Front forks

[Bigkevp]

Happy new year all, ok after riding my haibike for a short while I start to get pins and needles in my fingers and sometimes numbness, the only thing I can put this down to is riding position and that the bars are too low, I'm very tall at 6ft 7ins. I've had the bars off to see if I can raise them up but doesn't seem possible and I don't want to get a extension because it will ruin the look of the bike..... would fitting downhill forks raise the height of the handlebars?

 

[Croxden]

Happy new year all, ok after riding my haibike for a short while I start to get pins and needles in my fingers and sometimes numbness, the only thing I can put this down to is riding position and that the bars are too low, I'm very tall at 6ft 7ins. I've had the bars off to see if I can raise them up but doesn't seem possible and I don't want to get a extension because it will ruin the look of the bike..... would fitting downhill forks raise the height of the handlebars?

I've had this, a change of the grips has helped a great deal, hardly happens these days.

 

[Steve UKLSRA]

Yes it will...but the bike will have a tendency to wash-out at the front unless you raise the rear too.

 

[Steve A]

I had same problem and bought a carbon riser bar to take out a little more vibration. Ergo grips help improve surface area and better gloves. All this was also to balance the weight I was putting down between seat and bars. It has helped, but very difficult to get rid of it totally.

 

[Bigkevp]

When you say "wash out" do you mean I could loose the wheel from under me?

 

[Alan Quay]

Happy new year all, ok after riding my haibike for a short while I start to get pins and needles in my fingers and sometimes numbness, the only thing I can put this down to is riding position and that the bars are too low, I'm very tall at 6ft 7ins. I've had the bars off to see if I can raise them up but doesn't seem possible and I don't want to get a extension because it will ruin the look of the bike..... would fitting downhill forks raise the height of the handlebars?

I use these, they are very good.....


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252451250082

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Steve UKLSRA]

When you say "wash out" do you mean I could loose the wheel from under me?

Yeah Kev...you'll take some of the weight off the front wheel and will find it won't grip as well as before (I used to have the same problem with mine when i turned the Talas forks up to 160mm from 130mm, you'd turn and the bike would just carry on straight). I've done what you are suggesting on my bike, using Fox Factory 40 FIT RC2, and had to fit a BETD 160mm rear linkage (originally 130fr/130rr) to get some grip back at the front.

 

[Bigkevp]

I use these, they are very good.....


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252451250082

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

I think this could ruin the look of the bike! Have you got a pic of how yours looks?

 

[Alan Quay]

Best pic I have is this one from the background of another picture.

I don't think they look bad at all, certainly better than wrist pain, or no front grip!

 

[Bigkevp]

Thanks alan

 

[Mortlake]

I had similar problems with one of my bikes, a combination of moving my saddle forward slightly, decent ergonomic grips and a solid riser stem cured my discomfort, the stem I used was the shortest of these - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/bbb-bhs-25-highrise-oversize-stem/

 

[Bigkevp]

So my front travel is 120mm if I upped that to 160mm I would imagine that would boost the height some...... or I guess it could mean more travel?

 

[Bigkevp]

I had similar problems with one of my bikes, a combination of moving my saddle forward slightly, decent ergonomic grips and a solid riser stem cured my discomfort, the stem I used was the shortest of these - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/bbb-bhs-25-highrise-oversize-stem/

Great idea......

 

[Trevormonty]

Happy new year all, ok after riding my haibike for a short while I start to get pins and needles in my fingers and sometimes numbness, the only thing I can put this down to is riding position and that the bars are too low, I'm very tall at 6ft 7ins. I've had the bars off to see if I can raise them up but doesn't seem possible and I don't want to get a extension because it will ruin the look of the bike..... would fitting downhill forks raise the height of the handlebars?

I've fitted a steeper stem to XC hard tail to give more upright position. Made difference to comfort and didn't seem to effect off road handling. Yes it does look different but I bought it to ride not look at.

 

[Bigkevp]

I noticed today that the handlebar stem is pointing down, I'm going to try and reverse it.

 

[Blaque]

Hi Bigkevp,

You don't say what kind of terrain you ride, but vibrations from rough ground can cause your hands to go numb. I second Mortlake, a carbon raiser bar and some new grips
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/s?q=ergon+ge1+grips&cat=product
would be a cheaper way to start solving the problem for you. Adding a steeper angled stem along with the raise handlebar would also get you sitting more upright and take some of the weight of the hands too which might help with the numbness.

Altering the geometry with huge forks that your bike was never designed to take will probably ruin the handling.

 

[Bigkevp]

I mostly commute but do some xc every so often.

 

[tringmotion]

Difficult to know without dimensions, but you may need to move the saddle position to shift weight away from the front of your body.
The best option is to visit an LBS that's trained in bike fit to adjust it for you.

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