# Discomfort on the hoods - very hard surface



## Shashvat (Sep 30, 2012)

Hi All,

I regularly feel a pain in my hand after riding for a while. The pain is due to a very hard surface on my new SRAM Rival hoods, and a sharp or angular transition between the bar and the hoods.

Take a look at this picture where my finger is pointing:
View attachment 278321


There is very little give at that spot compared to the rest of the hoods, or compared to the handlebar. 

If I peel the hood back, you can see where the angular or sharp transition comes from - its the plastic body of the shifter where it meets the handlebar. See the circled area.
View attachment 278322


I have tried extra padding around the edge plastic by using a double layer wrap - you can see the blue bartape under the black bartape. 

Is this a problem any of you faced, and if yes, what are the possible solutions?


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

FWIW: It appears to me like you're leaning on the hoods too much.


Unlike a TT position, most of your weight should be on the saddle and pedals. If you were in your riding position and your hand were taken off the hoods, how much readjustment would you have to do to keep from falling forward? The answer should be little to none.


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## Shashvat (Sep 30, 2012)

cda 455 said:


> FWIW: It appears to me like you're leaning on the hoods too much.
> 
> 
> Unlike a TT position, most of your weight should be on the saddle and pedals. If you were in your riding position and your hand were taken off the hoods, how much readjustment would you have to do to keep from falling forward? The answer should be little to none.


I didn't have the same pain with my 105 hoods.

Also, the pain is not everywhere on the palm, but only on that specific spot.


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## g-Bike (Jan 25, 2006)

Get the "HUDZ" enhancement replacement hoods they are softer and a little more ergo or else buy the new Sram Red shifters they are super comfortable compared to the old version.


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## seppo17 (Dec 7, 2008)

Maybe move the shifter a liitle bit more down the bend of the bars?

I like my hood transition completely level from the top of the bars to the "flat" of hoods.

The shimano hoods are quite a different shape, so it could just be a simple matter of shifter position so that edge isn't as prevalent.


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## kachun (Dec 19, 2010)

I have exactly the same problem as you on the old Red hoods. I tried putting a little piece of tape over the corner but it created a new bump that causes discomfort. 

Any insights?


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

Jeremy Powers used to have his mechanic grind a bit of the plastic with a Dremel on all of his bikes (when he used the first generation Red). Personally I never had any disconfortwith the old SRAM Red (they used the same hoods but might have had different body shape underneath), might be worth it to play around with the position of the lever on the bar though.


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## dcorn (Sep 1, 2011)

I'm having the same issue with my old Red shifters as well. Didn't used to have the problem until I got my bike rebuilt. I read to put tape there to fix the issue, but the shop didn't do that.


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## cantride55 (Sep 19, 2008)

dcorn said:


> I'm having the same issue with my old Red shifters as well. Didn't used to have the problem until I got my bike rebuilt. I read to put tape there to fix the issue, but the shop didn't do that.


Ya, it's the shops fault.


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## Shashvat (Sep 30, 2012)

Seems like a common enough problem.

Here's a post from the WW forum:
Uncomfortable Sram shifters - Weight Weenies

Seems that either the shifters need to be moved to a slightly different position or the wrap needs to be done differently.

I also found videos from SRAM on Youtube about installing shifters.
This one talks about how to position them on the bars by using a ruler.
SRAM Road Controls - YouTube

This one is even better - its for SRAM RED and mentions Gel pads to smoothen the transition:
SRAM RED - 2012 DoubleTap Shifters - YouTube

I'm going to try one or more of these methods and see if it makes an improvement.

S#


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## marathon marke (Nov 14, 2011)

I placed some Fizik gel pads in this area on my old (2011) Red hoods, cutting a taper into the transition area which provided a perfectly flat area, rivaling the new Red levers. Worked well enough for over 11,000 miles on the bike last year, including a 300 mile, one-day ride across Wisconsin. Not one bit of discomfort all year, and I ride with a pretty aggressive position too.


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## dcorn (Sep 1, 2011)

cantride55 said:


> Ya, it's the shops fault.


You're right, shops can do no wrong...


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## rm -rf (Feb 27, 2006)

On my Campagnolo shifters, I used a few layers of old inner tube, taped in place with electrical tape. Each layer is pretty thin, so I could cut them to different widths to taper the patch: more layers at one end, down to one layer at the edge. It doesn't get squashed down like bar tape patches would.


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## cantride55 (Sep 19, 2008)

dcorn said:


> You're right, shops can do no wrong...


Yes shops can do wrong however, to suggest that the bike shop should have put tape there without being directed is kinda lame. 

" Didn't used to have the problem until I got my bike rebuilt. I read to put tape there to fix the issue, but the shop didn't do that."


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## kachun (Dec 19, 2010)

rm -rf said:


> On my Campagnolo shifters, I used a few layers of old inner tube, taped in place with electrical tape. Each layer is pretty thin, so I could cut them to different widths to taper the patch: more layers at one end, down to one layer at the edge. It doesn't get squashed down like bar tape patches would.


I have tried this before but sadly it increased the girth of the hood too much...maybe I just have sensitive hands.

When looking at shifters from the top, how the shifters positioned relative to the top of the handlebars? Does it have be perfectly perpendicular to get rid of any bumps and sharp corners?


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## dcorn (Sep 1, 2011)

Well, it was there when I took the bike in, but not when it came back. And I paid a lot of money to get it rebuilt when it should have been warranty work. 

Something under the tape to make the transition smoother would definitely help.


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