I can only go from my own personell experience with my dh38. Turning the compression down makes a noticable difference to arm fatigue
I've been riding mtb since 1983, and dirt moto before that. So my hands have significant myofacititis. If everything else recommended on this page does not work, then try Fasst handlebars. They work for me. I ride nothing but blue to black rocky singletrack, here in Colorado. I'm 73 and ride 5 days a week on Santa Cuz Bullit and Heckler SL. The Fasst handlebars fixed my pain.
Like I said before, I really do like the Fasst Flexx. Be aware that if you experiment with the elastomers, the bolt material is a bit soft (though that may have changed) so be careful not to strip the heads. Did you get the 8 degree sweep, or the 12?
If none of these suggestions others have made, work well for you, you may want to look into trying kinesiology tape. I was hit by a drunk driver a few years ago & unfortunately, some of my injuries are permanent. My right leg is 25% down graded in all physical reality. Permanent nerve damage caused the muscles to partially atrophy, causing me no end of issues, including weakness & uncontrolled cramping on the trail when I push too hard.
I got them second hand so the material is probably what you had, and it does seem a bit soft. Not sure what sweep they are but I'm guessing 12 as they are more 'swept' than my usual bars. The instructions do warn you not to overtighten. I should probably use a torque wrench.
As I recall, it's not a torque spec, just tighten until it "feels" as though it bottoms out, then stop tightening. That may be in an obscure part of the instructions. I think that's how I stripped one.
Try acupuncture with an orthopedic or sports medicine acupuncture. It is usually due to muscle, tendons and fascia in the forearms that are to tight. 'Gua Sha' works great. Its a deep myofascia release with a flat jade stone massaged over the forearm. I've helped many people avoid surgery for carpel tunnel, and wrist, arm, and finger pain. Try a daily forearm stretch too. Could be tension in the shoulders, do some shoulder shrugs, rolls before riding. And maybe 'death grip' on the handle bars - loosen your grip and float your hands on the grips.
For the avoidance of doubt the reason I recommend doing this ^^^ is because in the event that it does reduce arm pump and hand fatigue (as it probably will) then other things can be tried. Otherwise the likelihood is that sequentially trying multiple other smaller adjustments will not individually solve the arm pump and hand fatigue issue resulting in being unable to figure out what works and what does not.
I think I'll try this today. Unfortunately, I have 4 balls.
Not gripping so hard really helped me. Higher bars might help if you get pump when seated. I doubt that’s the case.
This is what I am doing. I ordered the 35mm carbon one up bar with a 35mm rise on a 42mm stem, on a 760mm width. Current bar setup is a alloy 31.8 stem, 38mm reach, 25mm rise and 780mm with. I didn’t want to cut the alloy bar down and loose compliance.
The idea behind high rise bars, is minimize the weight applied throught the hands.
Have you thought about changing your username to Montana Quad-Boys?
Montana, where men are men, women are scarce and sheep are scared.
Yeah, I do that too. The problem is that brakes are not designed to be used with the lever that close to the bar, so they become weak and spongey in that position, and/or the finger is at risk of slipping off, and/or they're just uncomfortable to use. After spending a few grand trying out several high-end (and low-end) brakes, I've just bought some Hope EVO GR4s with the optional Control levers, which are designed to be run closer to the bar. Hayes also do a short-reach version of the Dominion A4 that might be worth trying.
Yeah, I think more sweep is often "more" better. When I put bars with 12 degree back sweep on, I did also put on a slightly longer stem to maintain the basic geometry and it worked well. Years ago, I kayaked and the paddle caused bumps on the inside of the thumb joints, like a really thick callous. Once I got an ergonomic, bent shaft paddle, it really eased that pressure and the callouses went away. Back-sweep does much the same thing, I think.Revgrips resolved arm pump for me immediately but more recently the introduction of some Hope Chameleon bars with a 35mm rise has made it even more comfortable for my wrists and arms because of the back sweep, although not cheap, well worth the expense, the Revgrips cost me just over £100 and the bars were nearly £200 but they were a Christmas present from my Daughter, I still would've bought the bars due the back sweep, the gorgeous colour shift colour and the 35mm rise of course
