Chafing help

clanton

I am not a beginner but this seemed the best place for the post.....

I've been riding regularly and long distances for some years but over the past year I have had increasing issues with saddle chafing. Prior to this I had had very few issues and completed 10-11 hour rides with no saddle issues.

Trouble is I am struggling to find the reason for it. I have tried a number of different padded shorts (Pearl Izumi, Alture, Shutt VR) and also experimented with different saddles and saddle angles. I regulalrly use chamois cream (Assos). Over the same time period I have had knee issues with my left knee and I figured the two were related - specifically with regards to bike fit so had a bike fit 1 month ago (Specialised BG system) and they felt my fit was very close - the only change was that they raised my saddle 7mm, nothing else needed addressing. The chafing though continues!

Yesterday I did the Cheshire Cat sportive in a little over 6 hours. I tried to pre empt the chafing by wearing two pairs of shorts to double the padding and slathered on the Assos Chamois cream but chafed so badly that for once I actually got sympathy from the wife as opposed to just laughing. With my training starting to ramp up ahead of an attempt at this years etape I am desperate to get this sorted so any sugegstions welcome (well not too bizarre perhaps!)

ddraver

interesting....

Are you showering immediatly after the rides? Using soem clean cotton underwear afterwards? Have you changed what you wash the shorts in? Maybe try hand washing the shorts or washing with no powder.

Have you put on/lost weight and maybe your trusted shorts are not fitting so well any more?

I don't know if 2 shorts are the way to go though, that might make it worse...?

If so and all else is OK, possibly you need some time off to let your skin heal properly.

Maybe...

rick_chasey

Has your position changed?

Different saddles suit different riding positions as well as different posteriors.

clanton

Thanks for the replies so far. I am good about hygiene.

Position wise it probably has changed - I tried a lot of things due to the knee issues prior to having the bike fit done and so I'm not even sure where my starting positon was. Currently the saddle is exactly level and otherwise it is setup as it should be according to the bike fit guys.

andrewjoseph

I've recently started having problems in the perineum, think I have tracked it down to my brooks saddle going too far out of shape. 55km on my brooks b17 narrow for 4 hours on the mtb causes problems, 114km on the brooks swift on the road bike for 8 hours, does not.

thinking about a swift for the mtb as it may be the different shape that is better for me now.

wishitwasallflat

Try Wheatgerm oil - get it from any health food shop - put it on before and after and it works a treat to both heal and prevent (cheap too!)

bobgfish

In the same boat as you. Seems to be at certain times of the year it is just worse. This year kicked off worse when they salted the roads and wondered if that was what triggered it. I have good weeks and bad weeks. It seems to help with 1-2 days off a week for me. Like you I'm out of time as hvae big events planned through till June. I think it is mainly the quality of the shorts that help the most. Seems to be after spending a lot of time over consectuive days in the same trousers (cleaned each day) that i'm worse. I know try and swap and wear different brands more.

rainblusky

ThighGlide.us They are body wraps worn like a bandaid. Depending on where you chafe they give you 3 in every Tube for $9.56 on sale. I cut mine into 6 sometimes 10 for different parts of my body. I wear 1 between my legs and 1 on my right side bra strap. They are great. I don't know if they are still doing it but if you send them a blog or Youtube video they give you 20% off. They also have a guys version called ChafeAway

andrewjoseph

Regarding the above post, reskins do something similar I think. I've never used them myself but my wife has and they can help, but do not eliminate the problem for her.

rick_chasey

Try a different saddle.

Me thinks that's the most likely cause/solution.

Omar Little

Might be the chamois cream

I find that if i use it on consecutive days of long rides then i get a bit sore by the 2nd day and very sore by the 3rd whereas if i go without i dont feel as bad anywhere to the same extent. I think it probably has something to do with softening the skin.

jgsi

I would take a good check over the state of the pad s in your various shorts.
There are some I cannot live with and that includes Santini twistgels.
If the pad has any wear in the areas that correspond with the soreness - is crinkled up or gone out of shape in any way... possibly due to the way they have been laundered... then perhaps that may be a clue..
Wearing 2 pairs imo will never solve a problem - just make it worse.
I have Bioracer kit and the pad they have used is fantastic, as is the insert in my other club kit which is Provision - a more basic pad but never an issue.
Hope that gives you more to go on.

markos1963

+1 for not wearing two pairs of shorts, you've already raised your saddle height by 7mm and with a second pair of shorts you've raised the seat height again leading to a chance of rocking as you ride.

clanton

Thanks for all the replies. Will start with the shorts I think as I have three different saddle types on my bikes and seem to chafe with all of them.

ddraver

JGSI wrote:

I have Bioracer kit and the pad they have used is fantastic,

And just to demonstrate the problem with shorts - Ewwww no, My Bioracer club kit is terrible - I swear it gave me a haemmoroid last weekend!! (No, seriously!)

shouldbeinbed

You could do with someone having a look at the affected area to be sure the skin is solid & intact when you've not been riding for a while, I had similar & didn't realise the skin was gone in places. It could require a steroid cream to restore skin thickness & make it less sensitive & susceptible to minor damage. Also check the washing powder & shower gel you're using, if you're still buying the same brands, check with the manufacturer that there's not bern any ingredient changes.

woodywmb

This will do the job:

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... HMQ8wIwAQ#

Please note that a steroid cream (previous post) will not thicken your skin, rather the opposite. Corticosteroids will compromise your skin and should only be used on doctor's orders.

shouldbeinbed

Woodywmb wrote:

This will do the job:

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... HMQ8wIwAQ#

Please note that a steroid cream (previous post) will not thicken your skin, rather the opposite. Corticosteroids will compromise your skin and should only be used on doctor's orders.

Yes you're right, I could have made the see a Dr bit clearer, never occurred to me you'd get a steroid cream without a trip to the GP and a prescription. I was prescribed it for compromised skin & it did the trick.

bobgfish

Well after readng some of the replies.

Might be the chamois cream

It could require a steroid cream

I've tried a few things. I had two days off riding this week and things healed a lot. Then back on the bike with chamios cream and bang back to square one. So applied some steriod cream overnight and back on the bike the next day without chamios cream. Been comfortable today and feels a lot better. Another day of of the tomorrow before 400KM over the weekend. Think I'll be trying a few more days with out chamios cream after this weekend.

Please note. I agree with the doc bit and steriod cream but using it for a day or two is fairly harmless. You can buy weak stiff across the counter.