I realize that there are many factors that come into play with chafing. In your experience, what has been the single largest factor involved in chafing? Is it saddle, fit, or shorts? In other words, if you have an issue with chafing, where do you start?

Thanks.

Chafing does not necessarily mean that some riding factor is not optimized. All the factors you listed can be just right and your delicate skin chafes anyway from the extended rubbing. For that reason many folks address the chafing problem with a skin lubricant like Body Glide or the many others.

1. Using an upright position driving lots of weight into your crotch.
2. Saddle too low again causing too much weight on your taint.
3. Riding on hot / sweaty days.
4. Not lubing your gooch.
5. Using a soft, squishy saddle.

6. Improper clothing that moves. Any fabric can start wearing holes through your skin after it rubs against you a few tens of thousand times.

Wetness is my biggest factor. When riding outdoors I use little to no "chamois cream" since my sweat doesn't build up enough to cause any chafing. Indoor sessions, however, are another story. I can saturate an entire kit and fill my shoes with puddles of sweat in a matter of an hour. Chamois Butt'r has been a tremendous savior. I apply generously where I'd be getting chaffed and then there are no worries.

@rpenmanparker stated it well.

Start with BodyGlide. $10 for a stick and it lasts the whole season. Every triathlete on the planet uses it. Problem solved.

Always do the easy and cheap thing first. Buy expensive shorts and start playing with bike fit later. Chafing doesn't have become a dissertation in theoretical physics.


-Tim-

Fat thighs.

Saddle and it's fit.

There are several factors that can cause it. For me, it was a matter of fit. Seatpost being too high along with saddle position not being correct (too far back). It has taken a lot of time to sort things out but now it is pretty well set up. Even still, I'll still get a little bit of irritated skin if I ride a lot several days in a row.

It's all of the above. You can never stress cleanliness enough. Always ride with clean shorts. Use good hygiene "down there". I can get away with cheap shorts for short rides buy use good ones for long, hard or very hot rides.

The saddle must fit you properly. This includes both it being in the right place (the bicycle fit) and being right for your butt (a completely personal issue). Until those are right for you, asking your shorts to be comfortable is asking a lot. When all the fit issues are right, many of us need very little between our butts and the seat most of the time. But there is no shame in using any of the many chamois fats. And if things get really bad and you still have to ride, there is always the super chamois fat that works when all else fails - Bag Balm; that formulation for cow udders in the early days of mechanical milkers. Worked so well that the cows would willingly walk up to the bovine torture machine and yield their milk. (Didn't take long for the inventors to improve the comfort level of those machines a lot but by that time, the farmer's wives knew well how good that Bag Balm stuff was for all sorts of human issues.) Any old-school pharmacy will have Bag Balm in green can with 1920's styling. $8 give or take.

Ben

You have chafe because your bibs are pulling on your skin. Don't wax your azz wax your saddle. All that slippery stuff just causes more chafe and your skin softer.

How do you know he is wearing bibs, not standard shorts?

And seriously, skin lubes have successfully prevented chafing for a large segment of the cycling public for many decades. Your take on it is a "minority report".

Hi Samuraidog,

The primary cause of chafing is your clothing rubbing against your skin. The clothing can be your underwear (if you're wearing street clothes) and/or your shorts/pants. This is why the majority of road cyclists wear lycra shorts---properly fit lycra cycling shorts should not rub much, if any.

There are several kinds of fit for cycling shorts and some cycling clothing manufacturers offer a variety which can make sizing tricky. For example, Pearl Izumi (my favorite) offers three main lines: Select, Elite and Pro. The Select have a more relaxed fit. The Elite have a mild compression fit. And the Pro have a full-on compression fit for athletes working very hard for sustained periods of time. This causes some buyers to mistakenly think that a "Pro" short is too small when the same size fits in a "relaxed-fit" short. But they are wrong---they misunderstand the intent of the manufacturer and are buying the wrong type of short. A "Pro" short is intended to fit tightly---but it's made of lycra so it will flex and move with you---it won't hurt you.

The reason I explain the above is because I started with the Select, progressed to the Elite and now I favor the Pro shorts. Having used all three types, the Pro shorts reduce chafing the most because their compression fit allows very little rubbing of the lycra fabric against your skin. Weather permitting, I ride five 35-mile routes per week (175 miles/week). I never have to worry about chafing with either Pearl Izumi's Elite or Pro shorts and the Pro are best (and most expensive). I never need to use a lubricant for these 35-mile rides.

However, when I ride a century (100 miles in one day), I will usually use a stick lubricant (Body Glide) before beginning the ride and never have a problem during the ride in spite of the long hours and sweating during hot weather. High quality cycling shorts with a light or full compression fit is the most important key to know.

A mistake that many newbies make is to wear underwear under their lycra road cycling shorts. This not only looks bad, it also reduces the cycling shorts anti-chafing ability. Road cycling shorts are designed to wear "commando"---that is without any underwear. That's the only way to achieve the proper fit against your skin to reduce/eliminate chafing.

As for the pad or chamois that most cycling shorts include, it is to make the bike seat more comfortable---it doesn't help the chafing. The pad is largely a matter of personal preference and price and brand have very little to do with it. My personal favorite is the pad in the Pearl Izumi Pro shorts and I wait for them to go on sale and buy them at a discount.

If you commute to work or need to wear street clothes while cycling, you can get cycling underwear. It is basically cycling shorts that you wear under your regular clothes. Their pads are usually a little smaller than normal road cycling shorts. These undergarments are popular with mountain bikers who love to wear baggy shorts over them. However, you can achieve the same thing by wearing normal road cycling shorts under your street clothes, too.

Lastly, if you cycle in cool weather, you may buy a pair of tights. Some of the road cycling tights include a pad and some do not and it seems that more do not these days. The variety with a pad are intended to be worn by themself. However, if you buy cycling tights without a pad, you are supposed to wear your cycling shorts with pad underneath them. I find this better than tights with a pad because it gives you two layers during cold weather and the shorts protect you from chafing better than tights. Tights by themself, will tend to move more against your skin because they are involved in greater leg movement.

Kind regards, RoadLight

Bicycle fit.

Somebody recommends waxing the saddle every time the subject of chafing comes up.

Simply put, this is a very bad idea. You don't want to be sliding around on your saddle.

Chafing is caused by something rubbing against the skin. The skin is where it has to be addressed.


-Tim-

Thanks. This is a good post for me. Never wore underwear underneath my shorts/bibs, so that is not an issue. I wasn't aware of the different fits of the Pearl. That is good info for me. It seems that nothing I try works. And the chamois cream seems to make it worse (or at least sting more). I've got one pair of Pearl Izumi podium shorts and two bib shorts (Garneau and Performance Ultra) in the rotation (kept very clean). I "believe" they are tight enough, but perhaps not. The Performance Ultra feel like a perfect fit, but they also seem to chafe the worst.
I've tried 5 or 6 different saddles with different positions, and it only seems to chafe in different areas depending on the saddle location. Up to 25 or 30 miles, I'm OK. Anything longer than that and it is hit or miss. Just getting frustrated and wondering which direction to go.

Body Glide. Put it on liberally before each ride and you won't have a problem.

https://www.bodyglide.com/shop/body/

So OP, are you saying that chamois cream applied before a ride, when your skin is not broken causes stinging? Any results you get with already broken skin is not representative of the utility of the product. There is nothing you are supposed to use that will allow you to successfully ride with already chafed skin.

I definitely do like my saddle to be somewhat slippery. I actually apply a product called Vinylex before each ride to acheive this. I wish it would keep the surface of the saddle slippery permanently, but it stays that way only for an hour or 2 after application.

How about the Pearl Izumi Podium shorts?

Pearl Izumi Podium Shorts - Performance Exclusive

Where do they fall in the three categories you outlined below? Thanks.

I just use chain wax, chain cleats and saddle. If there is more friction at the saddle than your bibs the bibs will pull and wear the skin. Bibs last longer as well. If your riding in an upright position this is not going to help much but if you race or ride for performance (at least get to the hoods) you will most likely change saddle position freely and frequently.

Given all you've tried, is it possible your problem is a skin allergy thing rather than chafing from friction? Years ago I had what I thought were chafing issues that turned out to be an allergic reaction to the detergent I was using.

Sorry if this possibility was already discussed in an earlier post and I missed it.

Thanks for your post. Although it wasn't mentioned yet, I'm nearly certain it isn't an allergy. I'm trying a different saddle and shorts to see if this will help. Thanks again.

Exactly.