Numbness in throttle hand due to covering the brake lever

I started riding with two fingers covering the brake lever after reading Sport Riding Techniques. I find my throttle control is actually smoother. My hand gets number (tingly) after about an hour for riding and it is caused by holding the bar too tightly or putting too much weight on your hands (or both).

 

I only ride covering my brake based on the situation im in...like being in traffic, lane splitting, crowded streets full of pedestrians, cars, etc. Otherwise if im cruising a empty freeway i really don't see the need to do that.

 

I have exactly the same problem. After about 30 minutes, my throttle hand starts tingling and going numb, and I do cover the brake with fore- and middle finger. I've found that it doesn't happen quite as quickly if I'm not wearing my gloves, but I rarely ride without them. And I've tried several gloves, to the same effect.

I have slight issues with Carpel Tunnel, which is where I thought my problems were coming from, so what I try to do is remember to change the angle of my wrist often. Helps a bit, but I'm still looking into the devices mentioned above to try and get some relief on those 4-hour mountain rides.

 

I cover the brake and clutch, but use the middle and ring fingers of each hand.
The are pulled by the same tendon = more ergonomic. The pointer, and thumb secure the throttle, and the pinky just comes along for the ride. No numbness....

Mac

 

If you take the MSF rider course they teach you to not cover the brake. The reason being that in an emergency stop you will tend to use only those two fingers to stop and two fingers don't give you enough braking power. I guess it depends on how strong your fingers are and how well the brakes work, but I've had it happen to me. I was riding (a crappy Katana) with my first two fingers covering the brake, I crested a hill and traffic was stopped in front of me for emergency roadwork. I pulled the brake as hard as I could with two fingers and went sliding down the yellow line past about six cars with a row of cars coming toward me, rear brake locked all the way. I don't cover the brake anymore, except in slow moving heavy traffic.

My right hand still gets numb or sore long before the left, but I have learned to reduce it by using a lot of the techniques already mentioned. The biggest thing that helped me is supporting myself using my thighs instead of my arms, and keep my elbows bent down instead of out.

Jon