Gell Inserts for the Handlebars
Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:30 am
Yup, I've been modifying the Black Beast
This week, I've added tyre liners (because sharp things let all the air out of my rear tyre) and gell hand grips.
Gell inserts?
Well, like everything with me, there is a story. Tuco can now go to the end of this yarn and read the result Everyone else can suffer through the full story
Nah.
I suffer from numb hands. A large part of this is from a motorcycle accident about three months before my son was born which has trapped a nerve in my right shoulder and which saw me sell my beloved GSXR1100 for a more sensible bike (a ruddy BMW ... oh the shame, the shame). But now, fourteen years later, riding bicycles rather than the motorised equivalent, I still suffer from a very numb right hand within the first half hour of riding out of my driveway.
Last night, I installed a set of gell inserts to the Black Beast (my Trek520). These required the removal of my bar tape, settling a set of 2mm thick strips of gell onto the 'pressure points' of the bars, and redoing the bar tape.
I don't think it's worth giving the brand name ... apart from the fact that the box is now in the bin, I'm sure there are other products that do the same thing.
Today I went for ride with my son that took an hour and a half and covered 35 km. The bars with their new gell inserts and new bar tape felt a lot fatter and a lot more comfortable than the old bare bars and tape. More imporantly, I didn't have any real numbness in my right arm until well after the one hour mark where it normally is a problem within the first half hour and even then, I had none of the total lack of feeling I normally suffer within the first hour. I suffered no discomfort on the left arm at all.
Conclusion?
Gell inserts under your bar tape are well worth the messing about installing them ... not to mention the (largely minimal) cost.
Richard
This week, I've added tyre liners (because sharp things let all the air out of my rear tyre) and gell hand grips.
Gell inserts?
Well, like everything with me, there is a story. Tuco can now go to the end of this yarn and read the result Everyone else can suffer through the full story
Nah.
I suffer from numb hands. A large part of this is from a motorcycle accident about three months before my son was born which has trapped a nerve in my right shoulder and which saw me sell my beloved GSXR1100 for a more sensible bike (a ruddy BMW ... oh the shame, the shame). But now, fourteen years later, riding bicycles rather than the motorised equivalent, I still suffer from a very numb right hand within the first half hour of riding out of my driveway.
Last night, I installed a set of gell inserts to the Black Beast (my Trek520). These required the removal of my bar tape, settling a set of 2mm thick strips of gell onto the 'pressure points' of the bars, and redoing the bar tape.
I don't think it's worth giving the brand name ... apart from the fact that the box is now in the bin, I'm sure there are other products that do the same thing.
Today I went for ride with my son that took an hour and a half and covered 35 km. The bars with their new gell inserts and new bar tape felt a lot fatter and a lot more comfortable than the old bare bars and tape. More imporantly, I didn't have any real numbness in my right arm until well after the one hour mark where it normally is a problem within the first half hour and even then, I had none of the total lack of feeling I normally suffer within the first hour. I suffered no discomfort on the left arm at all.
Conclusion?
Gell inserts under your bar tape are well worth the messing about installing them ... not to mention the (largely minimal) cost.
Richard