Good chamois cream for commuting, tips on saddle sores for commuters

my wife and I recently have sold a car and went to a one car family so I will be, and have been for a few weeks, commuting full-time.

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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Permalink Reply by Tominator on June 17, 2014 at 9:31am

Brooks B-17 saddle. That is all. When it starts to sag, don't forget to tighten it with a wrench.

Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on June 17, 2014 at 9:48am

Casey thanks for the tips.  I just ordered a Selle Italia SLR saddle, its a year or 2 old model but the width is about 8mm smaller than the saddle currently on my Trek, hoping that will fix it.

Casey Carnes said:

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.

From to doc of the Rivendell site...

Permalink Reply by Joe Schmoe on June 17, 2014 at 10:35am

I'm a husky gentleman, and I sweat a fair bit.  Anything over 15 mi and I need padded shorts and anti-chafe balm.  I use Body Glide. I like how it goes on like deodorant, no mess. Get yourself some new shorts or bibs that fit, with the antibacterial padded bit.  As soon as you get where you're going, get out of them, and clean yourself up (and get DRY).  I use basic antibacterial cream when I get a sore, though I don't think I've gotten one since I got better about Body Glide and the riding shorts. If you're riding somewhere you'll be stopping for a while, pack a 2nd pair of shorts. You don't want to be sitting in them. 

And btw I never wore padded shorts until I was over 30.  Then, bam, saddle sores. One of the great wonders of aging. 

Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on June 17, 2014 at 11:35am

Not to take things too far off-topic, but it occurs to me that everyone participating in this thread is likely to start getting a new class of online ads. :-)

Permalink Reply by Julia 3.5/7.5 mi on June 17, 2014 at 11:47am
I've used noxema on hot spots as needed, but the worst saddle sore I've ever gotten was from my seat being slightly right of center. It was probably off by 2-3mm and I rode it for 3 months, until I was literally in pain. I actually debated surgery for a while, but the adjustment made it disappear in about a week!

The seat makes the biggest difference for me. I'm currently riding on a selle italia diva gel seat and it feels amazing. Just a wee bit of cushion (for when I commute in non-chamois pants), and super comfy on long rides (30mi +). IMO, worth the investment for a $100+ saddle if you're spending a lot of time on it.
Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on June 17, 2014 at 12:48pm

Julia how did you determine the seat was over too far?

Julia 3.5/7.5 mi said:

I've used noxema on hot spots as needed, but the worst saddle sore I've ever gotten was from my seat being slightly right of center. It was probably off by 2-3mm and I rode it for 3 months, until I was literally in pain. I actually debated surgery for a while, but the adjustment made it disappear in about a week!

The seat makes the biggest difference for me. I'm currently riding on a selle italia diva gel seat and it feels amazing. Just a wee bit of cushion (for when I commute in non-chamois pants), and super comfy on long rides (30mi +). IMO, worth the investment for a $100+ saddle if you're spending a lot of time on it.
Permalink Reply by Julia 3.5/7.5 mi on June 17, 2014 at 6:50pm
Good old-fashioned guess and check method. :) I noticed my seat post was slightly rotated when I was putting on a new saddle. I traced it back to the last time it had been adjusted, which was right around when the irritations originally began. I'd originally moved it back a bit. I centered it and haven't had a problem - even tossed the stock saddle back on for two weeks to confirm it. I probably exacerbated the issue beyond the slight rotation too, since I tend to unclip my left foot at stop signs and lights... And I sorta refused to believe that it would become a bigger issue, until it was literally too painful to ride and I could feel the knotted awfulness under my skin. THAT certainly wasn't the way to deal with it!



Chitown_Mike said:

Julia how did you determine the seat was over too far?

Julia 3.5/7.5 mi said:

I've used noxema on hot spots as needed, but the worst saddle sore I've ever gotten was from my seat being slightly right of center. It was probably off by 2-3mm and I rode it for 3 months, until I was literally in pain. I actually debated surgery for a while, but the adjustment made it disappear in about a week!

The seat makes the biggest difference for me. I'm currently riding on a selle italia diva gel seat and it feels amazing. Just a wee bit of cushion (for when I commute in non-chamois pants), and super comfy on long rides (30mi +). IMO, worth the investment for a $100+ saddle if you're spending a lot of time on it.
Permalink Reply by Julia 3.5/7.5 mi on June 17, 2014 at 6:52pm
Thanks Jeff! I actually have an upcoming appointment for an official fitting. I'm finally at the point where I'm trying to make long rides a frequent thing, so I'm noticing a lot of other little tweaks that need to be made!



Jeff Schneider said:

Here's a brief video on saddle adjustment basics.  I've followed this general advice for decades, with good comfort:

http://selleanatomica.com/pages/setup

Chitown_Mike said:

Julia how did you determine the seat was over too far?

Julia 3.5/7.5 mi said:

I've used noxema on hot spots as needed, but the worst saddle sore I've ever gotten was from my seat being slightly right of center. It was probably off by 2-3mm and I rode it for 3 months, until I was literally in pain. I actually debated surgery for a while, but the adjustment made it disappear in about a week!

The seat makes the biggest difference for me. I'm currently riding on a selle italia diva gel seat and it feels amazing. Just a wee bit of cushion (for when I commute in non-chamois pants), and super comfy on long rides (30mi +). IMO, worth the investment for a $100+ saddle if you're spending a lot of time on it.
Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on June 19, 2014 at 2:56am

This discussion is timely for me.

I've never used a cream before either but do sometimes get a bit sore from time to time on longer rides around 100-miles.  There are a lot of factors, usually heat and sweat over longer distances.   Usually by the end of a century I'm just getting to where there is some discomfort after the ride if I can't access a shower right away afterwards.   I distance ride with a Brooks B-17 and have the hoods at just little above saddle height. This gives me about 3" below saddle height in the drops, and a lot of different positions on the bars above, below, and equal to saddle height to move around in.  This does wonders for not locking in one exact butt position/angle on the sit bones and perineum to concentrate the abuse.  

I ride with bibs and modern chamois on my road bike with a B-17 saddle for any ride over 30 miles. Shorter than that and street clothes are fine for the most part on my city bike around town running errands.  It has  a wider Brooks B-66 sprung saddle and a more upright position.  For bombing around town faster I sometimes ride my CX bike with a modern plastico saddle if I don't need to haul anything but myself and a lock somewhere <10 miles away.  Street clothes are fine for that too, with an ankle-thing to keep long pants out of chains if it isn't regular shorts weather.  I've never had many butt issues for short rides under 40-50 miles and rarely many for medium rides 50-100.  It's only after a long day in the saddle (or consecutive days) that things ever start to go South in that department for me.  It's always worse if a pit stop happens in the middle of a ride or showers aren't available when camping.  I like to carry a couple wet wipes just for such emergencies to keep things "clean" down there after visiting a toilet on the road before sitting on the bike again.  Cleanliness and godliness and all that jazz...

But lately I've been riding with my wife a lot more.  I was helping her train up for longer rides this year because we just did the Tour de Shore last weekend.  She's not fast, and I found that riding that much slower really was giving me a pain in my ass.   Longer times in the saddle combined with much less leg-effort pushing my body weight back up was causing me to put a lot more pressure on that saddle point of contact and for a much longer time too.   Riding 50 miles with her was like doing a century according to my butt.  By the end of the TdS it felt like I had ridden a 400k. 

So on Monday I ordered some Chamois Butt'r from Amazon thinking I could carry it for such emergencies, but when I opened the box I realized the tube was HUGE.  I haven't tried it yet, I need to head to REI and see if I can get a smaller reusable backpacking-type tube to carry a half ounce in my handlebar bag pocket rather than enough to frost a large cake.   I'm a bit hesitant to try it.   What is worse?  -Butt chaffing or feeling like my diaper needs to be changed?

Permalink Reply by DMZ on June 20, 2014 at 8:41am

Yum, Frango Mints! Hey Bill thanks for helping me put on my chamois cream at the Tour de Cure. You are a true friend.

Bill Nedza said:

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!  

http://www.enzoscyclingproducts.com/

Permalink Reply by Chitown_Mike on June 20, 2014 at 8:58am

At least he wasn't loaning a hat after you had a rotten peach.

DMZ said:

Yum, Frango Mints! Hey Bill thanks for helping me put on my chamois cream at the Tour de Cure. You are a true friend.

Bill Nedza said:

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!  

http://www.enzoscyclingproducts.com/

Permalink Reply by Robert Guico on June 20, 2014 at 9:06am

Only minor problems with sores so far this year.

Back when the commute was 10 miles each way, I did have problems, and it was because:

  1. I absolutely refused to wear/buy bike shorts; I wore regular shorts over boxers
  2. Boxer seams and skin don't go well together

Back then, bag balm was my preferred therapy, and it worked really well.

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