Will recumbent solve numb hands and feet?

[kathartic]

Hi everyone,
I cycle around town, but have also done a bit of cycle touring with camping gear. We are preparing for a self-navigated European cycle tour (post-virus??) and have two folding bikes with luggage racks.
However, I find that once I get past 30 minutes on the bike my hands and/or feet go numb depending how the bike is configured. I still have pain in my shoulders now 2 weeks after a 3-day test ride.
Has anyone else experienced this problem and has converting to a recumbent improved it or just transferred the problem to a different body part. I'm really keen to hear your stories as I live halfway between Melb and Adelaide so testing isn't an easy option even without virus isolation issues.
If this is likely to be the solution, I'll be looking at options to test ride a folding recumbent 2-wheeler. The smaller the better as I only 5'2" and need to be able to pack and take overseas and in vehicles.
Thanks in advance - Katherine

[zebee]

Like everything else... depends on fit. And bike.

I used to get terrible hot foot (hot then numb) foot on my first 'bent. And still do on the current one if I've been riding a while. They are both high racers with feet above seat and so blood has a bit of a hard time getting there. Loose shoes help a lot, it is one of the reasons you will see many recumbenteers using cycling sandals rather than cycling shoes.

I don't get the problem on the trike which has feet below seat.

Another ailment is known as recumbutt when your backside gets a bit numb. Never happened to me even on a hardshell seat. I'm not sure of the cause I suspect too upright a seat. You want your weight more on your back than your bum.

I'm 5'2". My previous bike was a Bachetta Giro 20 which was only just small enough for me. My current one is a Schiltter Encore which was made to my size. The trike is a Greenspeed GT20 which fits me fine.

Main hassle I found with being so short is that while you might get pedal-to-seat distance to work, handlebars can still be a bit too far away. I've tried and really disliked tiller steering. The Giro and the Encore both have superman style bars where your arms are stretched out in front of you and I find they work well as long as you can get the bars close enough too you. (The Giro were OK but the Encore only just managed.) Unless you have gripshift shifters. You can use them but they ain't much fun as the wrist angle is all wrong. I put bar ends on the Giro and triggers on the Encore.

If you can you should seriously consider underseat steering. I know Azub have them on some bikes, dunno about their folder. USS is a very comfortable long distance setup.

Honestly the steering setup is important to your comfort. I had no idea when I first started, someone gave me a go on a tiller bike and I hated it. But someone else had a superman bike and that was fine. Never ridden a USS 2 wheeler but I like it so much on the trike USS will be my next bike if I can find one.

(alas 26" wheels, light, and USS, seems very hard to find)

If you can make it to Adelaide or Melbourne (probably Melbourne will have more variety) shouldn't be too hard to find people to lend you a bike to try out. Most of them will be adjustable to the point you can get an idea how the steering and riding position work even if they won't fit properly.

If the bike is a "stick bike" with one main frame spar as most are, then there's a good chance you can take it on a plane without it being a folder. Check you tube for people showing how to pack a recumbent in a "sport tube" which is a plastic box used to pack sporting equipment. They remove wheels and seat and sometimes fork and it all fits in the box.

Also check bentrideronline.com specifially http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageb ... p?t=149208 "Folding Grasshopper - Touring on Trains"

Zebee

[skyblot]

ZeBee has pretty much nailed it.

Almost any recumbent will be light years ahead of an upright bike comfort wise. I moved from upright to recumbent 10 plus years ago and rarely, if ever, throw a leg over an upright now. I used to get sore shoulders, wrists and hands on an upright, no issues at all on a bent.

A recumbent bike with a more upright seat is easiest to ride (Bacchetta Giro 20), the more laid back the seat gets the longer it takes to "re-wire" the brain to the new balance arrangements. Trikes of course don't have this problem, just hop on and ride.

Even if you can only find a trike to have a ride (or sit) on, do it as it will give you an immediate appreciation of the ride position and comfort. It's hard to convey the difference in words...

[zebee]

main hassle with trikes is vision.

Not people seeing you, they can see you fine! (until you disappear behind their bodywork) but you seeing past parked cars on corners and in traffic. So a lot depends on where you expect to ride. Open country and small towns not a problem, but city riding is Interesting. If you are going to ride in traffic you need a flag or equivalent that can be seen by a driver who is a few feet behind you and is clearly visible from behind (which small flags aren't). Generally I stay away from heavy traffic especially on hills as I am slow and hard to pass on the trike. No fun for me or the drivers.

Trikes have the advantage that you can grind up hills very slowly indeed. Hill starts on a loaded 2 wheel recumbent can be tricky and more than once I have had to push up the hill after an injudicious stop because I couldn't get the loaded bike moving fast enough with the push of one leg to get the other leg on the pedal. They are also much nicer on difficult surfaces. Don't have to worry about front wheel following ruts or sand or leaves on corners.

A folding trike can pack up fairly easily. Any 'bent is going to be oversize baggage so check all transport on your journey to get an idea as to what they really won't take!

A trike can be hard on trains. I don't take mine on suburban trains as getting it to fit in the vestibule is a lottery depending on which model train I get and whether the platform at my destination is on the same side as the departure or not. People in wheelchairs get help and trikes are longer and more awkward.

Zebee

[ColinOldnCranky]

Before even considering changing your bike, get the condition checked out.

If you are lucky it's just carpal tunnel syndrome. Google it, the symptoms are usually very specific to the condition - Numbness when sleeping, numbness starts at the thumb, extends then tot he forefinger, index finger, middle finger and the half of the ring finger nearest to the thumb.

If it Is carpal tunnel surgery is extremely common and highly successful. The return to normal is very quick. Leaving it too long can result in a chronic problem as the nerves can be compromised significantly.

Regardless of what your self diagnosis suggests, have it checked out. Addressing it by changing your bike or any other equipment should come second to diagnosis and treatment.

[Duck!]

Like everything else... depends on fit. And bike.

(snip)

Main hassle I found with being so short is that while you might get pedal-to-seat distance to work, handlebars can still be a bit too far away. I've tried and really disliked tiller steering. The Giro and the Encore both have superman style bars where your arms are stretched out in front of you and I find they work well as long as you can get the bars close enough to you.

Depends A LOT on the bike/trike. I've never ridden a 'bent bike, but have a lot of experience racing trikes, and appreciate there are very significant differences between them. I found with trikes, that if the chassis is built for a tall rider, being short and moving the seat forward or packing it out (common among racers where teams comprise a wide range of rider heights) to enable short riders to reach the pedals has the opposite effect - you end up with the handles too close & rammed up in your armpits (OK, slight exaggeration, but it feels like it!) The best range of setup I found is to have both the seat, or at least neck rest, and boom adjustable, that way you can get the rider at the optimal bar reach, and crank extension; you can't achieve a proper fit if either end is fixed.

[Wollemi]

In late 1994, I cycled the length of the country; Cape York to Wilson's Prom on a flat-bar MTB, with an aero-bar fitted. At about the 2000km mark, I got very painful fingers. This relieved away from the straight Bruce Hwy to meandering and hilly roads; I guess the frequent change of hand and arm position assisted.

This problem tended to stay away until Jan 2019 when I went on 5 multi-day sea-kayak trips around Tasmanian Islands - on the 4th trip (around Maria Island), my numb hands ached so much I could not sleep at night. By the 5th multi-day trip (down to and around Schouten Island), they ached while paddling. I had a loan of my friends paddle, which was almost half the weight of mine, and found relief for some of the time. The problem returned in winter 2019, as my cycling kilometres increased, so I was referred to a neurologist. Initial tests showed nothing, nor did a brain scan.

About the same time, I came across an article about cycling with significantly bent arms... and the problem largely disappeared. I had formerly cycled on the uprights with almost straight arms. To have my lower ribcage seemingly on upper thighs has made a difference to me.

[zebee]

About the same time, I came across an article about cycling with significantly bent arms... and the problem largely disappeared. I had formerly cycled on the uprights with almost straight arms. To have my lower ribcage seemingly on upper thighs has made a difference to me.

Did you have your weight on your hands? Or on your arms when using the aero bars?

When motorcycling the bike is very responsive to steering inputs, and whether you are on an upright tourer or a race bike you have to keep your arms relaxed and the weight off them. Easy on a tourer, on a race bike you have to have good abs! More so than a racing bicycle I suspect because the racing position on a road motorcycle has your feet up and back so they don't take your weight in the way they do on a bicycle. My really radical little Ducati has your feet tucked up under your backside and your hands at the level of your knees with back and forearms horizontal. Takes some getting used to!

On a 'bent you don't have weight on your arms or your legs. It's all back and bum. The more laid back the seatback the more weight on your back.

I think hands above heart may be an issue on a 'bent, especially with superman bars meaning straight arms as that's a long way for the blood to go. My hands are extended with the elbows a bit bent and hands a fraction below shoulders so heart level or so.

Another reason to go underseat steering! Arms very relaxed, hands low. I don't find the superman position tiring but the USS on the trike is definitely better after a couple of hours.

[Thoglette]

Did you have your weight on your hands? Or on your arms when using the aero bars?

My other half can't ride a normal upright (neck issues) never mind a drop bar. I can ride a drop bar but straight "flat" bars kill my wrists (North Road bars are fine). It took me a trip to the Netherlands and a hired omafiets to understand that even our "upright" bikes are anything but.

Presuming no underlying medical condition, small and not-so-small changes in the relationship between pedals, seat and bars make a huge difference. And that's before start talking about what the tyres/frame design is doing in terms of transferring road noise to those contact points.

If you want a 'bent, get a 'bent. But if you want to stay upright ride a wide range of frames, bars and seats. This will involve getting out of the ordinary - e.g. omafiets geometry is only found in a very small number of bikes/shops. Sometimes you can tweek it with stem/seatpost replacement, if luck's on your side.

[zebee]

Took me a while to get my Brompton comfortable. Needed a much better seat and I really wish I could change the bars to a different bend without compromising the fold. I find I am really really sensitive to seat height: just a cm or so makes a very big difference to comfort.

I dropped it in for service and borrowed their loaner which had standard seat and pedals. Getting back on mine was like riding on a cloud!

It's my train-and-short-trip bike though. Now I'm used to recumbency I'd never willingly do more than 30 min on a wedgie, even one with a lovely wide seat and large pedals and an upright riding position.