Chamois cream

redzone

Hi all,

Is chamois cream necessary with modern cycling pants , will it make much of a difference ?
I do spins of about 80k and am sore afterwards. Have a new saddle on order awaiting delivery to see if that is the problem.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

C3PO

Certainly for me the answer is a definate "yes" it is very necessary!
You can make up a home-made version which I find very effective;
http://www.lagazzettadellabici.com/2...ois-cream.html
In Boots here the main ingredients are called Aqueous Cream and Emulsifying Ointment, plus the Witch Hazel and essential oil (I used Eucalyptus).
Possibly not quite as good as the Assos version (€15 for 160grm) but costs about €18 for 1kg and should last for at least a year of very "liberal" applications! :rolleyes:

boege

As a long standing sore arse sufferer, who even had to go to a consultant at one stage, I would recommend that you get the best quality bibs and saddle you can buy. Also go 'native' as underwear only make it worse. I was lucky to know a consultant that was into cycling and he recommended a saddle with the cutout that allows 'things to hang a little'. :rolleyes:

I have found a huge improvement in comfort level from a change of saddle and more especially bibs as advised by many others here and no longer feel the need to use the cream.

You are probably doing most of the above but no harm in sharing rear end woes.

Plastik

I've never used it. Hasn't led to any problems thankfully!

abcdggs

chamois cream is amazing stuff, upped my milage considerably about a month ago and after the first couple days i had to sleep with a pillow between my legs due to the saddle sores, some chamois cream sorted me right out.

btw the assos stuff is €12 in cycleways after about a month of daily application i'm only about 1/4 way through

murph226

I picked up some of the Assos stuff today and went for a 55k spin and it did feel rather pleasant, I wouldnt use it for commuting though.

€15 is the going rate down here:rolleyes:

I only got it for a charity spin from Waterford to Cork that I'm doing on Wednesday, just want to make it as comfortable as possible.

Trying a new saddle out at the moment and still getting used to it and I think the cream helped with this also!

Keep_Her_Lit

With the right saddle, clothing and bike fit, I don't think you should need chamois cream for an 80k spin.

For longer spins (~140k+), I can also vouch for the Assos cream - very effective and well worth having a tub on standby. [This is the only Assos product I have ever bought or probably ever will buy - have you seen the price of their clothing? Crikey! My backside just ain't worth that much.]

I empathise with your plight, redzone, and sincerely hope that your choice of username isn't borne out of the severity of the symptoms from which you are currently suffering. Get well soon!

FesterBeatty

Do you put it on the saddle or your hole?

JacksonHeightsOwn

as most other have already said, good bibshorts is the most important thing

unfortunetly, in the bibshort world, you get what you pay for, so take the advice, if you buy cheap, you'll buy twice, never skimp out with bibshorts, its your arse and balls on the line after all

cream is great to, as i always say, id rather look at it, than for it!!!!

kumate_champ07

I use a 2 euro tub of vaseline

FISMA

RedZone,
Chammy cream is a must have, in addition to a great saddle and great shorts.

Get this, end of story.

Lumen

What are "cycling pants"?

Murph100

Hyperventilation ??

Lumen wrote: »

What are "cycling pants"?

doozerie

For many years I never used chamois cream and, with the odd exception, I had no problems. I started using Assos cream a year or two ago, at the same time as I first tried some Assos shorts, and have had no issues with sores at all in that time. It's not at all obvious whether the chamois cream made the slightest difference, of course.

Last week though, I used an old pair of shorts with no chamois cream on the turbo trainer. It was a 45 minutes session but reasonably intense. It started to feel quite uncomfortable from about 30 minutes in and I had raw patches by the end which have taken several days (plus sudocream) to recover. The culprit was most likely the shorts themselves (non-bibs so more prone to move about a little, but these used to be very comfortable shorts when I used them regularly a few years back), and probably not helped by spending lots of time in the saddle and with the extra heat of using a turbo trainer indoors. Still, raw patches stick in the memory so I'll welcome the chamois cream next time I got on the bike even though I've no real evidence to suggest it makes a big difference for me.

Incidentally, I'd distinguish being "sore" (aching) from being "raw" (aggravated or broken skin). For me the chamois cream is an attempt to prevent chafing, but it certainly won't prevent you from getting a sore rear end if the saddle and/or shorts are uncomfortable.

redzone

Thanks everyone for all the replies and advice on the chamois cream.
I think I have decent shorts (santini bibs) feel free to correct me , and am in the process of changing the saddle (bike came fitted with a selle italia X2 cutout type which I find very uncomfortable).
I am going to try a Charge spoon. Hope this will sort out the soreness.
Cheers.:)

dazed+confused

Great thread, some good advice here. I was only considering buying some chamois cream to try it out as I'm getting a small raw area under each ass cheek. From what I read here though it looks like I need some bib shorts too. Another battering for the credit card so!

jimm

FesterBeatty wrote: »

Do you put it on the saddle or your hole?

This has to be up there with some of the great questions of our time, such as "Is there a God?" or "Are we alone in the universe?"

J Madone

+1 on the Assos cream
If i dont use it or similar I start to get these Chaffed areas.
Good bib shorts goes without saying. And no Gaa shorts:)

Hungrycol

FesterBeatty wrote: »

Do you put it on the saddle or your hole?

It goes on your botty but not your "hole". Assos instructions says to avoid the mucus membrane:eek:. You can also add some to the chamois to the padding in the shorts for "added comfort".

smacl

Use the uddelrly smooth stuff myself, as it is half the price of assos and does the job. Also used generic E45 and vaseline on occasion when caught short, E45 ok but vaseline not great.

ednwireland

smacl wrote: »

Use the uddelrly smooth stuff myself, as it is half the price of assos and does the job. Also used generic E45 and vaseline on occasion when caught short, E45 ok but vaseline not great.

+1 on udderly, i normally cover the chammy

Reggy

Can I bump and ask you kind folk: along with the chamois cream, and decent padded shorts, does anybody recommend using a padded cover for your saddle?

I am going on a short tour next week (doing distances of around 60Km a day) and I am anxious to make the journey as comfortable as possible. I am used to doing similar mileage but not over a number of consecutive days. usually my arse is ok after these journey but I always have the luxury of a rest day after wards.

My friend uses the gel cover and he says it is ok but it moves about a little. I dont have money to buy a new saddle as the tour is costing me a fortune as is!! Thanks.

studiorat

In my experience it's more to do with friction than the saddle being too hard. Therefore a saddle cover could easily add to the problem.

manwithaplan

I've never used chamois cream and have never had any problems. Phear my buns of steel.

cdaly_

E45 for long spins. Seems to work for me...

petethedrummer

manwithaplan wrote: »

I've never used chamois cream and have never had any problems. Phear my buns of steel.

Me either. I occasionally put vaseline on before a long spin, but if I forget it doesn't seem to make much difference. My priority list is.

1. Correct Saddle,
2. Correct Shorts,
3. Cycle Regularly,
4. Chamois Cream.