Good chamois cream for commuting, tips on saddle sores for commuters
I know we have all been there before but saddle sores suck but what do you full-time, seasoned commuters do for chamois cream?
Barring gory details, I do keep myself clean, I commute in light gym shorts over a padded cycling brief (that is 10 years old), and when I do a weekend ride I get my spandex on. I currently use Bag Balm but sparingly because it is on the greasy side and I change when I get places and don't want to grease up my normal shorts.
What is out there that is good for daily use, perhaps resists bacterial growth, helps repair skin that has sores, and doesn't make you feel like one used axle grease from an 18 wheeler?
Or a combo of things?
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on
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I've never used any sort of chamois cream. I have on occasion rubbed a little antibiotic cream on chafed spots in the evening, though rarely do that. I rotate through two or three sets of cycling shorts (all have modern high-tech "fake" chamois). I also have multiple bikes with different seats (a couple Selle Italia Flites and a well broken in Brooks pro). Maybe get a second seat that's different than the one you normally ride?
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Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on
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Thanks for the tips and I have been looking at seats but it is kind of a hard sell to my wife that I need another saddle, haha! She isn't the biking type but she understands that weird issues come up since she has friends and such that are triathletes or cycle commute everywhere.
How do you like the Sella Italia Flite? I will probably get a Brooks for my MTB but wanted something sportier looking on my roadie.
And what chamois so you use? I like the Canari brand but have been eyeballing other brands like PI and such.
Skip Montanaro 12mi said:I've never used any sort of chamois cream. I have on occasion rubbed a little antibiotic cream on chafed spots in the evening, though rarely do that. I rotate through two or three sets of cycling shorts (all have modern high-tech "fake" chamois). I also have multiple bikes with different seats (a couple Selle Italia Flites and a well broken in Brooks pro). Maybe get a second seat that's different than the one you normally ride?
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Permalink Reply by Bill Nedza on
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I have used many many chamois creams over the years, but Enzo's is the only one I use now. It's made by a local guy, Wayne Simon, and is the best I've ever used. You can use it to ride, and after your ride very easily "clean up" and it's not at all greasy. It also has a faint smell like Frango mints!
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Chitown_Mike said:
How do you like the Sella Italia Flite?I like them just fine. I can understand they are probably not for everyone. I got my first one quite by accident. I bought a Trek 760 new in 1982 or '83. When the original saddle wore out, my wife went to buy me one and came home with the Flite. This was probably in the early '90s. The guy in the shop told Ellen I would like it, though I was skeptical at first. After a short break-in period (a week or two), it felt perfect. That saddle and a pair of Specialized hubs are all that are left of my 760. I still use it, on my "new" Trek commuter. I'm sure its gel is long since dead. I bought another one from eBay a few years ago, again, with dead gel. It's currently on my Redcay. I have a Brooks pro on my RRB, and my Masi and Medici each sport Concor saddles. (The Masi is a bit too small and doesn't get ridden these days. The Medici is up in Michigan, so only gets used every few weeks.)I would buy one of the retro Flite 1990 saddles (without all the loud stitching and color my other two have).
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I am beginning to wonder if it is the saddle. On my old commuter, 88 Trek 800, before the rear hub let go I put a GT saddle I got from a coworker that felt really good and I had no issues with. The new Trek came with a stock saddle and that has been when the issue started.
Plus I sweat. A lot. And I ride like I am being chased so that aides in the drenching from my pores. So I need something to keep the salt content from tearing at my flesh. But I am going to point a finger at the saddle for now. I have a few other favorites I might throw on there and ride to see how they feel. I have my old RavX saddle that was marvelous on my old Schwinn and I put thousands of miles with no issues on it, just need to find it. Or I might swap the GT saddle onto the Trek, however that would clash, not to sound like an elitist (haha!) but the Trek is the newest thing I have ever bought for myself so I have become very particular about it.
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Permalink Reply by Michael A on
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I only use chamois creme for long days if the saddle. When I do it is usually Enzo's button hole cream, very light, non greasy... Apply it to the chamois of your shorts.
Also after my ride it is important to get outta your kit ASAP, do not work all day in the same padded shorts you ride in.
It sounds like you need some new shorts before a new saddle. Lastly if you do get saddle sores the best treatment is good old fashioned benzoil peroxide zit cream.
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Jeff I am jealous of your buns of steel. I cannot figure out how some folks, like yourself, have no need for chamois or cream, and then people like me have such issues.
I am wondering if because I lost 50 some odd pounds last year has contributed to the looser skin on my inner thighs and that is creating issues, but I can't positively say that. But I am guessing the saddle is too wide so I will be hunting for a narrower one that will look good on the bike.
Jeff Schneider said:In 40 years of adult biking, I have never needed chamois shorts or creams. I have done tours of several weeks riding a loaded bike ~70 miles a day. Now I ride ~20 miles doing errands most evenings, as well as the occasional relaxed century. I ride in a fairly upright position (bars at saddle height) and have always used Brooks or (recently) Selle Anatomica saddles.
Competitive riders clearly need the right clothing, creams, etc. to be comfortable. But I'm really surprised that you would have discomfort or sores just from normal commuting. I would suspect that something is really wrong (or wrong at least for commuting) with the way your saddle/handlebars are set up, and/or you have a terrible saddle.
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I'll have to check out that cream since I have some raging sores going on. But as soon as I am home or at work I am in fresh clothes and I let my stuff dry out and wash it everyday. But new shorts might be what I need since my Canari briefs have seen better, and younger, days.
Michael A said:I only use chamois creme for long days if the saddle. When I do it is usually Enzo's button hole cream, very light, non greasy... Apply it to the chamois of your shorts.
Also after my ride it is important to get outta your kit ASAP, do not work all day in the same padded shorts you ride in.
It sounds like you need some new shorts before a new saddle. Lastly if you do get saddle sores the best treatment is good old fashioned benzoil peroxide zit cream.
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Possibly. I rode an 82 Schwinn Conti that I loved, and then proceeded to back into with my wife's car....sigh. And then I outfitted my 88 Trek 800 with a dropbar, brifters, and made it more road worthy. I rode that with the GT saddle up until a few weeks ago, rear hub is trashed, and had no issues on those bikes. My current ride is a 2014 Trek 1.2 that I bought a couple of weeks ago and absolutely love, aside from the saddle. I was thinking it was a "getting used to" thing but I don't feel that way anymore. And the stock saddle is a lot wider than the ones I used previously, and it seems the sores are arising on my inner thighs versus the more sensitive bits.
We have an Amazon prime account so I might try out a few saddles and figure what will work best, unless someone has a suggestion of a bike shop that will let a customer ride a saddle for a few days?
Jeff Schneider said:Well, *I* am impressed by your loss of 50 lbs.!
The saddle width should be determined by the spacing of your 'sit bones', which shouldn't change as you lose weight. Could it be that when you were heavier, you mistakenly used a saddle wider than what you really need?
Chitown_Mike said:Jeff I am jealous of your buns of steel. I cannot figure out how some folks, like yourself, have no need for chamois or cream, and then people like me have such issues.
I am wondering if because I lost 50 some odd pounds last year has contributed to the looser skin on my inner thighs and that is creating issues, but I can't positively say that. But I am guessing the saddle is too wide so I will be hunting for a narrower one that will look good on the bike.
Jeff Schneider said:In 40 years of adult biking, I have never needed chamois shorts or creams. I have done tours of several weeks riding a loaded bike ~70 miles a day. Now I ride ~20 miles doing errands most evenings, as well as the occasional relaxed century. I ride in a fairly upright position (bars at saddle height) and have always used Brooks or (recently) Selle Anatomica saddles.
Competitive riders clearly need the right clothing, creams, etc. to be comfortable. But I'm really surprised that you would have discomfort or sores just from normal commuting. I would suspect that something is really wrong (or wrong at least for commuting) with the way your saddle/handlebars are set up, and/or you have a terrible saddle.
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Permalink Reply by Lanterne Rouge on
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I've also never had saddle sores, and have been on rides where I've been on the bike for 13 hours.
Along with saddle width, I would check to see if your saddle height is correct as well. If it's set too high, you end up 'rocking' your hips, which causes friction. I've had friends whose sores have come about this way.
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saddle sores usually come from clothes/body friction, ilfitting shorts are mostly to blame.
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Permalink Reply by Casey Carnes on
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IF you're trying new saddles and want something sportier, the brooks cambium and selle anatomica titanico are both good options that are not too narrow and won't completely break the bank.
Saddle sores can be prevented with all sort of creams. I think for commuting you won't notice much difference between different creams but my preference is for Eurostyle. Also use bag balm as soon as sores appear and they will heal much faster.
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