When is Chamois Cream a necessity?
 

I am in the process of training for a century, and my training rides have (so far) been less than 40-50 miles. At what distance do most people use Chamois cream? Is it temperature dependent?

I am using a comfortable seat and use cycling shorts (PI Attack short).

when does it start to become uncomfortable to sit on your saddle? Some riders don't even use a chamois, or specific shorts. Is it hot, cold, dry, humid............

So far it hasn't. Ounce of prevention and all that...

I don't want to get sidelined because I screwed up and developed saddle sores when they could have been prevented. Are there any warning signs before things get too bad?

Everyone is different so there is no rote answer. I don't use any creams and I am riding up to double century distances. If you tried a cream and like it for a century that would be fine as well. There really isn't any right or wrong answer as long as you are comfortable.

Well, I guess the question for you is "How many Aggies does it take to apply Chamois cream to your shorts?":p

I put on cream before I start any ride regardless of heat, cold, wet, or dry conditions. I re-apply about every 100 miles or so. Assos cream is what I use.

Two. Me to hold the bottle, my wife to apply the cream.

It varies with each person.

For me, I'm OK for a 200km without chamois cream. For my recent 300km I put cream on before the ride (Chamois Butt'r) and considered re-applying somewhere around the 200km point but didn't bother and had no problem. But I also have very painful memories of the last 200km of a 600km where I had not applied cream often enough, got chafed raw, and had a very unpleasant second day of the ride. So on the 400km and longer I'll probably reapply every 100km after the first 200.

I rarely use chamois cream. If your bicycle is set up properly and you've got a good saddle, you greatly reduce your need for creams.

I do still use it if it looks like a good portion of a long, long ride is going to be in the rain. The skin gets more fragile when soaking wet.

I used to use it if it looked the ride was going to be extremely hot, but I don't do that anymore. Instead I use a roll-on antiperspirant.

And I do carry Ozonol (or something similar) if I need to deal with a particular painful spot ... again, quite rare.


I tested a bunch of different creams over the summer back in 2003 when I was preparing for the PBP, and discovered that for the most part, they made matters worse. I didn't particularly like any of them.

I haven't ever started a ride creamed up. Otoh, I take a tube of lube along as an emergency measure should the need arise. Need has only arisen on hot, humid days when I wasn't wearing my favorite padded shorts - a pair theoretically identical to the pair I was wearing at the time - same brand, style & size and bought at the same time from the same store. Go figure.

As those above have illustrated, YMMV.

I've never used it, so I wouldn't know. Maybe I should have, but the idea lacks appeal.

I use it on every ride longer than 200kms, and most of those too.

Thanks for all the responses guys (and gal). I'll have it ready, but won't use it until I feel the need to.

I think it's worth pointing out that saddle sores and soreness from the saddle aren't necessarily the same thing. A saddle sore is an actual bacterial infection, like a pimple or a boil. Soreness from the saddle is just worn-away skin, caused by friction.

The latter is pretty obvious when it is developing. If you are getting sore from the saddle and notice redness where you contact the saddle, chamois cream (which is valuable primarily as lubrication) can help.

Actual saddle sores, however, usually form inside hair follicles. And it may be that preventing chafing can help prevent them in some people, so it seems logical that chamois cream would always be a good idea. But anything that tends to interfere with skin circulation can actually promote follicular problems - in the old days, when we all used natural chamois, Vaseline had an absolutely poisonous reputation because it could so easily contribute to follicular inflammation. Noxema (and similar) was often used as it was thought to help prevent such maladies. Some people actually mixed over-the-counter antibiotic preparations into their favored chamois cream. Hygiene, of course, is paramount for folks susceptible to saddle sores: never wear the same shorts without washing first, and make sure to thoroughly cleanse your sitting parts immediately after a ride.

The short version, IMO, is that if you don't have a problem you don't have a problem. If chafing becomes an issue, a "designed for cycling" cream may be indicated. And if you start developing actual saddle sores, then you'll need to start putting serious thought into all sorts of things, most of which can be addressed on this website, if need be.

I hit the contact points (those pointy sitbone parts that really want to try to become sores) as well as the cravices that tend to want to rub together before any long ride. I don't use any fancy creams, rather the generic version of neosporin. It's cheap, vaseline based, and has the antibacterial angle covered. So far so good. I have never ridden past 160 mi, but that's about to change....

Friend, if your cravices are rubbing together you've got bigger problems than can be solved on a bike website.

There is a bit more to this. There are three sorenesses... the two you mention, and bruising of the sitbone region which can then develop into bursitis.

The simple saddle soreness can be caused by skin chafe, or irritation of the hair follicle. Infection of the follicle is a different thing... the bacteria, and also fungus, can take advantage of the irritation to gain entry and infect the follicle.

There is a third situation that can arise, and I think it's the infection deep below the skin, of either the sweat gland or another gland in the groin area. They are more insidious that any of the surface irritation and pimples, because they form a lump that then may rise to the surface of the skin, or remain deeply imbedded and rely on the fitness of the body's lymphatic system to clean up.

Suffice to say that keeping the region clean is important. Important, too, is to ensure that the body is well nourished, both food wise and with vitamin supplements if there is a deficiency otherwise.

I could never get the idea of clogging up the pores, however, with a cream, and especially with Vaseline or anything that uses it as a base. While I appreciate some people regard the cream as a barrier and antibiotic agent, I could never come at the idea. I remember when the cream used on cow's udders was all the rage before some clever people bought into the idea by making up the special creams everyone is so enamoured of these days.

I do suffer from time to time with skin and follicle irritations, usually in wet weather, or when sweating profusely, and with the deep-seated boils when I have been run down, but they all clear up without the need for creams while riding. I will apply, however, tea-tree lotion after riding if there are issues, and that has worked extremely well for me.

As to the bursitis, it is something that requires time to heal. It does making ride a bit uncomfortable and you have to be careful not to continue to irritate the problem area.

I realize that the main question was more or less answered already. Just want to add that Chamois Creams are not a cure for poor bike fit, a saddle that does not correctly support your width of sit bones, or not having a chamois short with a mix of closed and open cell foam in the right places.

If you all those things in place, then chamois cream comes into play and can make a major difference in your comfort, level of chafing, and distance you can comfortably ride. It also depends on which chamois cream you use as some have better attributes for long distance, temperature, etc.

Utterly Smooth
 

Utterly Smooth - cheap. It's the best. I use it for every ride except commutes.

Proper fit, good seat, good chamois = no problems. I've never used chamois cream and never had chaffing or saddle sores. I have a friend who swears by Anti Monkey Butt Cream. To each his/her own. Keep trying longer and longer rides to see if anything develops. Everyone is different, but in the days before I had a properly fit bike and decent shorts/saddle I sometimes got pretty uncomfortable before any actual skin break down occurred. Just like seats and shorts, sometimes it comes down to trial and error.

Use it every ride, have had professional bike fit too and have top quality bibs, don't leave anything to chance. Never had any problems, always feel comfortable.

If you're using a real chamois (hard to find nowadays), you need it to soften the chamois after washing. When it dries, it's like cardboard and needs to be seriously kneaded to soften it, then creamed so it doesn't chafe.

If you're using a synthetic chamois (pretty standard nowadays), you need it if you'll be riding in the rain and you don't have a rear fender. A wet synthetic chamois can get EXTREMELY irritating unless it's lubricated.

When I rode PBP, I kept a small tube of chamois creme in my seat bag. Since I was riding a fixed gear, there would be constant friction unless I was out of the saddle, so I had another reason to carry it. It did come in handy after the second day (of three).

For rides that I plan to finish in one day where it's not raining (like double centuries in California), I never bother with it.

Luis

Use it every ride by hitting the edges of the chamois with cream, where the chamois stitching contacts the skin. In addition, I run a "finger tip" of cream along the area where each leg meets the pelvic area as this area for me tends to rub, skin on skin. Not to get too graphic, but where the V is in this depiction -> (V) as viewed from the front. I guess I don't use it where the sit bones hit the saddle, as others have mentioned. Currently using Enzo's Button Hole and it has some metholatum like cooling properties as well lubricating and softening the offending areas. Not sure it's necessary for me to use a cream during every ride, but during a ride, when you come to the conclusion you need it, its probably too late and you will suffer some sort of irritation on following rides, until healed. YMMV.