MTBers: what finger(s) do you brake with?

[a11y_m]

I'm just back from a weekend of riding and my fingers are pretty painful - just wondering what/if I'm doing anything wrong and what I should be trying out...

I one-finger brake but do so using my middle finger, i.e. 1-2-3-4-thumb. However, it's my finger directly next to my thumb that's painful and not the braking finger, I think it's an injured tendon or something. I had similar problems recently riding in the Alps but that was mainly my actual braking finger that was fatigued: this time it's mainly one of the fingers I grip the bar with although my braking finger is a bit sore too.

Any ideas? I've tried running the levers wound in closer to the bar and also further out; I've also tried mounting the levers further inboard (inside the shifters) so that my finger hooks the brake lever further out. And I'm also trying fatter grips at the moment as my hands are fairly large. The riding was quite intense (Fort William DH) but I've never had issues like this before until this summer

I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to try now, so hoping for some ideas/suggestions...

Cheers.

[SkinnyBoy]

Personally 2 fingers for me, always have, index and middle, leaving my ring and index fingers to grip the bar and sweeping the thumb under for gear changes. Maximise your leverage with the tip of your outboard finger just inside the return lip of the brake lever. Make sure your levers are at a decent angle too so less weight is resting on your wrists. Posting up a pic of you in position on the bike might help to spot any classic schoolboy errors hehe

[MrTom]

OP, why don't you use your index finger, is it lack of power early on in the lever pull?

If you have used every grip/lever combo and are still having problems, I would just accept that Fort William is a demanding course.

[budgie smuggler]

I've got the same problem. After 2 or 3 days riding in Wales I get achey fingers/hands.

The only thing which improved it for me was changing to bigger discs (200 front/180 back). You don't need to apply so much pressure to get the same level of braking.

[a11y_m]

SkinnyBoy said:

Personally 2 fingers for me, always have, index and middle, leaving my ring and index fingers to grip the bar and sweeping the thumb under for gear changes. Maximise your leverage with the tip of your outboard finger just inside the return lip of the brake lever. Make sure your levers are at a decent angle too so less weight is resting on your wrists. Posting up a pic of you in position on the bike might help to spot any classic schoolboy errors hehe

I'll perhaps need to get an "action" photo of me and check the angle of my wrists, but I'm pretty sure I've got them set up well. Don't be offended by offering classic schoolboy errors though as I doubt I'm immune from them!

MrTom said:

OP, why don't you use your index finger, is it lack of power early on in the lever pull?

If you have used every grip/lever combo and are still having problems, I would just accept that Fort William is a demanding course.

My middle finger just felt more natural when I changed from two-finger to one-finger braking a couple of years ago (I changed partly because better brakes meant I could get away with just the one finger, and partly to get a better grip on the bars as my riding got more serious).

I'll have to see how quickly my finger recovers and if this is going to be a continuing issue. I'm due to ride Fort William for another two full weekends this year so am keen to identify if this is a fixable problem or is just something caused by the type of riding. I appreciate my bike isn't ideal for it (Lappy Spicy, 160mm) but that's not something I can change easily/cheaply!


Just a thought: is one-finger braking with the index finger (next to thumb) more common than one-finger braking with the middle finger then?

[Gooby]

what brakes do you have? Some brakes just do not deliver enough power to make 1 finger braking viable. Also the position of the levers is critical so the biomechanics of your arm is complimented in order to get optimum strength on to the lever. have you tried rotating the levers so the point more downward?

[P-Jay]

Index finger for me.

You can play about with your lever position; it should run parallel with your forearm when you're in your 'attack' position. That can take the pressure off hand and forearms.

Lots of people hold onto the bars too tight, that usually causes arm pump though.

But you can't totally discount the fact that it's your choice of braking finger. sat here at my desk I'm holding my hands in the position you're using, I.E. middle finger out and I think it would hurt me quite quickly, although I've used the other for god-knows how many years.

[a11y_m]

budgie smuggler said:

The only thing which improved it for me was changing to bigger discs (200 front/180 back).

Already running 203/180

Gooby said:

what brakes do you have? Some brakes just do not deliver enough power to make 1 finger braking viable. Also the position of the levers is critical so the biomechanics of your arm is complimented in order to get optimum strength on to the lever. have you tried rotating the levers so the point more downward?

Formula RX. They coped with everything I threw at them on holiday with zero fade (1200m continuous descending = no probs). Not in the same league as 4-pot Saints but I don't think the brakes are the problem. Good point about angle of the levers, that's one thing on my list to try.

P-Jay said:

Lots of people hold onto the bars too tight, that usually causes arm pump though.

But you can't totally discount the fact that it's your choice of braking finger. sat here at my desk I'm holding my hands in the position you're using, I.E. middle finger out and I think it would hurt me quite quickly, although I've used the other for god-knows how many years.

You could be right about holding on too tightly (I consciously try not to but it's hard sometimes!). Could I be holding on too loosely and causing vibrations between my bar and finger resulting in the pain - not sure it that's a viable cause or not...?

Perhaps I need to try index finger braking. I adapted to one-finger braking quickly after years of two-finger, so if it solved the problem then I'd hopefully adapt to it. I used to suffer blisters on the inside of my thumb after 4-5 runs but the fatter grips, a change of gloves and change to one-finger have solved that. Shame it's resulted in sore fingers...

[Pablo16v]

I've been one finger braking for about 3 years now and always use my index fingers for both front and rear. The levers are set up so that I have just enough room to use a second finger for the times that I'm tired or have sore hands.

Unless you start having problems on all your other rides, I wouldn't worry too much about hurting after a day at FW. It's a beast of a course and you just have to be slightly less fit, have a little less strength, or just be having an off day, to feel like you're not doing as well as the last time you were there. Do you think you were pushing yourself more which might have meant you were braking more / harder than usual?

[a11y_m]

Pablo16v said:

I've been one finger braking for about 3 years now and always use my index fingers for both front and rear. The levers are set up so that I have just enough room to use a second finger for the times that I'm tired or have sore hands.

Unless you start having problems on all your other rides, I wouldn't worry too much about hurting after a day at FW. It's a beast of a course and you just have to be slightly less fit, have a little less strength, or just be having an off day, to feel like you're not doing as well as the last time you were there. Do you think you were pushing yourself more which might have meant you were braking more / harder than usual?

Being honest it's only been after long days of riding on holiday (not full-on DH but lift-assisted stuff in the Morzine area) and FW that I'm suffering this, so perhaps it's just the type of riding. And this is the most DH riding I've ever done: I've only ridden FW one day/year for the past 2 years and even then it was mainly the "red" DH track. This weekend I rode about 7-8 runs each day mostly on the World Cup track, so I'm certainly being harder on my body. I've not being pushing myself greatly, partly because it feels like I'm destroying my bike and partly because I was acting as bike patrol and am supposed to help scrape other riders off the ground, not the other way around!

I'm surprised nobody's told me to MTFU yet

[Pablo16v]

That's the standard response to any complaints made by me or my riding buddies......that or "here's a can of I Don't Give a Rats Ass"

How about a Gripmaster? You can tell people that you're practicing for Trumpet lessons http://www.uniquetek.com/site/696296/product/T1257

[mk1fan]

Index finger.

[itsnotarace]

Index and middle

[Badabing]

These two

[ewenm]

Index and middle for me too.

[a11y_m]

Hmm, I thought one-finger was more common, particularly for DH (better grip on bar, etc)...

[ewenm]

a11y_m said:

Hmm, I thought one-finger was more common, particularly for DH (better grip on bar, etc)...

Not with v-brakes

You guys with your newfangled hydralic disc brakes might be alright with one finger though...

[Use Psychology]

fingers?!?!!

I just drag my shoes along the ground to slow down. I guess using your fingers might not be so bad if you were wearing gloves.

[Use Psychology]

Badabing said:

These two

nice helmet.

[Fluffsri]

Brakes are for girls!