Recumbent back
 

On longer rides on my recumbent I've noticed the day after the ride my back breaks out with numerous small acne like white heads. They are completely gone about a week after the ride. These pimples seem to match up with the top edge and sides of the seat, not in the middle of my back.

I went to a dermatologist and he described the condition as "mechanical acne" caused by rubbing sweaty skin. He said foot ball players get this from their helmet straps. He didn't really have any advice other than he could prescribe an anti-biotic to take several days before a ride but I don't like the idea of taking anti-biotics, especially for a cosmetic condition though it does look really bad when it happens.

I started to apply Body Glide before long rides to try to reduce the friction. It seems to have helped somewhat but the acne still appears the day after a long ride, just not as much.

Has anyone else had this recumbent riding induced back condition? Any advice?

No... but if the foam back seat causes chafing... a sheepskin cover could be a solution. To ease the stick and provide greater comfort on a ride.

Are you wearing shirts/jerseys made of wicking material, to keep your skin as dry as possible?

What kind of seat are you on?

+1. There's so many different recumbent seats that it's hard to give specific advice.

FWIW: I've had a Lightning with a mesh seat and a Tour Easy and Gold Rush with padded rigid seats. I haven't had an acne problem with either, but the TE/GRR seat leaves me with an itchy area in the small of my back. Not a big issue- it's just a little more sensitive when I shower afterwards.

I usually wear a jersey made of wicking material such as Coolmax but sometimes wear a wool jersey. The wool doesn't wick and stays wet but surprisingly the problem hasn't been as bad with the wool jersey, maybe because it is thicker so offers more padding between my back and the seat. Or maybe because the wool gets all soggy it ends up clinging to the skin rather than allowing the skin to rub against it.

Every recumbent I've taken on a long ride I've had this day after back breakout problem with. On the Vision seat and Easy Racers Koolback seat there was a large area of pimples going across the top of my back that matched up with the top of the wide mesh seat back. I got a Bacchetta with narrow carbon seat covered with that prickly foam material and the pimples were confined to a narrower area at the top of my back and along where the upper sides of the seat contacted my back. Do you think a Ventisit pad would help?

Interestingly the acne is never comes up after a 50 mile ride but after a 100 mile ride it does. Temperature doesn't seem to have an effect on it, I've had it happen on both cool days and warm days so it seems to be more of a friction problem than a sweat problem.

I've never had the problem on a recumbent. However, I did replace my Bacchetta filter foam seat cover with a comfort thickness Ventisit pad. I find the Ventisit much more comfortable in providing better ventillation, no increasing deformation over a longer ride, about the right trade-off between enough friction to hold you in place yet slippery enough you can slide small amounts when you want to, and eliminates your jersey snagging on the cover. I even ride it shirtless when the bike is mounted in the trainer, something that would be uncomfortable with the stock filter foam. However, it is a $100 investment to see if the Ventisit works for you.

One alternative is that Bacchetta now makes a woven cloth cover for the filter foam. I believe this costs less than a Ventisit and because it covers the surface of the stock filter foam, this cover is reported to eliminate the itchy/scratchy surface. I doubt it ventillates as well as the Ventisit.

The other thing to try, possibly in conjunction with the Ventisit or cloth cover, is to add some padding to portions of the back of the seat, thus changing the contour of the seat. This may distribute the pressure more evenly, taking some of the load off your shoulder area. Some cyclists use a drawer lining material that is rubbery and is perforated in a checkerboard pattern. This is layered underneath the regular seat foam/pad to provide varying thickness as needed. Others (including myself) have cut out curved contour sections from firm packing foam and put them underneath the stock foam for more support, usually in the lumbar region of the seat.

Do please let us know if you find a solution to the problem.

Your post implies that your back is moving around on the seat as you ride, especially since you don't have that problem on other contact points, as with the seat bottom. When I'm riding, my back is firmly planted that you could shake the bike without shaking me too. Maybe all you need to do is to recline more firmly into the seat back so there is no motion at all.

:)ensen.