Bartape

[Jacob Layer]

Hi Everyone,

This might be a dumb question but does anyone have any recommendations on bartape for brevets?  I'm changing my positions often and double wrapping my handlebars but still having some trouble with tingling/numbness in my hands.  Anybody prefer bartape with gel padding or anything like that?

Best,

Jacob

[Christian Ratliff]

The tingling and numbness might not be bar tape related. Have you had a formal bike fit? I had ulnar nerve compression until my first bike fit adjusted my stem length and stack height. Problem gone after that.

I use Cinelli cork for my normal bikes and Zipp CX for gravel.

Christian

Sent from my iPad

On Sep 3, 2023, at 08:35, Jacob Layer <jvl...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Everyone,

This might be a dumb question but does anyone have any recommendations on bartape for brevets?  I'm changing my positions often and double wrapping my handlebars but still having some trouble with tingling/numbness in my hands.  Anybody prefer bartape with gel padding or anything like that?

Best,

Jacob

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[Jacob Layer]

It's really only on 1200ks that I get this problem. I haven't been formally fitted but that's on my list of things to get done this winter.

[Jake Kassen]

I've had the same numbness problem for a long time and it's aggravating. It has made longer rides far less enjoyable.

One thing I've found that helps greatly is to use drop bars with "aero" flat tops - the wider and flatter the better. At this point I can't ride a bike with normal round bars.

Wider and lower pressure front tires help a bit but it's certainly not game changing.

I've tried a variety of tape but nothing stands out as being better than another in the comfort regard.

I've come to the point where I think the problem might be related to the saddle. Since I've yet to find a saddle I really love, I think I tend to put an increasing amount of pressure on my hands. So you might want to pay attention to your position late in the ride. Do you find flatter or steeper events to be better or worse for your hands?

Good luck! Let us know if you find something that works.

Jake

> Jacob --

[Erik Snow]

To Jake's point about the flat top bars - Redshift makes a set of bar pads that go under the tape that make the tops very flat and 'aero'. I found they help a lot. They also make grips that go on the drops, which are very comfortable.

Nevertheless, I still have a bunch of ulnar nerve compression from PBP, even using those grips from redshift - but adding them made <600k distances completely fine. Previously I would have issues at 400k+.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ne-randonneurs/20230903135013.61960.qmail%40server263.com.

[Christian Ratliff]

So happy to hear someone else say this, Jake. I feel so odd for doing brevets with aero (flat-style) bars, but they make such a comfortable “shelf” for my hands on long rides. When my newest bike was being assembled I told the tech, “Wrap the bars all the way up, I’m not a racer.” :). The Easton EC70 aero is a close second for the best money I’ve ever spent on a bike.

My number on is without doubt photochromic lenses for my riding sunglasses. Clear at ride start and nice and dark at mid-day, no faffing with snapping new lenses in. If you need to wear protective lenses, those of us with contacts often do to prevent dry-eyes, photochromic lenses are AMAZING.

Back to the topic, a formal bike fit is really important and you only really need to do it once. That will give you your sitz bone spacing (which sets the real midpoint of your saddle), your saddle to handlebars distance (you need the spacing to measure this), and the saddle height (again midpoint of saddle is used here to). After the first time, unless you change physically, those measurements just move from bike to bike. Those of you down in Boston have a cornucopia of amazing bike fitters to chose from—up here in Portland, just the one, and they are a bit hard to get booked in with.

Christian

> To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ne-randonneurs/20230903135013.61960.qmail%40server263.com.

[George Swain]

+1 for Cinelli. As others have pointed out, the problem is likely not best solved by adding more or different bar tape. Just like a softer saddle may intuitively seem like a solution to seat trouble, the opposite is actually true. You’re putting too much weight on those hands in the wrong position for too long a period of time. This is why I love drop bars; you have three good options. Use them in rotation. Get a good bike fit, rotate your hand position, and work on your core strength. You don’t want or need soft handlebars. Cinelli cork is soft enough, wears well and doesn’t get slippery in the rain. 

Good luck!

George 

[Dylan Eberle]

As others have said Bar Tape alone likely isn’t the solution. But it can help and there is a reason the pros used to double wrap there bars for Paris-Roubaix. 

Extra padding won’t fix imperfect bike fit but it can help smooth road chatter - like some of the brutal stretches of chip seal in France (not potholes but constant buzz).

I have found the Lizard Skins 4.6 mm to be great. It’s thick and tacky in a good way but lighter than double wrapping your bars. So as far a bar tape specific recommendation I’d say consider giving it a shot in combination with what others have suggested. 

- Dylan 

[Dave Jordan]

Back in the day...  I wrapped an inner tube, split lengthwise, under the bar tape.  I used the same overlapping wrap approach as is used with the tape.  I think I only did this along the bar tops, not in the drops.

[eatbi...@gmail.com]

Its not really neccesary, but I too will say that hand numbness is likely nerve related. I too have ulner nerve issues (the ulner nerve is located at the elbow) that manifest in the lower palm and pinky/ring fingers. As others have said a proper fitting is important. Previously I had <thought> my positioning was pretty okay and resisted a professional fitting (from Fit Werx), assuming I'd get things adjusted a centimeter or two here and there and was shocked when things moved by inches. I had been too stretched out in all directions and the triangle of bars-saddle-bottom bracket became much more compact. It was $300 well spent and I have no regrets. I still get nerve pain on longer rides but am able to access more of the bar positions comfortably than I could before the fitting. 

If I were to do rides longer than 200k I'd probably install a set of aero bars for the event. 

Best,

Dave

 

[Keith]

Bartape preference: Cinelli Cork far and away best (although tried many others, and most have been generally okay)

After years of riding around with hand numbness, despite trying every type of bartape I could, I finally made some minor positional changes to the bike and my hand numbness and discomfort went away. In my case, I lowered the cockpit progressively over time... turns out I’d been running too many headset spacers and wrong stem (angle) for years that created excess pressure on hand/wrist because I was propped up on the bars too much rather than comfortably “in” the bars. The lower position got me into an ergonomically nuetral position at the wrist. I run Easton EA70 AX bars, often with whatever bartape I have laying around, but I always gravitate back to cinelli cork until it’s torn or worn out. I always wrap Bontrager IsoZone gel under the tape either way, focusing on a lightly compressive wrap job to ensure it stays put and doesn’t get sloppy. Also, the thicker hand surface area on the bar through all that extra material has helped my hand muscles relax, which enables a looser grip without sacrificing control… YMMV, but agree with others, good position > tape choice.

Cheers!

Keith Cardoza

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Keith Cardoza
card...@gmail.com
508.558.9109

[vess...@gmail.com]

I am continuing to have tingling at the ends of my fingers on my left hand from a 1,200 in May. I had transferred my bike fit measurements to my new bike and then fiddled with the seat height. The fitting height did not work (one long ride lead to a 40/60 power balance on the subsequent ride – aggravating an old injury in my left knee).

 

One person at PBP last month was using:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006I37R36?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

Has anyone else tried?

 

I have also gotten bruising on my left palm on 600s. One of my fellow riders suggested the bruising was at the glove seams.

 

Thanks

Peter

 

 

From: ne-rand...@googlegroups.com <ne-rand...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Keith
Sent: Tuesday, September 5, 2023 8:02 AM
To: New England Randonneurs <ne-rand...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [NER] Bartape

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[John D'Elia]

Hi all, John D’Elia 1146 here-I have had numb feet and hands after every 1200 and even after some 600s. In fact I never spoke to anyone who didn’t have this in their hands after a 1200. I have adopted a much more upright position over the years and I’ve been able to lessen the hand issues but they never go away. It takes about a month for the feeling to come back and even then I have some residual issues with my hands. I think the gloves we are using really are not up to the task-have tried Grip Grab 6mm gel gloves and another little trick, Sting Pad Hot Glove pads-these are on Amazon, are little silicone pads that baseball catchers use-they come in different shapes but they are pretty cheap and easy to find, they have little rings that loop around your finger and you put your glove over them, and then you have a pretty nice thick shock absorber with the sting pad and the glove too, not a cure but it has helped me on some long rides. So this is my two cents’ worth. John

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