Waxing / Shaving advice: sore backside



Roaders

New Member
Mar 24, 2010
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Hi All First things first: I am a guy not a girl and have never waxed anything or shaved anything (other than my face). I commute to work on my bike 3 days a week. It's 18 miles each way (36 a day) and my fitness is well up to the task. Most of the time the ride is easy and enjoyable. What is stopping me enjoying it though is getting a sore backside. I don't get what I believe is described as saddle sore but I get hard boils that take a long time to go away and are very sore to sit on. I am a big guy and I get sores where my pin bones are, right where the most amount of weight is. I think that this is due to hairs breaking off then becoming ingrown and getting infected. I know that this is an amusing topic but it really does cause me a lot of discomfort and is the limiting factor as to how much cycling I do! I am considering waxing my backside to get rid of the hairs. Will this work? Should I shave? Thanks
 
I would start with a good set of bibs and maybe reconsider whaich saddle you are using.
 
I would go with electrolysis. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/rolleyes.gif
 
Get some cycling shorts, make sure you are not sweaty when you start the ride, and get some chamois cream. I like the Assos. This will solve your problems.
 
Your saddle is only as good as the shorts that you wear, id recommend buying some decent bib shorts and seeing how that goes. if not go to the doc if its that bad,

N
 
Originally Posted by Roaders .

Hi All

First things first: I am a guy not a girl and have never waxed anything or shaved anything (other than my face).

I commute to work on my bike 3 days a week. It's 18 miles each way (36 a day) and my fitness is well up to the task. Most of the time the ride is easy and enjoyable.

What is stopping me enjoying it though is getting a sore backside. I don't get what I believe is described as saddle sore but I get hard boils that take a long time to go away and are very sore to sit on.
I am a big guy and I get sores where my pin bones are, right where the most amount of weight is.

I think that this is due to hairs breaking off then becoming ingrown and getting infected.

I know that this is an amusing topic but it really does cause me a lot of discomfort and is the limiting factor as to how much cycling I do!

I am considering waxing my backside to get rid of the hairs. Will this work? Should I shave?

Thanks
Too much pressure being borne on too concentrated an area. Bike fit, or lack thereof, is the issue IMO. Saddle height is too high. Try lowering your saddle a 2-3mm until the issue is mitigated. You may need to consider a saddle tilt adjustment - probably nose up just a very small amount. You should feel your sit bones when on the saddle, but the predominant amount of weight should be spread across your rump.

IME, I'm convinced this (altering bike fit) will solve your issues as opposed to different shorts or lotions. Back in the day I had this problem (small nodules forming in the netherlands) and no high-dollar pair of shorts or butt butter would solve it. Needless to say now (after finally getting my head around the fact that my actual saddle height is lower than that prescribed by the formulas), I don't spend more than $50 on shorts and NEVER use butt butter - even on 4-5hr rides. No sores or any backside problems to speak of...
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. Based on replies on this forum and some others I have taken the following steps:
  • Use baby wipes to clean area before cycling
  • Use sudo cream before cycling
  • wear clean undershorts for both legs of daily commute
  • bought a new gender specif saddle of correct size
I'm also going to try to get a proper cycle fit session booked soon. Hopefully this will help. It'll probably be a few weeks until I know how effective this will be.
 
It has being more than a few weeks, just wondering how you coming along mate, still got a sore **** or not.:cool:
 
hope the cycle fit session goes well, I was running castelli aero race shorts with a selle san marco aspide and still had pain before i tilted the saddle forward a degree or two, and please tell me you wear the bibs without underwear because thats a huge problem if you do
 
Do NOT wax or shave the area, this could end contributing, plus who wants to shave any higher than the short line (if that's your thing).

When testing different saddles earlier this year, I road on a Specialized Toupe for an afternoon and developed a saddle sore almost immediately that dissapeared quickly after swapping saddles, within a week or two. I found the Toupe created "bad" pressure for me no matter how it was adjusted. I imagine pressure points as a result of saddle fit (tilt, etc) can definitely contribute to this.

Tilt is something that's harder for a fitter to properly advise on. Just keep experimenting with teeny adjustments to find your sweet spot, of course this may or may not be your culprit.

Scrubbing that area immediately after each ride with lots of soap and water also can't hurt.
 
Good quality and well fitting knicks with a seamless chamois is a good start. Also avoid using dirty knicks or sitting/standing around in them for an extended period of time after your ride.
 
I second the bike fit. I would try that first. You could waste a lot of time, money and pain when the fit would solve the problem. Good luck.
 
I get this too, have for years. its call foliculitis. the hair folical gets irritated and swells, htis traps any bacteria inside causing an infection. the only way to know for sure is to eliminate the other possible causes. good shorts, good, well fitting seat, make everything as clean as possible. If you still get it. wait till the " boils" heal and shave the area carefully. wait a day then go ride. with no hair to pull there isnt any irritation to the folicle.
 
Originally Posted by danfoz .

Do NOT wax or shave the area, this could end contributing, plus who wants to shave any higher than the short line (if that's your thing).

When testing different saddles earlier this year, I road on a Specialized Toupe for an afternoon and developed a saddle sore almost immediately that dissapeared quickly after swapping saddles, within a week or two. I found the Toupe created "bad" pressure for me no matter how it was adjusted. I imagine pressure points as a result of saddle fit (tilt, etc) can definitely contribute to this.

Tilt is something that's harder for a fitter to properly advise on. Just keep experimenting with teeny adjustments to find your sweet spot, of course this may or may not be your culprit.

Scrubbing that area immediately after each ride with lots of soap and water also can't hurt.
This! Don't shave that hair!!

http://forums.evolutionm.net/back-room/130875-dont-shave-hair.html
 
Originally Posted by danfoz .

Do NOT wax or shave the area, this could end contributing, plus who wants to shave any higher than the short line (if that's your thing).

When testing different saddles earlier this year, I road on a Specialized Toupe for an afternoon and developed a saddle sore almost immediately that dissapeared quickly after swapping saddles, within a week or two. I found the Toupe created "bad" pressure for me no matter how it was adjusted. I imagine pressure points as a result of saddle fit (tilt, etc) can definitely contribute to this.

Tilt is something that's harder for a fitter to properly advise on. Just keep experimenting with teeny adjustments to find your sweet spot, of course this may or may not be your culprit.

Scrubbing that area immediately after each ride with lots of soap and water also can't hurt.
This! Don't shave that hair!!

http://forums.evolutionm.net/back-room/130875-dont-shave-hair.html
 
Mate do not shave or wax the area at all, I had the same problem you are having and the only way to feel better It's to have surgery, my boils were so big and painful that I couldn't seat down at all so I had the surgery done the whole thing takes about a month and half to heal but you will never have to suffer no more...
 
I wonder what kind of commentary this thread will generate when it's exhumed in 2019.