S Bends = Wrist pain, does it get better?

S-bends just don't work for some people. How long have you been using them? A month or two of pretty regular riding and still pain? Time for a change. A day or two, give it a little time.

I use ski bends... they're both more comfortable and faster *FOR ME.

I got used to riding with S bends and I *thought* I was comfortable with them.....  until I tried ski bends.  I ended up switching to the PD T3+ (which they call "drop bends").

Some time ago, Tom Demerly had a post here with xrays showing the wrist position with s-bend and ski jump aero bars. Just looking at the s-bend images made my wrists hurt.

Right, I love S-bends and don't cock my wrists like some show in pictures. The bar runs diagonally across my palm instead of straight across with a large wrist bend.

Thanks!  A quick google search found it here http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=427958&start=1

I think that may have answered the question... Ski bends it is!

As Shane said, most people don't hold the S-bends as shown in the x-ray from Tom. In fact, anybody who does will probably be pretty uncomfortable pretty quickly. I'd go so far as to say that was a staged x-ray to try to make a point, not an x-ray of someone who uses s-bends on a regular basis.

I also have mine angled inwards at about a 45 deg angle as another poster said, and hold them with a more neutral wrist angle. Try relaxing a bit with your hands/wrists when riding instead of having a death-grip on the bars. That should help a lot.