My wrists are killing me

Brand new to the bike and looking for your help. First of all love the bike. I have had a week and my wrist are hurting. i have changed my grip loose to tight up a little down a little. I have even tried to alleviate the weight by squeezing a little more with my legs. Any suggestions on how to help my wrists. Everything else could ride all day it is just my wrists that seem to not hold up. Judging by some of the other forums it looks to me it could be the bars or the seat. Raise the bars or lower my seat. what do you think would appreciate the help. td 05 sprint st

[ This message was edited by: tdooley on 2005-08-24 19:54 ]

[PIP1980]

Had my Sprint for nearly 3 months now and in the early days I to found that I was getting terrible pains and numbness in my wrists. One trip my fingers locked and I couldn’t work the front brake any more. I tried to buy a Cruise Control system because all of the bar rising kits id seen looked ***** and expensive. (Having said that if someone knows different id love to hear about it) The one I settled on was from www.brakeawayproducts.com .This looked to be about the best looking and most practical device I could find. Sadly I was unable to get it shipped to the UK. I then stumbled on a quick fix from Scottoiler called the Cramp Buster. And at only 6 quid I gave it ago. It works amazingly well. Iv fitted mine to the left of the grip instead if the end. This means that I can accelerate with my thumb and not twist my wrist. Or twist it to a different position and I can sit up and accelerate with just the tips of my fingers on it. It fantastic.
I also found in time its not nearly as bad as it use to be. I think iv adapted and now sit / ride in a different stance to when I first bought the bike. My Speed Triple has straight bars and I think that was the biggest probable. I still get the odd twinge once in awhile, especially at low speed but then I just start using the “cramp buster” again

I don’t think is possible to lower the seat. You might find a thinner one but wouldn’t it burn your arse??

[DaveM]

What you guys need is bar risers.

I like the bars thevway they are, for me they are very relaxed after sposts bikes.

Triumph and others make bar risers that should solve your problem.

davem :-D

[coldnight]

I have a 2001 ST and have ~4K miles on it. I wasn't able to ride a long way ( 150+ miles at a time) comfortably untill recently. What made the difference was the tank bag I bought- it helped me find the sweet spot in forward-lean so I'm not stiff-arming anymore.

If I pack the bag nearly full, and leave the expantion zipper closed/down then, my chest needs to be 1-3 inches away from the top/back corner of the bag. After riding a couple of days with the bag on, I find I am back to that position easilly and am alot more comfortable when I get off the bike.

I just picked up the soft rear bags for my bike too, so I'll be able to ride alot more, soon. :-D

Hope it helps!

[ST-ern]

Genmar and Skyking offer relatively inexpensive bar risers.

Another option is to work out at the gym :wink:

[dgilmore]

It sort of depends on what kind of bike you had before. If you had a more upright bike, then you probably just aren't used to the riding position yet. You need to learn to support yourself with your abs and back, and if you're not used to it, it may take some time. At speed, you should not have much of a problem, as at 65mph you should not really have any weight on your wrists. Around town it will always be a little more uncomfortable. Give the bike some time, ride it more and see if you don't really learn to love the postion. I wouldn't put on risers until you have ridden it for quite a while, as lots of people end up taking them back off. If a 65 year old git like me can ride it............
:upthumb:
dave

[Andrew1965]

Before buying risers etc, I would suggest you make sure the clutch and brake lever are at the correct angle, you should not have to bend your wrists to use them. I would also suggest you ride with slightly bent arms and use your knees to grip the tank a bit when braking. Vary your posture on a long ride and relax your arms/wrists. If all this fails, go faster and the wind will lift some pressure off.
I have ridden with risers and didn't like them, ergonomics just weren't right for me especially when cornering.
Have fun.

[stevecro]

another option is to persevere.
My wrists ached for at least 2-3 months and my right rotator cuff was sore and slightly inflamed for the same period. Self massage, some exercises from a physio (make sure you do them) and you will work through it. Use an anti-inflamatory cream and rotate your wrists through their whole range of motion often using a "theraband" as resistance.

Use the legs as you stated.

I'm assuming you have undamaged wrists apart from the obvious soreness!!

Good luck. It's a great riding position for your back if you can work through it.

[welshrob]

Everything everyone has said so far is perfectly correct. What works for you, though, will depend on your height and build. People (I was one of these) who`ve spent many years riding upright bikes will struggle the worst and take longest to adapt to a different riding style, generally people who`ve previously spent lots of time on other sports or sports/tourers don`t have this problem. I actually think the ST has a better riding position than a lot of it`s competitors and I believe this much talked about problem is with the rider, not the bike. I tried gen mar risers and thought they were ok, 10 mins to fit, barely changed the appearance of the bike, no steering or handling issues, but they were a quick fix for the symptom not the problem. I took them off and persevered with my posture and now have very comfortable long journeys.

[DaveM]

Or don't get bar risers :razz:

Don't like em meself anyway :-D

davem