Chamois cream.

lawrences
lawrences Posts: 1,011
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
Just a quick question. What does this stuff do that Vaseline cannot?

I understand it has antibacterial ingredients but I see the rest of it as the normal marketing blurb.

So does it out perform Vaseline and if so what brand would you recommend?

P.s is chamois french for ass? because according to wikpedia it's a goat/antelope (the more you know).

Comments

  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    Basically both will help with chaffing.

    As you have said you do get antibacterial benefits from chamois cream & in some brands you get a few other medical benefits such as anti-inflammatory properties.

    The one downside is that vaseline can leave oily marks that do not come out with washing over time. Guess it your shorts are black won't make a difference but for other colours might be an issue.

    As for brands your going to get a lot of recommendations but for me udderly smooth is my chosen cream, but know that Assos cream also gets good support from BR users.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    Udderly Smooth +1

    Works well and is much cheaper than the Assos cream (but without the tingle).
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  • chrisaonabike
    chrisaonabike Posts: 1,914
    lawrences wrote:
    P.s is chamois french for ass? because according to wikpedia it's a goat/antelope (the more you know).
    Chamois cream is cream for the chamois, not cream for your ass. Chamois leather originally came from chamois hide.
    Is the gorilla tired yet?
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    Assos for me, great stuff
  • chrisvanderkaap
    chrisvanderkaap Posts: 323
    modern chamois (i.e. not leather ones like previous poster mentioned) shouldn't be used with vaseline. It's petroleum based and hence defeats the purpose of your shammy regulating heat and moisture transfer, which is it's primary function next to providing a little bit of cushioning. You won't be able to wash it off either. Good chamois cream like that of Assos (8 pounds) will prevent you from having to buy another set of shorts, and will give you benefits of anti-infectory ingredients.
  • pkripper
    pkripper Posts: 652
    assos. it's got ass in the name.
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    I think its anti-fungal too.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • chigman
    chigman Posts: 163
    Another Udderly Smooth user here. It does the job for me but I cant compare it to anything else though. 8)
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  • lawrences
    lawrences Posts: 1,011
    Cheers guys I'll get hold of some assos or udderly and hopefully it will help me now I've upped my miles.
  • supermurph09
    supermurph09 Posts: 2,471
    Can I ask what actually causes chafing? Is it poor materials in the shorts / bibs. Have to say, I've ridden upto 80 miles and never had anything resembling a chafe.
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  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    Skin moving against (typically) a rough material. For bikes this is your butt & shorts for runners it could be nipples & shirts or thighs and shorts.

    Can happen with the most expensive shorts & the cheapest too but the effects can be reduced by ensuring that your shorts are clean so no nastiness can be transferred from your shorts to the sandpapered area's.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • on-yer-bike
    on-yer-bike Posts: 2,974
    Rapha Chamois cream is excellent and smells nice.
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  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    ChrisAOnABike wrote:
    Chamois cream is cream for the chamois, not cream for your ass. Chamois leather originally came from chamois hide.

    modern chamois cream is designed to be applied to your skin - not the pad on your shorts.
  • passout
    passout Posts: 4,425
    Yes, I think its either or really. I apply to skin to help prevent crotch rot (joggers crotch).
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    if you use chamois cream or not, what you do not want is chafing.
  • elderone
    elderone Posts: 1,410
    I got some chamois cream sample with my new bibs from the lbs and the bloke said put it on skin or pad as works either way.
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  • milese
    milese Posts: 1,233
    Sudocreme
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    I got a sample in my goody bag after a sportive a couple of weeks ago. How the family laughed when I explained what it was. Never needed it myself; maybe I'm just not riding far enough...
  • goonz
    goonz Posts: 3,106
    I guess I am lucky in that I dont suffer from any chafing, must be all those beats I used to get as a kid from my dad. Toughened up that skin proper! :)
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  • gabriel959
    gabriel959 Posts: 4,227
    Milese wrote:
    Sudocreme

    Or any other nappy cream. Does the same thing and its cheaper. I use Welleda Nappy Cream, costs £5 but is super good.

    +1
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  • slam that stem
    slam that stem Posts: 104
    Milese wrote:
    Sudocreme
    +1 I've used Sudocreme, dz nuts and Rapha and find Sudocreme the best. It's not even the cheapest. The fact it's antibacterial helped on the Haute Route last year. But the Rapha Roubaix creme I also used (I brought 2 just in case I reacted badly to one of them) had a cooling mintiness to it that felt wrong when I applied it but did have some cooling menthol like properties when it was 35C!
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  • secretsam
    secretsam Posts: 5,098
    Udderly Smooth here, one question - how much to use? Slather it all over, ahem, "the area" and on the pad, or what???
    It's just a hill. Get over it.
  • Rich.H
    Rich.H Posts: 443
    I've used Assos chamois cream for years but for the past 18 months or, I've reacted really badly every time I use it - i just end up with sore and itchy areas where the cream has been applied, almost like a contact dermatitis. For shorter rides now I just use E45 but it's a little too runny to do the job properly but at least I do not react to it. I think I will give Sudocreme a try

    Cheers

    Rich
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    loo roll grab a dollop and apply to the 'area that might get chaffed'. Use of loo roll as saves on having to clean up. As for how much guess its like buttering your toast where you are the toast & depends on how large your loaf is.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • cat_with_no_tail
    cat_with_no_tail Posts: 12,981
    Danlikesbikes wrote:
    loo roll grab a dollop and apply to the 'area that might get chaffed'. Use of loo roll as saves on having to clean up. As for how much guess its like buttering your toast where you are the toast & depends on how large your loaf is.

    Thanks for that. Cereal for me from now on then. :lol:
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  • holty321
    holty321 Posts: 8
    +1 for Assos
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    I've used sudocreme, assos, rapha and DZ Nuts. All thankfully have worked fine.
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  • yakk
    yakk Posts: 589
    Used and liked Assos, but for the last 3 years used Sudocreme with absolutely no problems at all.
    Yak

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