I use the Assos chamois cream for pretty much all rides, and it works very well. I've never used it in a race. I think (though I haven't tried it) that it would dissolve or "wash off" during the swim. I've always used Body Glide during races, and this seems to also work well and seems to stay on during the swim.

I was going to say the exact same thing as jkatsoudas. I use Assos for all training rides, but never in a race. It won't stay on through the swim. (Also, it's slightly menthol which feels really strange in water.)

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Adam Duncan
New York, NY

Where do you apply? On the chamois or on your sensitive areas? Or both?

The instructions say to put it on the chamois, but this can get messy when you try to pull the shorts on. I usually apply to the sensitive areas and then put the shorts on.

A&D ointment also works very well. I haven't tried it in a race yet, but I think it will survive the swim (at least in a wetsuit swim). Anybody use it in a race?

A apply directly to the skin. Over time, the chamois gets conditioned with it (sort of like a baseball glove). I haven'tr tried A&D ointment, but one thing A&D will lack is the menthol. When the air hits the menthol it creates a very cool sensation which helps to mitigate the heat from friction. It doesn't last that long, though.

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Adam Duncan
New York, NY

I've heard that Noxzema works just as well. Probably less expensive too.

'Back in my day, we used a London Broil in our shorts, and we liked the way it smelled after a 100mile ride. When I would sprint to the next village, I swear that I could smell it cooking in my shorts...'

Okay, I am not that old. Raw meat used to be the chamois of the day back when wool was the preferred material for bike shorts and down tube shifters were banded onto the bike. Once the Chamois was invented, fat was used as chamois cream.

Boy, have we come a long way or what in a hundred years!!!

Assos make a nice chamois cream, and there's one called Chammy Butt'r or something like that. I still use a London Broil (just kidding).

I use it for long rides, and have done bricks with the cream on no problem. Actually, if you're going to run in bike shorts it helps keep everything comfortable. ;)

Right now I'm working on a tube of Chamois Butt'r, but afterwards will switch to Udder Butter, or something similar. There was a good sized thread on Gordo's forum regarding "lube", and the concensus was that the stuff they use on cows udders (Udder Butter, Bag Balm, etc.) was just as good as the Aessos/Chamois Butt'r/other hoity toity stuff, and WAY cheaper.

Check out:

http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/...6ff318931+1065450524

http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/...6ff318931+1065450524

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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Thank you Bunnyman!!!

I thought I had lost my mind, because I told some stories of back the in European cycling scene, and how they used steak to protect the sensitives to some local cyclists. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, even the "old" pros, including the LBS owner Jim who knows the Euro cycle stuff gave me the "yeah right..." look.

So I started to wonder.....

I have a picture of my mother with Eddy Mercx (early 70's) after one of his wins (round of Holland?), and remember her being in shock when she heard what the riders did with steaks (meat in in Holland was a high $$ item at the time) and the unorthodox method of "cooking it.

Thanks again, it will save time and $$ at the shrink.

Henk

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Alex Jonker