You enjoy cycling, but your hands fall asleep as soon as you grip the handlebars? And this, even though you usually enjoy sitting on your bike? Here are some professional tips that can help you if your hands or individual fingers become numb, tingle, or feel senseless in spots.
There are different reasons that can cause your hands to fall asleep while cycling, often a poorly adjusted bike is the cause of the problem. Even if too much weight is resting on your hands, it can cause your hands to fall asleep. This has nothing to do with your body weight; rather, an unfavorable sitting posture ensures that the arms and hands are unevenly loaded.
Why do hands fall asleep while cycling?
If nerves are pinched, muscles overstretched, or blood supply is restricted while cycling, hands fall asleep. Perhaps your bike is simply not adjusted correctly? Just a few small adjustments can change the seating position and thus the load on the arms and hands. If your hands continue to fall asleep while cycling, the huge selection of bicycle parts available today can help! With a few small changes, you can do your hands a favor – and the corresponding bike parts don't even have to be expensive!
We suggest 3 steps here to wake up numb hands on the bike:
- Perhaps the numb hands on the bike are simply a matter of adjustment? If you adjust your bike, the complaints can disappear!
- Cycling gloves – so small and so important!
- Possibly you need to replace one or another part of your bike to eliminate the problem. Here you will find out which parts make your hands fall asleep and what can help.
1. Important measures to correct hand posture
If your hands fall asleep on the bike, you don't have to dig deep into your pocket, it may be enough to just adjust your bike correctly. How and where you can adjust the bike depends on the particular model, but most bikes offer a little leeway.
This riding position might be extreme, but it shows that a lot of weight can rest on the arms! In the worst case, the hands fall asleep after a while. Image © Jonathan Borba
If the bike is not adjusted correctly, the hands fall asleep!
If your hands are causing you problems or individual fingers fall asleep or become numb, you can change the handlebar position. This may be enough to relieve the hands.
- You can adjust the height of the handlebars. This changes your entire seating position and can also relieve the numb hands. Your bike may no longer be maximally efficient, but your hands won't go numb.
- It also depends on the height ratio between the saddle and the handlebars – the higher the saddle, the more weight is carried by the shoulders, arms, and hands.
- If your bike doesn't have an "integrated cockpit" made of one piece, you can rotate the handlebars in the clamp. Of course, this depends on the shape of the handlebars, but if they are not completely straight, a rotation can change the position of your hands by a few centimeters.
- Maybe your stem is not completely straight but angled. Some of these stems can be mounted in both directions (be careful, follow the manufacturer's instructions, this doesn't work with every stem). If the angle is mounted pointing downwards or upwards, not only the riding characteristics of the bike change, but also the position of your hands is realigned.
This stem has an inclination of 6°, it changes the position of the handlebars. Image © Zipp
In general, the lower you sit on the bike, the more weight is on your arms and hands. If the wrists are then bent unfavorably, it's no wonder that hands fall asleep while cycling!
❗If you need a guide for adjusting your bike, you can continue reading at "Adjusting Bike Handlebars – this is how it fits!"
2. Cycling gloves against numb hands on the bike
Before you move on to replacing bike parts in the next step, you can try a simple trick: Buy yourself a pair of really good cycling gloves! Many cycling gloves have a padded palm that makes gripping the handlebars much more comfortable. Some gloves not only have a foam pad, but also a gel pad that provides particularly good cushioning.
The grip surface of a cycling glove is also made of a material that provides good adhesion between the handlebars and the glove. This means you need to exert less force to steer your bike safely. For this reason, it can be very helpful to always have a second pair of gloves in the saddlebag! When you sweat while cycling, your hands quickly become moist, which can make it slippery inside the glove. If you can then switch to dry gloves, it is less strenuous for your hands to hold the handlebars firmly.
> In our blog post "Cycling Gloves for Summer" we help you find the perfect cycling gloves.
Bicycle gloves with pads or a gel cushion can prevent numb hands. Image © Leatt
Our tip: A cushioning gel can also be incorporated into the grip of a bicycle (more on that below). A gel layer in the glove and in the grip can also be too much of a good thing. Gel on gel tends to feel "spongy," then your hands slide back and forth on the double gel cushion. This can cause you to grip even harder and your hands to tire more quickly.
3. Bicycle parts that can prevent numb hands
New grips don't cost much and they don't require major modifications to your bike. That's why they are a good starting point to look for the cause of the problem.
The right grips can prevent hands from going numb on the bike
There are many different grips, so you have a lot of choices and might find a pair that relieves or supports your hands in the right places.
⇨ Grips that have a pattern of lamellae or knobs can give way at particularly stressed points and thus relieve the hands, reducing pressure and vibrations.
⇨ Modern bicycle grips are not just made of rubber, they are made of synthetic high-tech mixtures that cushion well, and they are of course skin-friendly and non-slip.
⇨ There are bicycle grips with different material thicknesses. So they fit better in smaller or larger hands.
By the way, there are always reports of cyclists who are allergic to the material of the grips! This manifests as itchy palms, rashes, or numb spots. The symptoms can occur with allergies to latex or other components of the grips. Gloves or new grips can help here.
Ergonomic grips
They are available under different names - ergonomic grips, comfort grips, or anatomical grips. It always means the same thing: A bicycle grip that is perfectly adapted to the human hand and is therefore particularly comfortable. You recognize these grips by thick "wings" that support the palm. They bring your hand into a relaxed, natural position, thus preventing hands from going numb or numb spots. Especially when individual fingers, especially the little finger and ring finger, fall asleep, these grips often help. They have another advantage: The more surface area a grip offers, the better the pressure is distributed over the entire inside of the hand.
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Attention, since ergonomic grips need to fit your hands, there are some of them in different sizes. |
Grips that are ergonomically shaped prevent numb hands on the bike! Image © SQLab
However, it's not just the grips that help prevent numb hands!
Does your stem fit you?
The handlebars are held by the stem, and there are many different stems. Longer or shorter stems bring the handlebars closer to the saddle or increase the distance, which also changes the load on the hands. The stem can be straight or angled, positioning the handlebars slightly higher or lower.
For trekking bikes, there are adjustable stems, whose height you can adjust yourself on the go with a turn of the multitool. If you notice that your hands suffer from unilateral strain on longer bike tours, this can be a good solution.
A new handlebar helps if your hands go numb on the bike!
Your handlebar can be straight, but there are also curved handlebars. A curved handlebar has two interesting properties:
- You can rotate the handlebar in the clamp and thus adjust how much you need to stretch to reach it.
- You can also influence how much you need to bend your wrists with a slight rotation.
A new handlebar can help with numb hands. Image © Gusset
⇨ Additionally, there are bike handlebars with very different widths. The width of the handlebar can ensure that your wrists need to be bent more or less.
Road bike handlebars & butterfly handlebars
There are two bike handlebars that allow you to change the position of your arms repeatedly while on the go and thus avoid a unilateral posture.
A road bike handlebar allows for many different hand positions. Actually, a drop bar is built to create optimal aerodynamics, but it might also solve the problem of your numb hands. There have even been bikes spotted with a road bike handlebar mounted upside down – with the drop facing up. This solution is rather unconventional, but if it helps...
The butterfly handlebar is often found on trekking bikes, where you can grip at many different points and thus change your hand position while riding.
The stripped-down version of the butterfly handlebar is a “flatbar” (a straight handlebar) with bar ends. This allows you to hold the handlebar in at least two different places and change your position if your hands fall asleep.
The material of the handlebar is important!
Just like bicycle frames, handlebars can be made of stiff material or somewhat flexible. This can make a big difference in riding comfort! There are also handlebars that specifically absorb vibrations. If you suspect that your discomfort is caused by constant vibrations, you can test such a handlebar.
Do a new bike fork or different tires help with numb hands?
The tires are far from the hands, so what do they have to do with whether they go numb or not? Quite simply – a lot.
If you ride a lot on rough surfaces, the whole bike vibrates. And these vibrations can cause problems for your hands. Here are two bike parts that can help:
- Are you using the right tires?
The thicker the bike tires, the better they can cushion shocks. Therefore, it may be that on a road bike with super-narrow tires, your hands fall asleep, but on a gravel bike with wider tires, less so, and on a trekking bike with thick tires, not at all.
You can also consider the tire pressure in this consideration!
- A suspension fork for your hands
The vibrations caused by the road surface reach your hands, and a suspension fork is there to smooth out surfaces. The fork compresses and absorbs bumps before they reach you, thus providing calm at the handlebar. If you ride a lot on bad roads, gravel, or other bumpy paths, a bike with a suspension fork can help you.
⭐ Bike parts that can help with numb hands ⭐
Handlebars | Grips | Stem | Tires | Suspension Fork
Nothing helps…?
If changing the handlebars and grips is unsuccessful, optimal adjustment of the handlebar doesn’t help, and cycling gloves don’t work either, you might have to bite the bullet and accept that your bike might just not be right for you. If a bike doesn’t fit you well in its shape or because of its frame size, it might be the reason your hands keep going numb.
How you sit not only depends on your specific bicycle, but there are tendencies with different types of bicycles:
- On a racing bike, you sit particularly low.
- On a MTB or gravel bike, you also sit in a more sporty position.
- On a city bike, urban bike, or trekking bike, the seating position is much more upright.
- On leisure bikes like a Dutch bike, you sit almost completely upright, with the least amount of weight on your hands.
You might sit significantly better on a different bike or model!
The good news is: There are bicycles like sand on the beach and each has a different fit. So you have plenty of alternatives!
Numb hands on the racing bike
A racing bike offers especially many options to customize the handlebar! The drop bar can be gripped in many different places, which is a good prerequisite to avoid numb hands despite the extreme seating position. There are also various handlebar tapes, you can buy particularly thin handlebar tape, padded handlebar tape, or even tape with a gel core.
Additionally, you can place a pad – or a “shock absorber” – under the handlebar tape at critical points so that your hands on the otherwise unsprung racing bike don't feel every crack in the road.
These measures also work on the gravel bike!
Hands falling asleep on the MTB?
On the MTB, very wide handlebars are often seen – and these cause the hand to bend unfavorably at the wrist. Additionally, vibrations are a problem, which occur particularly strongly offroad.
- A slightly narrower handlebar or a handlebar with more backsweep would be a way to get the problem of numb hands under control.
- “Grip” is a good keyword – try shock-absorbing grips, because when you ride offroad on the mountain bike, it can rattle quite a bit.
- The handlebar itself can also dampen vibrations.
- And it's also okay on the MTB to use grips with wings that support the hand.
The handlebar with bar ends allows you to change your posture when your hands fall asleep. Image © Sourabh Narwade on Pexels
Numb hands on bike tours
On bike tours, the duration of the trip often becomes a problem. You want to ride long tours, sit in the saddle for a long time, and your hands remain in the same position. Eventually, they fall asleep, become numb, or even sore.
Here we recommend the following measures:
- Mount a butterfly handlebar or at least bar ends, so you can keep changing your grip.
- Install a stem that is height-adjustable. This way, you only need to loosen one screw on the go to change the position of your arms and hands.
- Take the bike fitting very seriously! The longer you sit in the saddle, the more important a well-adjusted bike becomes.
- On long tours, good gloves are a must!
Help with modifying the bicycle can be found in the blog post "Modification and Change of Stem and Handlebars".
✅ Checklist: Measures against Numb Hands on the Bicycle
- Check the bike's settings, especially the handlebar height.
- Can you rotate the handlebars? Maybe it's more comfortable in a new position!
- Does the stem offer adjustment options?
- Gloves with padding or gel inserts can help with numb hands.
- Test different bike parts; grips are a cheap and easy start.
- Change the position of the handlebars with a stem.
- Try a different handlebar width or shape.
- Reduce vibrations with wide tires or a suspended bike.
- Another bike might hopefully not be necessary after these measures, but it could possibly be the last option.
Title image Efrem Efre on Pexels
