Chamois cream necessary??

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I would love to hear what the feeling is on chamois creams! I have been cycling for years, and haven't found one yet that is decent, or even beneficial by the end of the ride!!!

I would love to hear what the feeling is on chamois creams! I have been cycling for years, and haven't found one yet that is decent, or even beneficial by the end of the ride!!!

Although pricey, Assos makes a great chamois cream. It has a soothing sensation to it. :eek: :)
Which is actually a small price to pay, considering the area it's applied to. :o

I love Paceline Products' Chamois Butt'r. I use that for the sit bone area and use Astroglide for the lady bits.
Do you ride long distances?
I am fine up to about 20 without any lubrication, but above 20, you'll bet that I won't be without my Chamois Butt'r and Astroglide.
What have you tried?

Assos works great for me. Even on shorter rides it helps with saddle sores. I like the way it cools too. And on long rides it holds up really well.

Believe it or not, I have always used "Gold Bond" extra strength lotion, in the green bottle, every time out. Never seamed to need anything else. I've ridden plenty of centuries, and have done 400 mile/week, without any problems. :)

Currently coming back from a lay-off, and not doing long miles, but still, the green bottle does the trick.

Believe it or not, I have always used "Gold Bond" extra strength lotion, in the green bottle, every time out. Never seamed to need anything else.NICE i have some of that laying around and I just bought cycling shorts...

You put it on your body, not the chamois, im assuming? lol

im new to cycling shorts. My umm "tender" area has been sore after my 16 mile loop, i decided it was time for shorts...and over shorts, im not the smallest guy around (5'8 220 and dropping) eventually if i lose enought the over shorts wont be needed :) dont wanna scare no one right now...

+1 for Assos, despite being horribly expensive.

Zinc and castor oil cream .... much cheaper and works just as well, they don't use it on babies for nappy rash for nothing. (diaper rash for our North American readers)

And it's available in the baby section of every supermarket.

Are these creams water soluble? How do you wash them clean after the ride? Won't they just clog up the chamois padding over time?

Zinc and castor oil cream is not water soluble, so you need to wash your knicks in warm water with detergent - I do this in the washing machine on the wool cycle and they come out fine.

However, if using zinc and castor oil, you apply it to your skin as a barrier rather than smearing it on your knicks (although I have done that too)

i don't think they are necessary... as long as you always use a fresh, clean pair of shorts for every ride (just wash your shorts when you go in the shower and hang them up to dry) and you keep your 'nether' regions clean you won't get saddle sores.

[edit] i wanted to add that i used to have a problem with saddle sores and that in a typical week i do two rides in the 3-5hr range and 2-3 other rides in the 1.5hr - 2.5hr range... and as long as i use clean shorts for every ride and keep the 'nether' regions clean no more problems.. seems too easy, but it works... oh, and don't hang around in your shorts after your ride... wash up as soon as you can.

As the earlier post said, if the ride is under 20 miles, I don't need the Chamois cream. However, over 20 miles then I start to get boils on my backside. So I use Assos because it has an anti bacterial and fungal element, which is what causes the boils. Keeping the chamois on the shorts clean helps, but with all the sweating and heat where you sit, just causes problems even if you just cleaned the shorts. A lot of the advertising is about the lubricant value, but I don't find that is an issue.

If you don't have any problems, then I don't think you need the chamois cream.

I never get saddle sores. Not even one. I use assos bibs combined with baby talc powder.

I think creams are a load of rubbish. Each to their own.

I used to not get them either but after doing 900 miles in 5 days I became a believer started getting sores on third day.

Sudocream in the morning around lunch time and they did not get any worse They stil hurt but once I found a comfortable position I tried not to move to much.

i find it does help!

I used to not get them either but after doing 900 miles in 5 days I became a believer started getting sores on third day
- 900 miles it equivalent to 1448 kms.

- that means that you did 289 kms , per day , over 5 days , straight.

- amazing. Which ride was this?

.

- 900 miles it equivalent to 1448 kms.

- that means that you did 289 kms , per day , over 5 days , straight.

- amazing. Which ride was this?

.So let's say your on the bike for 12 hours a day... You would have to average 25 KM/H...

Not so bad if your used to long hual riding

I've been using Bag Balm (http://www.bagbalm.com/) for the last 3 months. It works great, it's cheap, and you can buy it at your local drug store.

Hi All,

I have done a lot of centary rides and have never used it for a single day.

However, have suffered on a weeks tour with saddle sores. Went into the local supermarket and got some zinc cream for nappy rash. I applied this to the affected areas (and not on the nix).

It worked better than nothing. Will this damage my nix?

Who else has an alternate for the expensive chamois cream?

Cheers,

My view only; take heed as you wish:

Chamois creams are simply marketing-hyped, overpriced thick lotions. I do just as well with Walmart's extra strength lotion to keep the heat down on long (2hr+) rides.

If a person is getting saddle sores with regularity you need to look at your bike fit, specifically (in no particular order): your saddle height, saddle fore-aft position, your handlebar drop/reach (function of stem length and height), and probably most important - the fact you may have a leg length discrepancy causing you to drop one of your hips. Saddle sores are a symptom of a position problem where too much weight is being borne in one area and the pressure isn't being spread sufficiently to other parts of your anatomy (i.e. sit bones) and/or saddle. No chamois cream in the world will eliminate saddle sores if a person's fit on the bike is not well balanced.

I think it helps too. I've used Chamois Butt'r and like it. It is water soluble and "relatively" cheap. I've tried Noxema face cleanser (with Eucalyptus) and it works well too. Dirt cheap. You can get a big jar for $5.

Noxema has a weird consistency and I've yet to try it on a ride over 25 miles. But, it does cool.