Saddle Soreness

[Veloman]

I ride a Fizik Arionne and Assos shorts, sometime 2 pairs if my backside gets a little sore on long rides. I regularly wet wipe and assos cream at stops.  I have yet to try conotrane but will buy some to see.  Assos crème is expensive, but there is no financial limit on comfort!  Yet to explore the 'Brooks' options.

However:

3) Bum crack. I have a hairy arse, which can result in very painful chafing, especially if it's a hot day and I'm sweaty. The solution is to carry a pack of flushable moist toilet wipes in my back pocket and use them after every full value pitstop.

Something I have always wondered is what do the male pros do?  Full crack and sack wax or just go native?  A friend spent all day riding with a Mr G Thomas and never asked the question; grrrrrr!  Any views about the wax jobby?

[Exit Stage Left]

Audaxers are the group least likely to give a helpful answer. They are, by definition, not limited by what is perceived as a common problem to those who don't ride long distances. It's a bit like 'Don't you get bored?'. The answer is no, or I wouldn't do it. 'Don't you get saddle sore?' No I don't, if I did I wouldn't do it.

[Lady Cavendish]

Errr, this is something I *did* ask a male pro last year.  They wax the lot.

[hellymedic]

I assume all AUKs have had some saddle-related discomfort.
I am interested to hear how they've stopped minor discomfort escalating into major pain.
Those who have had major pains have either adapted (how?) or stopped long-distance riding.

[Jasmine]

Shorts: It's all about the shape of the padding, and again, it's a case of trial and error.  Too wide a pad at the front means it ends up rubbing against sensitive bits.  Too thick and it does more harm than good.  Good quality un-padded lycra with cycling-friendly seams is pretty much unobtanium, as far as I can tell.  Clean shorts on consecutive days goes without saying, but alternating designs can reduce irritation.  Use cheap less-well-fitting shorts for shorter rides, and save the good ones for when they matter.

Get theeself to a rowing clothing shop (online). Rowing shorts are very hard wearing as they are also made for sitting down sports.  They are also designed not to chafe when wet (obvious really). They have high backs so you won't be showing arse when bent over on a bike, and have slightly reinforced arses rather than padding.  They aren't totally cheap but cheaper than the higher end cycling shorts.

[L CC]

Sores are mainly caused by rubbing.

Sores are mostly caused by sweat rubbing. Therefore cleanliness is next to godliness.
Soreness isn't always sores, though, it can just be bruising.


Man up, says I. If you haven't had to go to the nurse after a 600 with a wincing request for an undercarriage examination, you can't call yourself a true audaxer.

* fboab wishes she wasn't a true audaxer

[Phil W]

I don't yes cream either. I get out of the saddle reasonably regularly to allow change of position and air the shorts a little. My leather saddle is quite slidy, so don't get friction from that. I'll fake a shower every 24 hours or so if poss on longer events. Sometimes I strip off and jump in a lake if nothing else possible.

[Kim]

I'll fake a shower every 24 hours or so if poss on longer events.

Is that like in PE, where you'd run your hair under the tap and hope that would fool the teacher into thinking that you'd already been through the communal shower?   

[Phil W]

I'll fake a shower every 24 hours or so if poss on longer events.

Is that like in PE, where you'd run your hair under the tap and hope that would fool the teacher into thinking that you'd already been through the communal shower?   

Ha, love the spellchecker auto change, think I'll leave as is

[Mrs Blacksheep]

My husband rubs me down with sandpaper every night,
so I maybe a BlackSheep but I have a rhinos bottom!

 

[GraemeMcC]

Saddle of choice is Brooks - but I sit well back on the saddle. Sometimes I get "rivet rub" with matching sores where I sit over the rear rivets on long (600km+) rides. Rivet size (smaller/bigger for Team Pro / Pro / Swallow) doesn't seem to make a difference. So, unlike road-racers, being "on the rivet" for me long means I'm too stretched out on the bike. But my weight is well supported on the sit-bones and a good spread of load betweens arms, legs and bum which means I can go the distance. 

Lusso short gel pads  - they changed to gel inserts a couple of years ago. Crap. Don't breathe enough and trap sweat. OK for commuting up to about an hour but cannot use them beyond that. Plus, gel versions are too thick and soft and uncomfortable. Bring pack the fluffy fleece originals, pleeeeze.

IMHO, Assos F1 Mille pads are good for the rear but are a sweat/dribble trap at the softer front, on >12hr rides. So, antiseptic and antichafe cream helps avoid consequences. (I've not tried the full wax treatment - my eyes are watering just thinking about it!  )

I have other skin-suit pad and saddle combinations for TT and triathlon machines. Here, road surface quality is by far the factor. On dragstrip 25s (e.g. A25/11, J5/8 and on A1 courses) the surface is good and smooth enough for disk wheels (at 160 psi). But ride Cheshire (J2/9, etc) and it is purgatory, even on normal wheels at 120 psi. But, way out ahead in the worst padding stakes, are tri-suits. Padding? What padding? You start wet (well, it's called swimming really) then jump on the bikes for anything between 20km up to 180km. Then go for a run. What, with jogger's nipple, saddle sore and thigh rub (as well as the dietary challenges), it makes recovery from IronMan very entertaining indeed. 

[Gareth Rees]

Miller and Berry (2007), "Back in the Saddle Again: How to Prevent Cycling Saddle Sores", says:

• Have correct saddle type and proper bike fit.
• Apply lubricants to minimize rubbing or chafing.
• Wash all cycling gear after each use.
• Wear high quality cycling shorts with a good chamois.
• Do not wear regular undergarments while using cycling shorts, as the seams of the underwear can cause saddle sores.

(The article does not seem particularly well referenced, so I wonder how much of this advice is evidence-based, and how much is common sense and folklore?)

[Ian H]

Almost every pronouncement on cycling is folklore.

[Bugloss]

I get subcutaneous cysts if I'm not careful and have started using a liberal quantity of Savlon on my goolies and other assorted bits. Seems to work a treat on long rides and is a cheap and readily available alternative to fancy chamois cream with "a fragrance inspired by the flora around Mont Ventoux".

Just watching the Tour and I'm getting images of waxing the old chaps handbag flashbacks.  Ooooh!

[Gareth Rees]

The only point that Miller & Berry make for which I have been able to track down the evidence is this one:

Some cyclists suggest applying antifungal and antibiotic creams/lotions and/or other steroidal creams as preventive measures. However, research has not shown this to be any more effective than other types of lubrication.

Which comes from Weiss (1993), "Skin cream for alleviating seat pain in amateur long‐distance bicyclists":

Studied were 188 adults participating in a 500 mile, week‐long amateur bicycle trip. Participants were randomly allocated to receive 0.5% hydrocortisone cream, 10% trolamine salicylate cream, or a nonmedicated placebo cream, in a double‐blind fashion. Each cyclist applied cream to his seat area skin twice daily [...] there were no significant differences among the three cream groups.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Audaxers are the group least likely to give a helpful answer. They are, by definition, not limited by what is perceived as a common problem to those who don't ride long distances. It's a bit like 'Don't you get bored?'. The answer is no, or I wouldn't do it. 'Don't you get saddle sore?' No I don't, if I did I wouldn't do it.

Really? My impression is the opposite; audaxers are the ones who carry on despite saddle sores, discomfort, pain, hunger, fatigue and bad weather. Or even because of these things - to prove to themselves that they can.

[Ian H]

Audaxers are the group least likely to give a helpful answer. They are, by definition, not limited by what is perceived as a common problem to those who don't ride long distances. It's a bit like 'Don't you get bored?'. The answer is no, or I wouldn't do it. 'Don't you get saddle sore?' No I don't, if I did I wouldn't do it.

Really? My impression is the opposite; audaxers are the ones who carry on despite saddle sores, discomfort, pain, hunger, fatigue and bad weather. Or even because of these things - to prove to themselves that they can.

Well there is/was one well-known randonneur who was a martyr to saddle-pain, despite, or perhaps because, he tried every saddle, every novelty soreness cure, he could find.

But, in general, most auks are quite keen to remain as comfortable on the bike as possible.

[Bairdy]

But, in general, most auks are quite keen to remain as comfortable on the bike as possible.

Yes, but it usually takes a bit of trial and error and discomfort along the way before you find the comfort.
I finished my first few audax rides in a bit of a state with saddle sores and back and neck pain wondering how the hell people coped with it.
Then realised they didn't, they were relatively comfy.

Then came the brooks, sudocrem, expensive and very good shorts, shorter angled stem...eventually a new bike.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yeh, but most people would probably say if you need to use nappy cream, it's a sign you've gone too far!

[hellymedic]

I find anti-fungal cream very effective if my undercarriage gets sore on days like today. I am not cycling but it's hot and humid.
I surmise my soreness might be due to thrush and I get relief within 24 hours.
Fungi are not the ONLY reason for soreness but are kept at bay with hygiene and anti-fungals.

[Ian H]

But, in general, most auks are quite keen to remain as comfortable on the bike as possible.

Yes, but it usually takes a bit of trial and error and discomfort along the way before you find the comfort.
I finished my first few audax rides in a bit of a state with saddle sores and back and neck pain wondering how the hell people coped with it.
Then realised they didn't, they were relatively comfy.

Then came the brooks, sudocrem, expensive and very good shorts, shorter angled stem...eventually a new bike.

Yes, I think we've all had to learn by hard experience.

[Exit Stage Left]

I got a saddle boil described by a French Doctor as 'a third testicle' about couple of weeks before PBP 1999. I remember sitting at the Nogent-le-Roi control on the way back, describing how I'd had to wear sanitary pads for when it finally burst, following anti-biotic treatment. Someone asked if the pads had wings.
The lesson I learned was not to do 150 km on the drops into a headwind when you've got an incipient boil.

[hellymedic]

With wings! http://www.always-info.co.uk/product/Pads/always-ultra-thin-normal-plus-with-wings.aspx

[Chuffy]

Errr, this is something I *did* ask a male pro last year.  They wax the lot.

I asked this some years ago on Cycle Chat. Someone helpfully posted the following link, which convinced me that arse depilation was a bad idea. It's well worth a read.  http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/lax/35274458.html

[hellymedic]

Given that surgeons mostly don't shave surgical sites nowadays, I wouldn't depilate.
Soap, water, wet wipes yes, depilation no...