ok…i need some serious help with this…i’ve tried just about everything, and i still get the worse saddle sores ever…the one this past weekend actually broke the skin and is taking forever to heal…hurts SO bad to bike and is affecting my form.
I use chamois cream, that didn’t do anything, so i started using that + body glide. I haven’t applied it to the chamois yet, i might try that next time (saw lance do it on the chronicles). After my rides i use diaper rash cream on the rash/pimples type thing (which i get every ride )
i upgraded my shorts to an expensive bib short,and still nothing. am riding the azoto, which has tons of padding…so i’m not sure if that’s an issue.
Just a thought, but your young enough that perhaps the glands in your groin are cranking out big time oils and thats clogging your pores. Same glands that are in your armpits. (sebaceous?) Maybe a dr can get ya on an antibiotic, antiflam, etc…
Kevin, saddle, saddle, saddle. You don’t mention whether you’ve ridden different saddles, but saddles are not “one size fits all” even though no saddle company seems to make small, medium, and large sized saddles in the same model. (pet peeve) Seriously, you can do through a bunch of saddles until you find one that fits your anatomy properly. I’m short at 5’5" and (most of my) body parts are appropriately sized, so the tiniest of saddles fits me best. You want to have 90 some percent of your weight being borne by your two sit bones and not much else touching the saddle.
Saddle position can take FOREVER to work out to find the comfort spot. I ride a Selle Italia SLR (the tiny, painful looking one) and its by far the most comfy saddle I’ve been on. BUT it can be by far the most painful if its not set properly for me. When its set right, there are two high spots on the back of the saddle that contact my two “sit bones” - nothing else really supports any of my weight and 100 milers are as comfy as a couch. If I allow any of my other body parts to take some of the load, forget it…numbness…saddle sore, etc… A few millimeters of tilt can make all of the difference between riding on your sit bones and riding on your crotch (ouch).
I wouldn’t put much faith in Body Glide, chamois cream, etc… but a nice pair of shorts with minimal padding should keep you feeling fine when your seat fits your properly. I ride in DeSoto Tri shorts every day, and nothing else, they have a very thin pad but if the saddle is set properly I have no discomfort. Set it up wrong and I’m hurting. Too much padding underneath, I believe, tends to worsen the situation as everything bunches up, body heat retention is higher, etc…
As you can probably figure out, I’ve had lots of saddle sore issues in the past. I think yours is probably, like mine, related to saddle type and position, and not really your body.
Put your bike on a trainer and decide to have a session adjusting and riding till you find that spot, no matter how long it takes. You’ll know it when you find it.
How are you washing your shorts? I hand wash mine with an anti-bacterial soap while in the shower after every ride. Than hang dry them.
Your saddle position can have a huge effect on how your crotch rubs the saddle. Make absolutely sure your position is good. And turn the saddle a dgree or two to one side or the other. If you hang naturally to the left, turn your saddle to the right slightly.
And keep using the cream. It works. Try putting only a little bit on the area wear your getting the sores, instead of on the chamois itself.
Kepp trying different things until you find what works for you. This is a very individual area. Just as saddles are.
Good luck and hang in there. I was in your situation too, with huge boils under the skin and couldn’t get comfortable on the saddle in any position. Kept me off the bike some days.
Kevin,
Keep things clean. After washing your shorts make sure you really rinse them out well. I’ve had some reactions attributed to soap residue. After the shower I use those medicated acne pads. And before I ride I use an antibiotic ointment. Haven’t had a saddle sore problem in 12 years. Jeeze and the youth thing about raging hormones creating saddle sores… when does that go away? I’m 53. For my ride on Saturday (Seattle to Portland 1 Day 200 miles) I’m planning on changing shorts at the halfway point. Good luck.
Jay
ok…with saddle tilt, i would assume that a little bit downward will put me more on my ‘sit’ bones than my crotch so much? the azoto has a wierd shape to it, kind of up in the front and up in the back with a indent in the middle.
as for antibiotic creams, i’ve started putting triple action polysporin on after my rides, and every morning/night…it seems to have healed the ones that i had already
also…i just dropped my saddle another 2mm, i had dropped it previously when i noticed rocking and it helped…hopefully it helps again.
i’ll find out saturday if this works…i really really hope it does!
Maybe not. Sometimes dropping the nose of the saddle forces you to put more effort on your ass as you keep from sliding off of the saddle.
For me, the optimal position is to have the saddle about level, but move it forward or backward until the high points correspond with your sit bones.
You’ll notice that you can’t really ride with no hands when the saddle is nose down because of the need to scooch back on it continually. Tilt it level and you can climb with no hands. I find the tilted down nose causes other problems, fatigue in shoulders/arms/back, etc…
You don’t want to be sitting on your sit bones. Turn your saddle to the side just a little bit so that you can roll your hips forward (more) comfortably. If you can get a fitting done that would take the ambiguity out of your saddle height. Everyone I’ve ever known that had bad saddle sores also had their saddles too high.
I feel your pain Kevin. The inside of my left thigh looks like a plate of raw hamburger right now. I washed my new cycling shorts last week and a couple of days later did an hour on a stationary bike at the gym. I felt a little discomfort in the area during the ride but nothing too bad until I hit the shower…YEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW.
As a matter of fact my whole left leg is a freakin mess. I have a broken big toe, athlete’s foot next to the little toe which is driving me nuts with itch, a big freakin spider bite on my left hammy which I picked up while sitting in the bleachers at the Olympic Trials, and a swollen lymph node in my left groin…no doubt working overtime to pump out white blood cells to combat my myriad left leg ailments.
I haven’t been able to run or bike for 5 days. Lots of hydrocortizone cream and talc.
I’m going to try wearing a pair of spandex shorts under my cycling shorts to see if that works.
Bike shorts are the perfect bacteria growing spot during long rides, just about perfectly hot and humid. Add to that any skin lesion, rash or simply a vulnerable skin pore and you’re in for potential trouble. Here are a few simple rules that might help:
never, never wear bike shorts on two consecutive ride without a thorough wash
get rid of bike shorts immediately after the ride (don’t drive home or don’t even enjoy a cold one before changing into clean, loose fitting cotton undies)
only use quality cycling shorts and get rid of them once the ‘chamois’ is worn out
find a VERY comfortable saddle (not that easy, many expect that a sore butt is a normal thing after long rides but it’s not)
Hope this helps !
Francois in Montreal
I also regularly use Bag Balm for all rides over 2 hours. Much much cheaper than Chamois cream (10$ for a bucket that will last 6 months), as effective, and it has solved all rashes problems for me.
As mentioned by Schwingdng its where you sit on the saddle and how that particular saddle relates to your body parts! Like Schwinding I recently changed from Azoto to SLR b/c it was too wide and caused chafing on the inside of the thigh where it meets the groin area and this would cause sores over time. I raced IM with the Azoto and had it for 8 months, when I found the sweet spot on the saddle to cure the sores the rest of the bike did not feel right (particular the reach) A few weeks into the SLR and the chafing has gone, nothing else has changed -shorts, seat height and reach.
Until you heal wear a second pair of shorts inside out under your outer
layer, use chamois cream and this will elimainate some of the friction and discomfort
.
i am using a good quality short, and never wear the same shorts two rides in a row, and always wash my stuff before every ride.
no hair there either.
i may have to look into a different saddle…this is the only one that i’ve ever used. I DO find it comfortable when i’m riding aero, it’s the sitting up in the packs and stuff that makes it suck.
maybe the aspide might work.
speaking of that…anyone know what standard bike shop policy is in regards to trying out saddles? do i have to buy them first?
“I’m short at 5’5” and (most of my) body parts are appropriately sized, so the tiniest of saddles fits me best… ride a Selle Italia SLR (the tiny, painful looking one) and its by far the most comfy saddle I’ve been on."
I’m 5’11 and 178. I’m riding on a borrowed and injured SLR. The two little humps bother me a little, and I have to tilt it down a little, but my chafing is gone. I’m considering an arrione, too.
The big pad on the nose of the azoto is for riding in the aero position. If your riding in packs and not riding a tri-bike then a more classic saddle will likely work better. In the aero position, your rolled forward onto soft tissue and not on your sit bones too much. Also, I had my seat a little high (3mm) at first and if felt like I was riding on a piece of wood. It sounds like friction and not just clogged pores so your seat position or saddle type is a likely culprit.
)