UKH

I have a friend with arthritic wrist issues. Any advice on most suitable handle bars would be welcome.

Take a regular pair of  W form touring handle bars and turn them over. Get a pair of moulder grips to go on the ends - gives two very comfortable hand positions, angled slightly rather than straight, which alleviates a great deal of the discomfort.   You may need to take an inch or two off the ends (better than taking a couple of inches out of the middle). Ideally with less acute angles than the ones below, but those will give quite a racy position that's easy on the wrists.

https://www.wiggle.com/brand-x-trekking-high-rise-bar/

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBOOMA/on-one-mary-handlebar

The best source is likely to be family-oriented bike shops

What sort of bike?

If it's a road bike, a normal set of road bars the right width for your shoulders, with a short stem and the brake levers rotated up high, can create a very neutral position for the wrists riding on the hoods.

It was my default position for a long time commuting in London and cycle touring as well, including London to Paris whilst suffering slight carpal tunnel syndrome from office work.

G

I have some Mary handle bars that you can have. Send me a message and we'll sort it out...... Jeff

Friend of mine with knackered wrists (broken in the past) uses clip-on tri bars a lot, as then the weight is on his forearms and not his wrists.

Sounds young enough to have a replaceable stem? If so with playing and with the setup to get on the hoods like I suggested above and see how it feels.

Might be an idea, but careful if having a touring bike means covering long distances... Clip ons on a road bike setup are OK for short distances but you really want the bike set up completely different for spending account long time in a time trial position.

That was a short reply in a hurry earlier.

Obviously, you'd need to get the position sorted - my mate has never been anywhere near a TT (to my knowledge) and has his set up for sportives and normal road riding. I think he's got a shorter stem on and the clip-ons are quite high.

The bigger issues are access to gears, which are easily, if not cheaply, fixed with Di2 (or eTap/EPS)* and brakes, which are not.

* although probably a fiddle on an old Galaxy!

Can I just say thanks guys for what has come forward so far.

If vibration and road shock is an aggravating factor, try going up a tyre size (width terms) and reducing the pressure slightly. 

Latex inner tubes also smooth out the vibrations though they are quite a bit more expensive than butyl and need topping up every few days.