Numb Fingers

[Balderick]

okay, 2hr20min ride yesterday, different gloves with less lumpy padding, kept relatively loose, and altered hand position regularly...
not quite 15mins before numbness occurred. struggled with it the whole time.
currently, feeling in the left little finger and the extension of it along to the wrist is still tingly and numb, with some feeling returning.
having had the bike fitted to me properly, i'm wondering whether they got it wrong - feels like i don't have enough weight on the saddle n pedals, or more aptly that i've got too much weight on my hands/wrists.
so could rotating the handlebars slightly upwards help, or perhaps tilting the seat back a touch?
i'm a little reluctant to adjust something set by "someone in the know" compared to a relative beginner to road bikes like myself.
thoughts, questions, queries, comments...

I had a similar problem, using a variety of gloves (including the aforementioned Specialized BG Road gloves). I ended up having a neurologist undertake nerve conductivity tests. The end result was I had slightly diminshed nerve conductivity. I was advised to be careful about the gloves I wore. I overcame the prblem by buying a pair of very thin fingerless gloves that I bought from Pro Bike Kit. They wore out very quickly, so I hunted down my current gloves, which are Louis Garnea gloves - the fingerless model with ventilation holes and padding for the ulnea nerve area. They work for me. Only downside is they really smell and the smell is very hard to wash out!

My tip - see a health professional to see if there is a medical cause, and follow the advice. I now only get numbness if I race on a bumpy course - long rides are now no longer a problem at all.

 

[Archibald]

did another 2.5hr ride with at similar result.
currently use a pair of gloves with thinner padding as suggested.
lost not only feeling, but some strength and dexterity in the left hand.
spoke to the doc at Sports Med this morning and he queried my neck! he believes that i may have pinched/tweeked something in my neck over that period of time.
considering that i felt like i had a crick in my neck a few times during the ride, he could be onto something.
personally, i feel like i've got too much weight forward on my hands.
I've been fitted, but it may pay for a revision or a second opinion from a different LBS...

 

[Hoover F14]

Didn't read all the replies but, I think it maybe the gloves are too tight. When you put the weight on your palms the gloves slide and tighten in between the fingers, this used to happen to me with my work out gloves.

 

[Archibald]

Didn't read all the replies but, I think it maybe the gloves are too tight. When you put the weight on your palms the gloves slide and tighten in between the fingers, this used to happen to me with my work out gloves.

I'm actually losing feeling from the wrist down, not just the fingers.
the numbness is along the base of the left hand and encompasses the area from the wrist to the fingers.
I don't do the gloves up tightly, although the newer ones are 'firm' in their fit.
(i kinda hijacked the original thread instead of starting a second one on the same topic)