ok fellas, question for you. I recently traded in my older SuperSix for a new model(in the same size, and near identical geometry), and set all of my measurements on the bike as closely as possible to the previous bike that I had been riding. Now I am starting to get the tingly hands going on, mainly in my right one worse than the left if that matters.

I have looked around, and gather that if you are getting numb hands "reach" is usually the culprit. So does that mean bar height or distance from the saddle, or can it be a combination? I have maybe 1 extra spacer under the stem compared to the old bike, so should I take that spacer out and see if the lower bars help with the numbness?

I had a combination of issues that I figured out over time.  Saddle tilt was the biggest issue and the second was I actually needed to lower my bars (less spacers under stem).  The biggest thing after getting my saddle and bars right was building my core.  It's still not awesome, but I've realized the more I use my stomach muscles to hold myself up and less weight on my hands the better my arms feel.  It was tough at first though as I did not have a very strong core.

FireAnthem wrote on 06/20/17 at 1:05pm:


Same exact saddle?  You'd be surprised how small of changes can add up when you sit in the same position for extended lengths of time.

These helped me a lot! 

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I had an issue with tingly hands, my stem had too much rise. Don't know if it makes a difference though. Because all I see now on mountain bikes, is short stems with 0 degree rise

Since you said super six, I'm assuming you are referring to a new road bike similar to the old one. Are the handle bars the same?  What about the position of the levers/hoods on the bars?  I assume you spend most of the time with your hands on the hoods. 

Any difference using gloves or not?  I have found that tight fitting gloves are not friendly on a long ride. More food for thought.

mountainbiker90 wrote on 06/21/17 at 3:51pm:


Handlebars are a different brand, but same width as far as I can tell from measuring them. I think one issue may be that I have ridden SRAM for years but this bike came with an Ultegra build, the shape of the hood itself may be whats giving me grief.

As far as gloves, I don't wear any unless its cold enough in the winter to need them.

Chris at uptown cycles does a computer aided bike fitting process. It isn't cheap but it addresses everything and is quite amazing

sCvHeaVens wrote on 06/23/17 at 11:48am:


Sure thing man, downward tilt on the bars you mean? I feel like my reach is ok, but my hands keep sliding forward on the hoods, so I may try to angle them upward just a tad. They look relatively level, but some people prefer to run their Shimano hoods a little angled because of the shape of them. With only a couple rides on the new bike im getting it dialed in, slowly but surely. Great ride last night btw man, you were killin it!

Update for anybody thats interested, I lowered the bars nearly an inch by taking spacers from under the stem and moving them to the top. Also angled the hoods upward from where they were just a tiny bit, since I felt like my hands were sliding forward while riding. 

Much more bueno, even though common sense says dropping the stem would put more pressure on the hands. I think the bars being higher may have been putting a small angle in my wrist that it just didn't like, and over time it was restricting and causing the numbness.