Originally Posted by HarryK
You must have one tough piece of hide on your backside, or perhaps you stand out of the saddle for a lot of the ride. Everyone I know who rides long distances, ie, Centuries and up, does it without underwear, and uses some kind of grease or chamois cream. Since Lance Armstrong says he never leaves home without his chamois cream on, I figure I'm in pretty good company.
Just curious, how long are your long rides, and what saddle do you use?
Longest ride was "Ride the Rockies" - about 400 miles - 2 years in a row.
I have done several centuries.
All with undies.
I use the standard saddles that came with my Lemond, Specialized Hard Rock and Winsdor Leeds. I did one RTR on the mtn bike with the standard cheap saddle that came with that $300 bike.
If we could get rid of the
urban myth about chamois and no undies, there would be a lot less complaining, and the bag balm folks would go out of business.
You don't read me griping, whining and complaining constantly about a sore butt, as I read you non-undies folks constantly complaining. Frankly, I get a bit tired of all the griping. "They must fit perfectly. They can't be too tight. They can't be too loose. Use baby powder. No, use Bag Balm. Anyone try vaseline?" and on and on.
The secret - undies can be changed and cleaned easily. Bacteria can be killed. Chamois contain and grow bacteria. Think of them as a giant petri dish, nurturing all those microbes attacking your skin. It really seems impossible to wash those microbes out of that heavy material. That is why everyone is concerned and folks state, "I expose my chamois to the sun" or "You should not wear them twice without washing, etc." I wear my bike shorts several times without washing, but I DO change my undies - sometimes 2x's per day.
I never (well, hardly ever) stand out of the saddle.