Thumb Throttle on a bike?

Arthritis has a nasty grip on my right wrist and it's making riding very difficult. As of last ride, I can go hard for 5-10 minutes and then I can barely hold on or twist the throttle. Its extremely frustrating, especially since I'm 35 and planned on a lot of years of riding at a good pace ahead of me.

It's not a conditioning issue, it's simply osteoarthritis and its from an old broken wrist when I was 17. I recently inflamed it at a fight training place I was going too, and now it seems to be in pain for good.

I was thinking a thumb throttle might help because I could eliminate the twisting motion of the wrist which is where most of the problems come from. Once it gets sore, I can only crack the throttle maybe 1/4 as the wrist just does not want to bend any more until it gets a break.

Can anyone see any major downsides I might be missing with a thumb throttle on a bike? I've used them on sleds and atvs, but they are a totally different riding style.

thanks!

I am thinking about going this way as well, I have already increased the size of my grips with bicycle handlebar wrap, and the thumb throttle will be my next step.

I was at E Street MX in Marysville, Ca earlier this year, and a older fellow (in his mid 60's) had a throttle lever. He had no movement at all in his wrist and could not ride at all with out this set up. Anyway, it worked real well for him on a MX track, plus he rides cross country and desert. He insisted that I ride his bike. After much talking me into it, I did take out for a spin. It would take awhile to get used to, but if this was my only option, I would be getting used to it!
One important detail I left out. This man had been riding with a throttle level on his dirt bike for over 20 years. So, to him it was normal. Also, he was riding E Street with the thick sand and jumps and holding his own. I was very impressed.

Ok that's some decent encouragement! I might give it a go. I looked up the moose unit above and see they offer this: http://www.mooseracing.com/catalog....level4=1834&product_group_id=7399&startPage=1

Which combines a twist and a thumb so you can use whichever you want.

I was just thinking that too, like a lil two finger clutch lever but on the gas side....might be nice to still have the thumb wrapped around the bar.

Found this also, http://www.fullthrottleinc.com/catalog.htm#atv

Would it help to swap the twist grip over to the left side? You could swap the push/pull cables to make it turn the right way. It might be awkward to combine throttle and clutch on the same hand, so maybe either swap the clutch and brake or use an autoclutch. Just a thought.

I think I would likely kill myself with the twist on the wrong side!

The other route i am looking at is Flexx bars, a steering damper, modifying the throttle tube to get more throttle quicker so I don't have to rotate the wrist as far, along with a slight change of riding style.

I would think the combination of the 1-2 finger throttle and a quick pull tube should allow you to ride much longer. It will be very interesting to see which you prefer over time. Nice to have the option. Good luck.

Why not give your wrist a chance to get better as well?
Go down to the local health food store and get a bottle of Castor oil. Massage some into your affected wrist and surrounding areas every day. After a couple months, this will alleviate any inflammation and help clear any deposits in the joints etc. You may notice improvement in just a week or two.
It's not an overnite cure, but it does work and is way better than that toxic crap doctors prescribe.

Hmmm castor oil huh? I will go look. Thanks!

Call Uptite and get their billet throttle tube. I stumbled upon a blem one at my dealer for $19.99

Cuts out about 1/3 of the travel so I don't have to walk my fingers over the grip for full throttle...

cool thanks!

Well I started taking this: And doing more wrist exercises, and it seems to be getting a little better. My pace has picked up quite a bit, but I still have a ways to go to make this wrist hang on for longer periods.

First- how is the wrist?

Second- Try looking up 1/6th throttle. I have heard that stunt & race guys on sportbikes have these. Basicly it is means that 1/6th of a turn and your at WOT... (I just did a quick search and found this, i'm sure there are more out there)
http://www.g2ergo.com/dirt-bike-g2-...tle-tubes/g2-quick-turn-throttle-tube-13.html

Third- I am pretty sure all the thumb throttles have 1 cable with spring return and bikes have 2 cables one to pull open and one to pull closed. This gives a very accurate throttle response compared to a spring ie. lag when you drop the throttle on a thumb