I have been riding motorcycles since I was 10, and in the years since, I have ridden all types of bikes. Motocross, Enduro, Sports, Tourers and recently electric bikes have all had my bum on them. It was leaner and tighter many moons back but now the posterior has spread along with aches and pains in my wrist.
I knew I couldn’t be alone in suffering from painful wrists when riding, somImasked the question “ Do you suffer from aches and pains when riding and if so, what do you do help ease them?”
Well, I was amazed and humbled at the responses I got. Some were too rude to post on here but others gave me food for thought. I had already decided to purchase some compression gloves as I read about the benefits they give to users. Helping relieve arthritis and other wrist and finger complaints. I had a light bulb moment and thought hang on I could ride with them.
I then had another idea ( I know, two in one day what the hell have I eaten?) What other products are out there to help ease wrist pain when riding? It turns out quite a few. So I purchased some that came recommended to test them and report my findings here.
I could have done the test in scientific conditions, analysing degrees of pain without using the aid then degrees of pain using the resource. But I thought bollocks I will keep it simple, just telling you straight, what works and what doesn’t.
I think you will appreciate this?
Recommendations I acted upon.
Buying a pair of Compression Gloves, which was my idea.
Throttle Rest which many riders suggested so I bought one off a well known online shopping market. ( until they pay me I won’t mention their name)
Grip Puppies, again many people recommended these to eradicate wrist pain. I purchased a pair of these also from Amazon. oops
Compression Gloves from www.onecompress.com.
Relieve pain and discover stronger hands in minutes! Providing gentle compression and therapeutic heat throughout your hands and wrist, these gloves alleviate pain while keeping your hands comfortable and dry. Use them for relief, prevention and recovery.
I have been wearing these underneath my motorcycle gloves and also at home as the company recommends. They are helping relieve the numbness I was feeling in my right thumb. They fit tightly and easily slip inside biking gloves so make an ideal extra solution for warm hands on colder days while also keeping blood pumping within the fingers.
When worn on their own they do help reducing aches and pains from arthritis or tendonitis.
One suggestion that kept coming through was to set up the bike for you as the rider. The bikes come from the dealer in a standard configuration which is probably not correct for you. Adjust levers, seat etc to your height, reach, posture.
I got my allen key out and loosened the bolts holding the levers to the bars. Sitting on the bike I had my hands on the bars and checked the lever position.
See above: A thumb rest for the throttle allows you to use the palm of your hand or your thumb to help twist the throttle. This relaxes your grip on the bar taking pain away from the wrists. A cheap and straightforward possible fix to aching hands and arms. I will Update after testing. Update a superb piece of kit which costs a few pounds. I have used it on every ride for the past month, and it works in two ways. One is the rest where your wrist gets support, and you use the palm of your hand to push the throttle rather than twist with fingers and thumb. Secondly, the rest changes your hand position subtly, so you don’t grip the throttle so hard. Amazing a slight alteration has such a significant positive effect.
I haven’t tried the grip puppies as yet because I wanted to try one possible solution at a time. If I need to try the puppies I will update you. Please le m kno if you have any other suggestions? Thanks to eberyone who did read the initial article and sent comments. Cheers Jez