring finger and 2)the pinky and half the ring finger. In both cases the palm area relating to either group will be affected. These are normally related to issues with the nerves in the wrist or arm.

 

If it's not those specificly then it might just be related to your position on the bars or perhaps the amount of bend in the wrist when holding the bars. This is sometimes affected by incorrect brake lever positioning. It's important that there is no bend in the wrist when holding the bars.

 

The fingers that are going numb, ermm that are still numb...is the ring finger and pinky, of my right hand (dominant side). If it's the position of my brakelevers, shouldn't it be effecting both sides? Ok, during my ride both hands go numb, but only those two fingers stay numb....it's been 5 days now :huh:

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good point mint source, as brake and gear lever orientation can significantly affect your normal amount of wrist flex. This in turn depends in what psotion your body is for the majority of your riding. For DHers on the whole, and i could be wrong, but the brakes are at least at a 45% down from a horizontal plane thru the centerline of the grips. Simply cos DH'ers stand more than sit. So maybe DG's brake and gear orientation for that one specific grip might need to be checked, otherwise, a more generic presentation of the issue would encompass both hands. Either that, or her ring is damned huge and cutting of blood flow in the neighbouring fingers :P

 

 

I don't ride with a ring...that's just silly. :P

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I found the crank length on the calculator interesting - if my recommended mtb size is between 17" and 18" and recommended crank length is 170 (probably due my small feet). so why do most mountain bikes come out with 175mm cranks even on their small and medium models?

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if your hands are getting numb then you are too far forward on the bike and most of the weight is on your hands.

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Excuse my ignorance but i assume most of these calculators and techniques are useless for MTB since the riding positions differ between road and MTB?

 

You are right.

Most of these bike set-ups are road orientated.

The spreadsheet that Bos posted seems to have one of each - I habent checked to see if they are different.

 

Dr Swart has 2 different sets of numbers for a set-up.

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The fingers that are going numb, ermm that are still numb...is the ring finger and pinky, of my right hand (dominant side). If it's the position of my brakelevers, shouldn't it be effecting both sides? Ok, during my ride both hands go numb, but only those two fingers stay numb....it's been 5 days now :huh:

 

If it is bike-related, it won't necesarily affect both hands. It might just affect one side as there might only be nerve-issues in that hand.

 

Does it feel like the numbness is only in half the ring finger, next to the pinky?

 

If so that tends to indicate to me(non-expert) that the problem relates to the ulnar nerve, which serves the lower part of the hand. I'm not saying your issue is the same, but perhaps my experience will help you identify your problem.

 

I had the same issue on my left hand. Generally, it's not related to cycling. The problem lies in where the ulnar nerve crosses the outside of the elbow and is known as ulnar nerve entrapment. It is this exposed nerve we hit when we talk about hitting the funny-bone.

 

As an example, mine was as a result of sleeping with my arms sharply bent under the pillow from a young age and also often sitting with my one elbow on top of the desk as I work. It basically caused damage/collapse to the tunnel that the nerve passes through. I changed bad habits and did some exercises for a while and the problem is now gone. It took about 8 weeks for the numbness to disappear completely.

 

If that doesn't help, then it can be treated with surgery(cleaning out the tunnel or relocating of the nerve to the inside of the elbow).

 

Again, don't assume that this is your problem. Try and play with the setup on your bike to ascertain whether that is the issue. You need to try and figure out the cause first. It is possible that, even though your symptoms might indicate issues with the ulnar nerve, there is some other cause.

 

What complicates things is that even if the bike is setup correctly, the issues could possibly be caused by your position on the bike/handlebars. Sit on the bike and try and gauge whether your wrists are in a straight line(from both the side and top views). Allthough I doubt gloves alone could be responsible, it can't hurt to try something different.

 

If that doesn't resolve it then it might be worth seeing a doc, preferably an orthopaedic surgeon if you can get to one without a referal from your doc.

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This is the coolest calculator I've seen - thanks bos!

I've had a professional setup done and it is almost exactly the same when compared.

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If it is bike-related, it won't necesarily affect both hands. It might just affect one side as there might only be nerve-issues in that hand.

 

Does it feel like the numbness is only in half the ring finger, next to the pinky?

 

If so that tends to indicate to me(non-expert) that the problem relates to the ulnar nerve, which serves the lower part of the hand. I'm not saying your issue is the same, but perhaps my experience will help you identify your problem.

 

I had the same issue on my left hand. Generally, it's not related to cycling. The problem lies in where the ulnar nerve crosses the outside of the elbow and is known as ulnar nerve entrapment. It is this exposed nerve we hit when we talk about hitting the funny-bone.

 

As an example, mine was as a result of sleeping with my arms sharply bent under the pillow from a young age and also often sitting with my one elbow on top of the desk as I work. It basically caused damage/collapse to the tunnel that the nerve passes through. I changed bad habits and did some exercises for a while and the problem is now gone. It took about 8 weeks for the numbness to disappear completely.

 

If that doesn't help, then it can be treated with surgery(cleaning out the tunnel or relocating of the nerve to the inside of the elbow).

 

Again, don't assume that this is your problem. Try and play with the setup on your bike to ascertain whether that is the issue. You need to try and figure out the cause first. It is possible that, even though your symptoms might indicate issues with the ulnar nerve, there is some other cause.

 

What complicates things is that even if the bike is setup correctly, the issues could possibly be caused by your position on the bike/handlebars. Sit on the bike and try and gauge whether your wrists are in a straight line(from both the side and top views). Allthough I doubt gloves alone could be responsible, it can't hurt to try something different.

 

If that doesn't resolve it then it might be worth seeing a doc, preferably an orthopaedic surgeon if you can get to one without a referal from your doc.

 

Hey MintSauce,

 

Thanks for all the advise. It is only half of my ring finger...the top half, that's dead...the tip has a pins and needle sensation. I must confess, thinking of it, my right elbow has been giving me some problems e.g paining and feeling stiff after long rides. mmmm, I'll play around with my bike setup...but I have 2day stage race in 2 weeks, a bit worried about that. :(

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if your hands are getting numb then you are too far forward on the bike and most of the weight is on your hands.

 

So I must put my seat back, down perhaps? Raise my bar?

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