Do One up carbon bars help wrist pain?

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Do One up carbon bars help wrist pain?
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flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 3, 2021 at 23:56 Quote
Looking at the one up carbon bar for vertical compliance. Currently on the ibis carbon bar and wondering if this is an upgrade worth making. Been experiencing some wrist pain and trying to make adjustments to the cockpit, stack height and saddle but think this may be the ticket. Going to need a new stem as well and not sure to go with the 35mm or 50mm stem and same with the bar rise at 20mm vs 35mm. Also been playing around with bar length so I have a lot of things being moved around, trying to dial it all in. Lot of factors being tossed around but any insight would be killer!
flag Danzzz88
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 3:21 Quote
I imagine Oneup bars may be a tiny improvement but won't be enough to solve wrist pain...correct suspension setup and service will help more but the thing with wrist pain is it's often due to over-use or using incorrect form when performing an exercise / holding the handle bars etc...it is more likely to be an ergonomic issue and how you have your hands positioned relative to your forearms..incorrect positioning puts excessive strain on the tendons and causes swelling and pain eg: carpal tunnel syndrome. I would look at finding a bar with better ergonomics as opposed to a bar that is just a bit more flexy. The flexier bars more just remove vibration and a bit of chatter making it feel a bit softer on the hands but the wrists is much more likely to be an ergonomic or overtraining issue.
flag Wishiwasbiking
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 6:16 Quote
Fasst mtb makes some bars with elastomers to build in vertical compliance. Expensive, but depends on how big of an issue this is for you.

https://fasstmtb.com/products/flexx-mountain-bike-enduro
flag Whistler-whistler
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 6:48 Quote
Bar rotation, bar rise, stem length, seat position, suspension, etc are likely better sources to target.

All other things being equal, I get sore wrists when I go gloveless I get sore wrists. With gloves, no issues.
flag Explodo
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 6:54 Quote
Along with the others, I'd say that bike setup will get you farther on solving your wrist pain issue than just swapping out bars. The older I get the more I have to have my setup just right to avoid pains.
flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 9:03 Quote
Whistler-whistler wrote:
Bar rotation, bar rise, stem length, seat position, suspension, etc are likely better sources to target.

All other things being equal, I get sore wrists when I go gloveless I get sore wrists. With gloves, no issues.

I’m sure this is unique to your body but do you prefer a longer/shorter stem or higher/lower bar rise? The suspension is dialed, I will get pain before I get into anything worthy of wrist pain so it must be my set up somewhere
flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 9:04 Quote
Explodo wrote:
Along with the others, I'd say that bike setup will get you farther on solving your wrist pain issue than just swapping out bars. The older I get the more I have to have my setup just right to avoid pains.

Are there any specific things that you do? I’m sure this is unique per rider but do you have any preferences either way with bar rise, stem length, saddle position… etc
flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 9:05 Quote
Wishiwasbiking wrote:
Fasst mtb makes some bars with elastomers to build in vertical compliance. Expensive, but depends on how big of an issue this is for you.

https://fasstmtb.com/products/flexx-mountain-bike-enduro

I’ve seen these. Couple of buddies have these who are further down the rabbit hole then me and swear by them. These have been kinda last resort if it gets worse
flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 9:06 Quote
Danzzz88 wrote:
I imagine Oneup bars may be a tiny improvement but won't be enough to solve wrist pain...correct suspension setup and service will help more but the thing with wrist pain is it's often due to over-use or using incorrect form when performing an exercise / holding the handle bars etc...it is more likely to be an ergonomic issue and how you have your hands positioned relative to your forearms..incorrect positioning puts excessive strain on the tendons and causes swelling and pain eg: carpal tunnel syndrome. I would look at finding a bar with better ergonomics as opposed to a bar that is just a bit more flexy. The flexier bars more just remove vibration and a bit of chatter making it feel a bit softer on the hands but the wrists is much more likely to be an ergonomic or overtraining issue.

Thank you!
flag Explodo
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 9:18 Quote
Weithmobile wrote:
Explodo wrote:
Along with the others, I'd say that bike setup will get you farther on solving your wrist pain issue than just swapping out bars. The older I get the more I have to have my setup just right to avoid pains.

Are there any specific things that you do? I’m sure this is unique per rider but do you have any preferences either way with bar rise, stem length, saddle position… etc

I'm in the minority that I set my front end up pretty high. A lot of years of hopping off every feature bent over on an old-time hardtail have given me hip arthritis and I have to stay more upright, so I use a 50mm rise bar and plenty of spacers. Even with that, I spend a lot of time adjusting bar rotation to adjust where the bars cut across my hands. It may also depend on where you wrist pain is. Is it in your outer wrist, inner wrist, all the way across? Is the pain always there or only after pounding a hard downhill?

Here's a pic of how high my front is:
After some new tires and winter fixes.
flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 9:51 Quote
Explodo wrote:
Weithmobile wrote:
Explodo wrote:
Along with the others, I'd say that bike setup will get you farther on solving your wrist pain issue than just swapping out bars. The older I get the more I have to have my setup just right to avoid pains.

Are there any specific things that you do? I’m sure this is unique per rider but do you have any preferences either way with bar rise, stem length, saddle position… etc

I'm in the minority that I set my front end up pretty high. A lot of years of hopping off every feature bent over on an old-time hardtail have given me hip arthritis and I have to stay more upright, so I use a 50mm rise bar and plenty of spacers. Even with that, I spend a lot of time adjusting bar rotation to adjust where the bars cut across my hands. It may also depend on where you wrist pain is. Is it in your outer wrist, inner wrist, all the way across? Is the pain always there or only after pounding a hard downhill?

Here's a pic of how high my front is:
After some new tires and winter fixes.

It has to be positioning of the bars and wrist alignment. It comes and goes, I notice it more on uphill and flat rather than downhill, maybe because the adrenaline is pumping and it slips my mind. My wrists are already pretty thrashed for being in my late 20s but mostly inner wrist on both hands. Which gives me a clue but don’t know where to look. My last bike I got it dialed without really knowing what did the trick but on this ripmo I’m still working out the kinks
flag Whistler-whistler
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 10:08 Quote
Weithmobile wrote:
Explodo wrote:
Along with the others, I'd say that bike setup will get you farther on solving your wrist pain issue than just swapping out bars. The older I get the more I have to have my setup just right to avoid pains.

Are there any specific things that you do? I’m sure this is unique per rider but do you have any preferences either way with bar rise, stem length, saddle position… etc

I'm nearing the top of the proverbial hill, so my front ride height creeps up every now and again. I generally keep steer tubes on the long side, with spacers above the stem cap so they can go under on an as-needed basis.

I'd continue messing around with the "free" options.
Slide seat on the rails - shortening/lengthening the cockpit.
Spacers above and below stem to microadjust front body height.
Rotate your rider a bit forward or a bit back. Looks pretty vertical, which seems about right. May need to roll them back (toward you) a degree or two.

That sort of thing...
flag Poachninja
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 10:09 Quote
These guys may help
flag Explodo
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 10:31 Quote
Weithmobile wrote:
It has to be positioning of the bars and wrist alignment. It comes and goes, I notice it more on uphill and flat rather than downhill, maybe because the adrenaline is pumping and it slips my mind. My wrists are already pretty thrashed for being in my late 20s but mostly inner wrist on both hands. Which gives me a clue but don’t know where to look. My last bike I got it dialed without really knowing what did the trick but on this ripmo I’m still working out the kinks

If it's on flats and climbs then I would guess that it's due to your weight being more body-supported instead of more leg-supported. I've seen people say that building core strength helps with that.

If it were my wrists hurting on the inner edge I would look at a few things:
1) handlebars rotated too far forward (creates very little sweep)
2) too wide bars (hands too far apart rotates hands in relative to arms)
3) leaning too hard on your hands
-----a) is your saddle TOO nose down?
-----b) Is your stack height really low?
flag Weithmobile
O+
Posted: Nov 4, 2021 at 11:52 Quote
Explodo wrote:
Weithmobile wrote:
It has to be positioning of the bars and wrist alignment. It comes and goes, I notice it more on uphill and flat rather than downhill, maybe because the adrenaline is pumping and it slips my mind. My wrists are already pretty thrashed for being in my late 20s but mostly inner wrist on both hands. Which gives me a clue but don’t know where to look. My last bike I got it dialed without really knowing what did the trick but on this ripmo I’m still working out the kinks

If it's on flats and climbs then I would guess that it's due to your weight being more body-supported instead of more leg-supported. I've seen people say that building core strength helps with that.

If it were my wrists hurting on the inner edge I would look at a few things:
1) handlebars rotated too far forward (creates very little sweep)
2) too wide bars (hands too far apart rotates hands in relative to arms)
3) leaning too hard on your hands
-----a) is your saddle TOO nose down?
-----b) Is your stack height really low?

I’ve recently made a bunch of adjustments and am going to test it out today. My saddle is pretty much neutral, maybe slightly nose up, my stack height is one spacer from the top.

Thinking it’s bar width and bar angle, going to rotate it in slightly to give me more sweet to see if that does the trick
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