Chamois Cream - How Much?

[fauxpas]

OK, got my gerolsteiner stuff in the mail, and I forgot its the real McCoy and has chamois instead of the synthetic antibacterial pad...

But how much cream do you apply for 20-50k rides? In the 'Hell On Wheels' DVD, the bloke puts on stacks onto Erik Zabel's pad...

 

[schmuzzy]

i think your avatar is scarring replies away....


"lubricants" and a man's ditch are aparently sensitive topics

 

[fauxpas]

"lubricants" and a man's ditch are aparently sensitive topics

Only sensitive after Pedro's pulled his watch out...

 

[capwater]

Never went for azz cream. Just did a 110 miler in the mountains and the butt felt fine. Good quality bib pads do a lot to reduce chafing. 20-50k rides? Too short too worry about.

 

[fauxpas]

20-50k rides? Too short too worry about.

Oh, OK... thought the pad needed to have cream on it to keep it antiseptic or something... Is the cream just for rider comfort?

 

[matagi]

If it is real chamois and not a synthetic look alike, then it needs lubrication to keep it supple. If it dries out, you will experience the full glory of the sandpaper effect.

Hubby bought a pair of Nalini bibs from probikekit which came with a tag recommending something called "Relief" (made in Italy) for leather chamois. Tried searching for it on Google, but no luck.

Failing that, you could try udder balm - since you are based on the Central Coast, I would suggest you try one of the rural supply places down at Ourimbah.

 

[free_rideman]

I just put a lot on there. Maybe even too much. Anyways, once you ride with chamois cream there is no going back.

 

[nitrous]

I got some Assos chammois cream and put a stack on before my first ride with it (I was also going off how much Zabel had on his). Little did I know but it is mildly mentholated - hell knows why!

I had a very "cool" ride that day!

In answer to your question, apply the cream after the chamois dries and then again before you ride. Just enough to keep th echamois supple.

 

[TrekDedicated]

Enough so I'll like it.....

 

[fish156]

This stuff is great:

http://www.antimonkeybutt.com/

plus, provides hours of comedic relief ;-)

 

[fauxpas]

Riiiiight...

 

[SLClimber]

I'm a fan of Asso cream, I put a dollup of it on the chamois and also but some down there as librication. Works well. I like the menthol and the extra coolness you have. But some people I hear hate that...

 

[was7g]

Like some others above, I recently tried Assos cream for the first time... and I loved it. I liken it to something a friend of mine once said about about Gold Bond Powder (a medicated application for your "nether regions" for the non-Americans reading)... paraphrasing Mikey Dovberg, Assos chamois cream is like a breath mint for your butt.

Loved the mentholation. Even after a shower, I was still cool and tingly. Better than burning and stinging, which is how I used to feel coming off a couple of hours in the saddle.

 

[gregkeller]

I started off with chamois butt'r and that is good, Assos stuff is really nice, but expensive, about 17 bucks for a small tub. I like to really "lube up", so have switched to two products, the first has already been brought up and that is "udder cream" basically a heavy duty moisturizer, but a little too liquidy to stay put for long rides, so for my longer rides i load up on bag balm. This is more like vasaline, so it stays put, also what i use when it's raining. There are some downsides to bag balm, but they are outweighed by the rewards. It is cheap, about 5 bucks for a tin twice the size of assos, it lasts all day, and i find it is good saddle sore prevention, and cure them quick if you have problems with them. problems is that if you wear anything but black shorts you might get some stains on them. Our team shorts are blue, and the chammy has little perferations in it, so the bag balm, or any other crotch cream goes through the holes and stains the shorts, so that sucks. Also read an article by someone famous on cyclingnews.com about using vaseline, triple antibiotic cream and something else i think all mixed up. Sorry for the long post.

 

[Albert 50]

Obviously I have lived a sheltered life

Seriously though I have only had 3 pair o nicks, apparently all synthetic because no creams & have never had any chafing problems to date [longest ride time 3H 50]

So what is the advantage, in this day & age, of using a synthetic chamois?

 

[gregkeller]

I own about 12 or 15 pairs of bibshorts, and all of them have synthetic chammys in them. I would imagine the benefit over leather is that they don't dry out, they don't have as much of a bacterial problem (but you still need to wash after every wear). I know a lot of people who ride and never worry about chammy cream, but anything over 2 hours and i like to have something there, especially if it is foul weather, nothing worse than a wet chamois. Give the cream a shot and see what you think.

 

[free_rideman]

I didn't have chafing problems, but the reason I started using chamois cream was to keep the chamois lubed up. Before I would sweat and the chamois would get stuck to my skin in weird positions. Now the Chamois and even seat (because it goes through) are lubed and it is much more comfortable for that reason. My friend exposed me to chamois cream, and now I won't go back.

 

[bernmart]

I too bought an expensive little tub of Assos chamois cream, and my one-man jury's still out. I use two kinds of shorts: Performance Century, which has a soft felt-like cover on the chamois, and soaks up large amounts of the Assos w/o any noticeable difference; and Nashbar Gel, which has a leather-like chamois cover that does seem to get slippier and softer if i slather it with Assos. Both shorts work equally well in all other respects.

As for what I put on my nether regions, the Assos is OK, but in a pinch (!) just about any skin cream seems to do the job allright, though I agree that the thicker ones hold up better.

Is there some factor or technique I'm missing here? Inquiring asses want to know.