Lots of times when I am riding my bike, my hands, fingers, and wrists go numb. I have an inexpensive 21-speed bike. Is it the bike, or am I doing something wrong to have this reoccur?

Steve Jones's Answer.

	Steve Jones The author of four mountain-biking books, Steve Jones has logged thousands of miles of trails and backroads. Meet Steve Answer Archive Biking Forums

Before I started riding a mountain bike, I assumed the only parts of my body that would get any kind of a workout would be my legs. We can both chuckle at that idea now. As you have found out — just like I have and all the other millions of mountain bikers out there — taking a bike off-road and onto the trail gives a complete physical workout. And the arms, wrists, hands, and fingers are no exception.

Numbness and tingling (not the aching that comes from applying the brakes on a long, steep and technical downhill) can be quite annoying. There may be several reasons why you are experiencing this sensation.

First of all, I figure this symptom is only happening once you're on your bike. If the tingling and numbness occur while you're off the bike, you may have a medical condition requiring professional treatment. But I'm guessing you're describing the fairly common condition all mountain bikers at one time or another have experienced.

The easiest solution may be a simple alteration of your technique. Watch how you ride. Are your elbows locked? If they are, then the problem may lie there. Ideally, you should keep your elbows flexed, and your arms and wrists as relaxed as possible while still maintaining a firm, secure grip on the handlebar. Riding a mountain bike is more like a graceful dance than it is a wrestling match. Obviously, you don't want to release your partner, but you don't want to use a stranglehold either.

If keeping your elbows flexed helps but doesn't completely fix the buzzing feeling, change your hand position occasionally. This is easier if you have bar ends, but in the days when bar ends had not been thought of yet, I sometimes rode one-handed and shook the numbness and tingling out of the free hand. This, however, isn't the safest approach. "Two hands on the handlebar at all times" should be the mantra you chant as you pedal, no matter what the terrain. You can also change the type grips you have on the handlebar to softer ones that better absorb the force of the shocks before they reach your hands.

The next easiest remedy is to invest in some well-padded gloves. It may seem a bit exorbitant to spend $30-50 for a pair of gloves, but it's only money, right? And that's what money is best used for - the elimination of pain. Especially when you're involved in an activity that contributes so much wellbeing to the overall health of your mind and body. On the other hand, there's nothing wrong with hurting a little bit - as long as it goes away soon. That's a natural result of demanding physical exertion. But you don't have to have a distracting palm full of bees stinging you throughout your ride.

Finally, and you anticipated the need for this in your question, you may have to take a look at your frame and the way it's set up. You can adjust the position of the saddle, moving it closer to or away from the handlebar in order to keep you better balanced. But be careful with these adjustments. It doesn't take much monkeying around in the saddle area to create more of a problem than you are solving. Make only small adjustments.

The frame's top tube may not be the right length, either. If you feel too stretched out toward the handlebar, you will not be able to easily balance yourself. This will keep too much weight forward, which will make it difficult to keep your arms and hands relaxed. The only remedy for that, unfortunately, is a new bike. Or, as some of my friends look at it, fortunately. They are always looking for a good reason to buy another bike.

It may also be possible that none of these remedies will bring total relief. If that's the case (and the older you get the more likely that will prove to be), you may have to decide whether mountain biking is worth the pain of bouncing around on single-track and, as my son tells me, "acting like a kid." It is a personal choice for each of us, but for me it will have to get pretty bad before I ever say, "Enough!" And when I do, you can rest assured my voice will be cracking and my eyes watering.