Suggestions on eliminating road vibration/feedback to the handlebars

Equipment
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A lot of my weekend rides take me deep into the mountains and onto roads that are less maintained than the normal stuff in the city. As a result, I end up doing a lot of climbing and descending on “chip seal” and roads that have vibration patterns that can get pretty uncomfortable during extended descending (30 minutes+). I also have relatively small hands so that could be a contributing factor.

What would make the biggest difference in damping some of this vibration?

Carbon bar or stem? A little wider tire? (currently on 26c tires)

It’s not actually rough road/hard impacts, but the actual road feedback that is causing my hands to go numb.

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28mm, good quality tyres if you can fit them. Experiment with tyre pressure. Try running at 80psi. Good bar tape, I like Lizard Skins DSP for softness.

If your hands are going numb though, consider bike fit. Too much weight on the heads might be responsible here too, and changing your fit to create better weight distribution on the bike may be beneficial.

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Carbon bars help, and Lizard Skins make some really padded bar tape which could help.

But, to echo the other response here, 28c and a psi change will be your friend.

In order, I would recommend the following:
– Tubeless Schwalbe One 28c tires running below 80psi
– 28c Vittoria Corsa Competition (w/ tan sidewall) combined with a latex tube
****This is the best, fastest, most comfortable non-tubeless setup in my opinion

OR . . .

If your bike can handle the clearance – check out the 30c Scwalbe G-One speed tires. It’s technically a gravel tire, but I look at it as a no-limits road tire for those days you aren’t riding gravel, per se, but when you pass a gravel road and might want to see what’s down the lane. They are great every day tires - and PERFECT for chip seal and beyond.

Less than 80psi on all of these recs.

Good luck!

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I second the bike fit suggestion. Wider tires are also a good idea. On top of that, you might want to try double wrapping your bars with bar tape. I usually run a cork tape underneath the Lizard Skins tape. I like the feel of the Lizard Skins tape and it’s on all of my road and cross bikes now (4 total). It does get a little pricey as far as tape goes, especially since you have to spend money on two sets of bar tape for one bike. But that’s why I usually just use a cheap cork tape on the bottom. It makes the handlebars a little thicker, which opens up your hands and increases blood flow. Also try relaxing your grip as much as you can. I remember in one of the first crits I ever competed in my hands repeatedly went numb because I had a death grip on the handlebars.

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Higher volume tire at lower pressure will be the best way. This cuts vibration out at the source (the tire/road interface) vs relying on more “upstream” solutions like handle bars, tape, gloves, etc. (which also help, but tire pressure probably a bigger impact).

This podcast is a worthwhile listen if you have the time.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/cyclingtips.com/2016/08/cyclingtips-podcast-episode-9-rethinking-road-bike-tire-sizes-and-pressures/amp/

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Thanks for the responses everyone; I’ll start with the tires. I was planning on swapping out the stock Spesh Turbos anyway.

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Its probably more weight than you want, but I love the Redshift Shockstop stem on my gravel bike. It actual works really well on the gravel buzz, not just the big stuff.

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Also endorse the ShockStop. Have one on my gravel bike and love it

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Revisiting this thread rather than creating a new one.

Is the ShockStop still number one for people that have it? (There is a Transx stem apparently) I have two bikes, one Specialized with ‘Future Shock’, and a Cervelo Aspero with nothing. I injured my scapholunate tendon 2 years ago, and have been suffering slightly with pain on some rides in the gravel bike. The local rail trails are a mess of holes, patches, gaps, and the Specialized seems to really cut the edge off all but the worst ones, and the Aspero just drags me through all of them. I have thought of lowering the pressures, but am not happy with the real possibility of snake bites, and going through tubes. Also I don’t think that the rims/wheels on the Aspero are tubeless. (They are advertised as ‘Alexrims Boondocks’, and Alexrims doesn’t list just a ‘boondocks’, it’s a 7, 5, or 3, so not sure what these are)

I have Pirelli Cinturato tires and can’t tell if they are tubeless either. (The idea being more puncture resistant, durable)

But beside the point, the Aspero can’t use a fork, so stem it is, but. The ShockStop says it provides ‘up to’ 20mm of travel. That’s about three-quarters of an inch. Not much squish there. (The Future Shock does 20mm as well, so maybe playing with the blocks would help. I’ve thought of replacing the springs on the FS, trying for some more relief)

So, anyone with wrist injuries, etc, that has this stem and is finding it worth it? I’d hate to have to sell the Aspero, (I love the color)…

Thanks…

EDIT: Cane Creek has the eeSilk stem too. Looks like it might be a contender. https://canecreek.com/eesilk-stem-details/

(Scapholunate is A and B below, and there is a ligament holding it all together. The wrist is like a bag of bones held together by rubber bands :flushed:)

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My problem is an old grade 5 A/C separation but also need to minimize impact. Love my ShockStop on my Open UP. Other suggestions: 1) tubeless carbon wheels with bigger tires (>=40mm), inserts (I use CushCore), and lower pressures (180lb/82kg at 28-30psi), 2) wrap handlebar with Nexcare Waterproof foam tape under handlebar tape. You could consider a Lauf fork as well

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You can safely go much lower than 80psi.

I’m 185lbs. I’ll sometimes drop my 28mm tires to 50psi or so. Dont feel a thing on roads.

I’ve never had a road bike on a mountain…so I doubt 50psi is really realistic if you’re cornering nonstop at speed. But 70psi certainly is, and would be a significant improvement.

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I double wrapped the bars for the Kickr bike I had. Worked out really well, until I had to return it all. I’ve got Hover Bars on the Specialized, and those are great. The Future Shock seems to be an amazing product (so far).

The Cane Creek eeSilk stem seems to be pretty slick too. At least changing the elastomers is easier (not that I can imagine it needing to be done often (the name is kind of weird though)). and it has a ‘lockout’ function.

I mentioned the Lauf, and the Local Bike Shop said they are ‘strange’, and can be hard to get used to. :man_shrugging:t2: They, according to them, can make the wheel go crooked at times… Sounds too weird for me.

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Between the pandemic, and pausing riding for a PSA test, I’ve gain a few pounds. Currently ~205. Yikes… Rode today, and there are enough pits dents and other assorted craziness, I don’t want to go through tubes and hoops. I’m still surprised that the accident that injured my wrists didn’t flat the front tire. It was quite a big pop…

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Quick note: 1 inch = 25.4 mm

So 20mm is more like 4/5th of an inch, not a quarter.

Also, go tubeless, if you can. Much much lower risk of pinch punctures.

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I meant to say ‘three quarters of an inch’, which should have been ‘about three quarters’.

I was talking about the TdF IRL, and got all wrong here. :man_facepalming:t2::man_facepalming:t2::man_facepalming:t2:

Actually more like 0.8 of an inch would be closer.

Thanks for catching that. :+1:t3:

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I’ll echo the larger tires / lower pressure theme. I ride a lot of really bad chip seal country roads and have gone to 32mm tires at lower pressures. Maybe not as fast as thinner tires but for my old bones the trade-off is worth it. When I ride my mtn bike with 2.5"/2.4" tires on the same roads it is like riding on pillows and the cattle guards that rattle my fillings on the road bike practically disappear.

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One thing I’d add…if comfort is absolutely paramount…and you still want to go fast and have road tires…get some foam inserts. Eliminates the possibility of pinch flat while allowing you to run any PSI you want for comfort.

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One of the best options to damp road vibration was Bontrager Buzz Kills HB inserts. They take the place of traditional HB plugs.

Trek discontinued them a few years ago, but you can still find them online in a few places.

They damp the harmonic resonance in your HB and really work.

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