Originally Posted by
fixietogravel
Hey everyone, I just joined this forum, and of course I must bring you my grossest, most personal problem. I recently started commuting to work 5 mi each way (8 km) on my gravel bike. I swapped my Selle Italia Diva saddle for a Brooks C17 with the cut out and I have no complaints except for a series of recurring saddle sores I keep getting on my left side but not my right. I barely notice chafing or friction while I'm in the saddle but the proof is in the pudding so to speak. I feel like this might be a sweat problem because I can't really change fully once I get to work. I don't think it's a good move to be wearing a chamois to work and hanging it out to dry in my cubicle. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions? I'd rather not buy another saddle if there's an easy fix.
One possibility is that your saddle is a bit too high and that's why it chafes. You could try lowering it by a millimeter or two and see what happens.
If you can't shower at work, you could pack some alcohol wipes and clean the area in the bathroom once you get to work and change into some clean underwear for the day. Obviously, draping your bike shorts over a cube wall won't fly, but perhaps you could get a spare chair and hang the shorts over one of the rungs under the seat. That's what I do to air out my shorts during the day. Unless someone needed to come into my cube and pull out the spare chair (which hardly ever happened
before the pandemic), no one would know they're down there.
