It was an interesting journey that led me to this product. For the last several months I had significant pain in both thumbs after riding my Vitus Sentier VR+ hardtail. So much so, that at times I could hardly move my thumbs and had trouble writing. This sparked a quest to determine the cause of the thumb pain, so I could hopefully stop it. I realized that my brake levers being angled down resulted in my thumb being the only thing that stopped my hand from sliding up over the grips when braking or descending. Angling my brake levers up, so the palms of my hand, rather than my thumb, pushed against the grips was helpful, but did not eliminate the thumb pain entirely. I also switched back to the bike’s stock grips, the current grips were wider towards the inside, putting more pressure onto my thumb, while the narrower stock grips did this much less. This also helped, but did not stop the pain completely. It also hurt my hands and wrists because the narrower grip provided less support.
It was then that I stumbled across the PNW Range Handlebar KW Edition and Loam Grip kit. They immediately piqued my interest. The grips are narrower towards the inside with more support on the outside for your palm. The handlebars have more backsweep (10 degrees) than other bars, putting more of the grip under your palm than in front of your thumb, and the aluminum used, was picked for its compliance, allowing it to better absorb vibrations. Theoretically, this should solve my thumb problems. I ordered the kit.
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From Worldwide Cyclery
We're a group of dudes who really enjoy three things. Bikes, Business and Beer. We see value in enjoying our lives, working in an industry we're passionate about and around people we actually like. We built this shop on a backbone of exceptional customer experience, unique product offering, attention to detail and a modern day business model. We care about innovation, technology and bringing value to our customers. This is in many ways disrupting the way retail has been done in the bicycle industry for the past several decades. But by now you know, we are far from the typical bike shop and love being different and being better.
