BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

The only problems I've had I've resolved with a swap in seats - initially started on a simulated concrete thing that bruised the hell outta me, then used a lovely giant pillowy thing that resulted in bladder control issues for all rides over 20 miles (nerve damage without pain, go figure). Now thanking any diety possible for the seat that came with my specialized cirrus, it appears to have non of the above issues, but I've only managed to ride it ~50 miles or so at a go. I ride in whatever shorts/pants were handy from my closet, nothing special.

Good luck, seat issues suck.

along these lines, does anyone have any words on what a saddle should feel like? i've been riding mine for a good while now, and with plenty of mileage, but i'm not convinced it's supposed to be as uncomfortable as it is, and i've been considering getting a new one.

For me, the gel does nothing + having the correct width for the bones helps a lot with pain. My longer rides are still only ~40 mi with breaks, so I don't know how I'd fare on a days-long tour.

It should be comfortable. Just have to try different saddles until you find one that fits your behind.

Chamois cream is your friend, no matter how strange it may feel putting it on.

If you're wearing underwear under your shorts, stop doing that. Otherwise, you may want to try shorts with a different pad in them —- I prefer the old school actual chamois pads as compared to the new school foamy ones but you results may vary. Sometimes just putting different ones on feels better by virtue of mixing up exactly what is potentially bunching up or rubbing where. If you've not tried bib shorts, give them a go as well even if they make bathroom breaks (especially for women) a bit of a chore.

Geez, the tri-dork complaints never stop.

Sarah, a lot of folks in the rando community swear by Lantiseptic for both prevention and treatment.

I agree, the cirrus saddle seemed really nice even just for the test ride that I did. My current one is okay, but I still think about switching it out.

I went horseback riding this weekend and was disappointed that having a bike saddle butt didn't help me at all with riding. I was sooore!

Tabby - you ever try out an English saddle? It depends on the type of riding, but for me usually even Aussie saddles are better than those Western behemoths. With your biking legs and a few pointers, you could probably ride English easily without much fuss, and not have saddle sores. I did steeple chase for a summer once, and haven't felt comfortable in a Western since (can't feel the horse, can't use legs to steer through all that saddle, it's like talking with a mouth full of cotton). Granted the HORSE needs to know the other saddle type too...

but this was BIKE saddles...

right, bike saddles, got it English does sound lovely though.

Make sure your shorts really do fit. They do wear out (in a year or two) and weight gain can make them fit differently. Plus sizes can vary between manufacturers, even year to year some times.

Make sure you saddle fits. They wear out over time too. Try some different saddles, most places have demo saddles. The Terry Butterfly is the one I know that most women swear by.

Get some chamois creme. I've always been a fan of the non-vasoline based ones. Sportsbalm and DZ Nuts are my favorite (they make a women's version). The Assos stuff is nice too but $$. I put mine on the chamois and not myself, if that feels less weird.

Get out of your shorts ASAP after a ride and get cleaned off. A lot of saddle sores start that way.

You may need to have your current saddle sore addressed. If it's just an ingrown hair you can often let that heal by itself or address it yourself. If you really have a saddle sort (infected sweat gland) they can get bad very quickly and require a doctor's care. In any case I'd make sure the current problem is under control and then start eliminating the other variables.

You may also find this place helpful:

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?forum=7;

There are plenty of threads addressing all sorts of female specific issues with plenty of good advice.

Good luck!

@Hiddenvariable A saddle should support your sit bones. Sit on a curb and the bones that touch are where your weight should be. There shouldn't be any pressure on soft tissue areas. Nor should be there be any numbness or tingling anywhere, or chafing.

Really there shouldn't be any discomfort, or minimal after long rides. It takes awhile to find a good saddle but going with very popular models (Turbo for example) is a good place to start.

Also, always ride with a clean chamois. Don't put those shorts back on you wore a couple days ago without washing them first.

Have you had the bike fitted to you? If the seat is a bit too high you might be overextending your legs and rocking your pelvis, and that would cause muy problems.

You could also try adjusting the seat angle, I'm talking a fraction of a degree at a time. That would adjust the way that saddle hits those bones. I am extremely sensitive to that adjustment, though I normally change that to adjust the amount of weight on my hands.

Do you think you spend a lot of time in the same seated position without moving? That's more of a problem in flat areas like Ohio than here. But I am constantly moving on the bike, standing to climb, changing hand positions, etc. It might help to just shift (as in move, not gears) more often.

@reddan, it was Jim who got an earful of my bitching yesterday. Back-to-back rides this past weekend did me in. I am going to try the Lantiseptic.

@Chris, I love the women's forum on slowtwitch. Thanks! I always wear DeSoto 100-mile bike shorts for long rides. I can run in them off the bike too (usually with no issues).

@BradQ, your idea of changing up the shorts is one I think I'll try.

@edmonds59, I have had the bike fitted. Actually by several different people including UPMC sports medicine. And I am happy with the fit now.

This morning at 5 a.m. I hit bottom. Getting dressed for masters swim I blindly stared into my medicine cabinet, choosing between Neosporin and Desitin. I went with the Neosporin since I thought the white diaper rash cream might be a little alarming in a swim suit.

Neosporin is not going to be effective. That's for open sores. Definitely sounds like you need to address the current saddle sore and then start looking for preventative cures.

I guess the best answer depends on what kind of a saddle sore you're dealing with, but the short answer is "limited tonsory, exquisite cleanliness, and bacitracin" (Or neosporin).

Mayhew -- it's preventative and to some extent is absorbed through the skin. If the sore is just a pimple, it might be a different story, but if it's inflamed, there's an active infection there.

Ok, trying to avoid the tmi, but it's not one big saddle sore (like a bed sore) but rather quite a few red, irritated skin abrasions (chafing) on some parts that one *does not want* chafed.

Good news is not a saddle sore. Time to start following all the tips above. Clothing and fit are the proximal ones. Start investing in chamois creme. Most any shop will have a good selection.

Hmm. Grasping at straws, since it sounds like you are desperate, as I would be, you might even try changing what you wash them in. If you are using a commercial laundry detergent, change to a hypo-allergenic dye and fragrance free detergent. Maybe even something with an anti-bacterial.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/03/training-center/training-center-when-is-chamois-cream-needed_163977

basically says everything mayhew said

sarah, sounds like I had similar issues when I tried swimming on a regular basis. A friend assured me my skin would adapt, and it didn't (solid 18 months of trying everything under the sun including what's mentioned here didn't help). Taking a break from hair removal as well helped things heal for me. I gave up swimming to avoid dealing with the issue again, I'm sure you won't have to, you sound like you're made of sterner stuff than I.

Hope you heal fast, and never experience it again! Good luck!

I used to get some chafing at convergence of buttocks and thigh. A narrower saddle fixed that.

Also this is my favorite stuff for long rides:

http://endurostuff.com/Endurostuff/Home_page.html.

I was amazed how little I needed for CtC. I think it was 3 times the first day when it was raining, just once in the morning on the second.

Unless it is raining I don't bother with anything under 4 hours or so.

The last time I had a bit of a saddle sore developing I just dabbed some of this stuff on it for a few days.

Hands down best distance saddle for me: http://www.wtb.com/products/saddles/racing/vigo

Too bad it is so ugly.

It's weird because my shorts/saddle/Body Glide+vaseline combo have worked for me for years.

It happened most recently on a club ride where we had one rider who couldn't keep up so there was a lot of waiting/going slow. IIRC in the past that's when I had these problems too. Then I rode on Sunday-- it was a fast ride and no issues, other than the damage was already done on Saturday.

Last time it happened I was on a ride with a lot of climbing, and I tend to scoot back and climb in the saddle. reddan got an earful that day -- as if waiting for me to get there wasn't bad enough.

Getting some Lantiseptic. Thanks so much for the A+ advice here folks.

It's definitely more common to have problems when going slow. You tend to support more of your weight on your saddle for a longer time. When going harder, a lot of your weight is supported by your legs. Extended pressure is usually a big factor in developing sores.

I have some shorts whose chamois (chamoix? chamoixes? chamae?) have not aged well, and cause more chafing than they used to.

I guess I have gotten lucky and have avoided saddle sores. I tend to stand up out of the saddle and ride a good bit every 5 minutes or so. Doesn't look pretty and may not be efficient, but when it starts to get slightly uncomfy, i get up. Riding in the city also helps with that, since You either have to stand and do a track stand or dismount at a light.

I never ride with padded shorts anymore unless it is over 60 miles. I have built up to that over the winter with gradually longer rides. Sorry I don't have any advice for you other than having a saddle with a cutout seems to be more comfy. Good luck. You may want to stay out of the saddle until the skin breakdown heals if possible. It is hard to heal skin over an area that takes pressure and also gets mechanical rubbing in a most environment.

I had a doctor who had been a bike mechanic in his youth recommend an Easy-Seat to me years ago. It was a completely different experience, even though it definitely doesn't fit the normal paradigm.

I've got easy-seats on two of my bikes, and a Brooks on the third. Good luck!

chafing and saddle sores are very different things, ATMO

Indeed, although chafing will lead to a type of saddle sore. Once the skin is broken, wee beasties move in and set up house.

This is all bad advice:

Wear shorts until you are immune to bacteria.

Ride enough that your "soft tissue" becomes

calloused and hard. Good to go.

Well if that is bad advice, it works for me. When i used to ride around at north park every day, I wouldn't wash my padded shorts for a week at a time. Gross, huh? Never got any infections though. And presently I can do 30 miles at a time in regular shorts no problem. if callouses on your hands from riding a lot are ok, then why not down there?

oh stef... callouses are signs of good hard working parts, not soft parts of liesure.

poor cburch

No one wants to say it but I'll say it. Before you can find a product to help deal with saddle sores you need to treat the ones you have. Working in health care I've treated a few sores and I hate to say it but you might need some time off the bike to heal. All the advice given is good to prevent sores but to get rid of the ones you have you need a break. I don't want you to stop riding but may be a couple of days.... or weeks off may be what you need.

Rent a 'bent for a while.

Second Eric's recommendation for Okole Stuff. It seems to "stay" better and not just disappear into your skin/chamois.

I failed to use that stuff on the second day of Trans-Sylvania, as I typically don't have a problem with chafing or sores - but we went through significant water early on in the stage, which caused some bad friction. Of course something that's mildly bothersome on day 2 will only get worse by day 7. More and more Okole Stuff each day helped, but it was too late for prevention.

It seemed like the pro-types had bib shorts with much thicker padding than what I've seen on typical bike shorts, even high-end ones. Figures - tiny, skinny, lightweight racing saddle means you need big foam pads in the bibs.

I also highly recommend a healing salve for off the bike, something with tea tree oil or other anti-bacterial, like Joshua Tree (http://www.jtreelife.com/). Good for hand blisters, too.

Haha Lyle. Good one

FWIW I am finding that riding w/o chamois cream in the heat is working better for me. I was getting a lot of chafing and the problem seems to be that pre-saturating the chamois was cream wasn't allowing it to absorb more moisture.

.

This heat (and esp the humidity) is pretty hard to deal with so any issues you are going to be exacerbated. But try using no chamois cream