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Johanna
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Joined: 21 Jul 2018
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PostPosted: 11:24 - 29 Oct 2018    Post subject: Cramp! Reply with quote

Yesterday I got cramp in my left hand while shifting up. I was doing about 65, on a dual carriageway not even using the clutch much, about half an hour into a ride.

I just let my hand rest open (luckily there wasn't much need to use it except a couple of roundabouts) and the cramp eventually passed. Because I kept using the hand while it was cramping it's still pretty sore today and I've left the bike at home in case it happens again.

I had done some indoor climbing earlier the same day - I'm sure that was the root cause. It was also a cold day. I'm sure I didn't stretch as much as I should have after the climb either.

So any thoughts about cramp while riding? Is it aggravated by cold weather? Certainly I can make sure I stretch my hands and arms properly when I climb but I don't want to risk cramp while I'm in slow moving traffic. That would be a nightmare to deal with. I guess I'd have to pull over and sort it out. Even then it might just reappear as soon as I set off again!

Stretch better. Keep the arms warm. Anything else?
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Howling TerrorOutOfOffice
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PostPosted: 16:23 - 29 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Overuse of a muscle, dehydration, muscle strain or simply holding a position for a prolonged period can cause a muscle cramp.

In many cases, however, the cause isn't known. Although most muscle cramps are harmless, some may be related to an underlying medical condition, such as: Inadequate blood supply

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doggone
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PostPosted: 18:06 - 29 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Try to minimise any tenseness in the whole arm, most of the time you really only need rest the palm of your hand on the bar rather than any sort of gripping.
You can also keep fingers moving which is good for keeping warmer too.
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talkToTheHat
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PostPosted: 18:30 - 29 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I used to get loads of hand cramp when i was a newish rider. Mostly down to gripping the bars too hard. When I tried grip puppies (squishy overgrips) they made the problem way worse. Similarly fluffy lined winbter gloves exacerbate the issue. Not so much the fault of the gloves but the psychological need to feel the grips to feel in control. Conciousy work on not squeezing the bars until it becomes automatic.

As an aside, do you feel you need to muscle the bike around a corner becasue the bars don't turn?

More of a problem for me these days is leg cramp when I put my foot down for the first time after a long motorway (or similar) run where i've had no opportunity to move around in the seat.
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Kentol750
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PostPosted: 18:57 - 29 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Another issue I've seen is wrist strap on gloves pulled too tight. Especially in the cold where we all tighten up everything to stay warm. If you have a watch on same wrist, it can exacerbate the lack of circulation.
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Johanna
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PostPosted: 09:04 - 30 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

talkToTheHat wrote:
I used to get loads of hand cramp when i was a newish rider. Mostly down to gripping the bars too hard. When I tried grip puppies (squishy overgrips) they made the problem way worse. Similarly fluffy lined winbter gloves exacerbate the issue. Not so much the fault of the gloves but the psychological need to feel the grips to feel in control. Conciousy work on not squeezing the bars until it becomes automatic.

As an aside, do you feel you need to muscle the bike around a corner becasue the bars don't turn?


Hmm, I'm lucky then, maybe! I have ridden about 6,000 miles since I started riding early this year and only had cramp this one time!

As for corners, no I don't feel I need to muscle the bike around corners. It's hard to explain, but I feel as if I push my inside hand down a bit and drop the bike into the corner with my hips. My CBR650F feels very light which is one thing I really like about it. (Being a relative noob I do worry about how well my tyres do or don't grip in tight corners. I had a big wobble once when I accidentally went over a small puddle of oil...)

I think you're on to something with the death grip, though. I feel like my throttle hand is going to slip when I'm wearing my winter gloves or that my hand isn't in the right place. I thought the left hand was pretty relaxed but maybe it isn't! I am probably gripping much more tightly.
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doggone
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PostPosted: 13:02 - 30 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Johanna wrote:


As for corners, no I don't feel I need to muscle the bike around corners. It's hard to explain, but I feel as if I push my inside hand down a bit and drop the bike into the corner with my hips.


Counter steering, once you are moving at any speed you make the bike turn by pushing forward (and down slightly) on the 'wrong' side.
They are big on teaching it in the US not so much here but you are doing it anyway when you turn.
Being aware of it is useful and for example can help achieve lightning fast lane changes if something unexpected happens.
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kramdra
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PostPosted: 17:34 - 30 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

What sort of climing, how long have you been doing it, and which part of the hand is the cramp?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/1121_Intrinsic_Muscles_of_the_Hand_Superficial_sin.png

Ive only been climbing a couple weeks. Ive not had cramp but I did have some hand muscles locking on. Most of the hand muscles control sideways/adduction with the larger muscles and tendons in the wrist control grip. Climbing makes extreme use of both..
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talkToTheHat
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PostPosted: 18:45 - 30 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

Johanna wrote:
... but I feel as if I push my inside hand down a bit and drop the bike into the corner with my hips.


Ok, you're not about to to death-grip your way into a tree then. The classic recipe for a crash is going rigid and trying to fight the bars or turn the bike as if it were a car.

Take the time to find out how much grip you need on the twist grip before it gets away from you. If you're worried about it you're probably subconciously grippng harder than you need and possibly doing so with both hands.
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Johanna
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PostPosted: 14:32 - 31 Oct 2018    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought about my grip on my ride to work today. It seems my "normal" grip is pretty loose with the left hand. You could slide a coaster under my fingers without me changing my grip. Same for the right, except I hold the throttle with the thumb and forefinger. The other three fingers are loose like the left hand.

So I think it was probably a climbing strain + use of the clutch + cold weather.

Your advice has been good, everyone. It's given me things to think about to improve my riding in general as well as try to avoid the cramp. Thanks!
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