Some "sensitive" questions for women cyclists, triathletes

Triathlon Forum
1

To all you pretty lady cylists and triathletes,

Allow me to tap your vast knowledge and experience with regard to the finer and “sensitive points” of cycling. After over a decade of watching me compete in triathlons and bike races, my wife has finally decided to enter the world of triathlons. She is a good swimmer and was national ranked decades ago and still sometimes still competes in open water races. She is also a decent enough runner and logs about 25 miles a week. She ran her first Marathon last year in New York City and got hooked so she registered for this year too and would like to run it every year if she could. So the logical step toward achieving multisport nirvana would be to start riding bikes and complete the trifecta. However, the last time she ever rode a bike was 15 years ago in the Venice Beach Boardwalk in LA on a beach cruiser that had a gel saddle wider than my living room couch. And she complained afterwards that her (pardon the term) lips hurt. (Feel free to protest my anatomical terms and do suggest to me whatever it is you prefer me to use.)

Last week, I bought a nice road frame and with my vast supply of bike parts orphaned from whimsical purchases in ebay, I was actually able to build her a bike last night. She is excited by the notion of riding but is concerned about the discomfort. Now when it comes to what men should know about cycling and triathlons, I can pretty much answer 99% of all questions but with feminine matters, I would be more clueless than a triathlete wearing his aero helmet backwards. So here goes:

  • I like wearing bibs as I can’t stand the shorts drawstring, but do you ladies wear bibs? I can’t imagine how you would but for reasons anatomical and for immediate restroom trips but how do you stand the drawstrings on shorts? Considering all these factors, what cycling shorts would you recommend, in terms of brand, model, etc.

  • Every male cyclist knows that he needs to go Commando underneath his shorts. (“Nothing comes in between me and my chamois.”) So do you women go commando as well? The term seems mascular and inappropriate so what is the feminine term for going commando? Amazona?

  • What ar the advantages and or disadavantages of being intimate with your chamois? For those that can’t stand the intimacy, is there any particular lingerie brand or model you would recommend that is cycling related?

  • For those that prefer the intimate option, any particular recommendations with regard to intimate chamois creams?

  • I don’t think I will ever find a saddle as wide as my couch but I would like to get her a saddle that feels as wide as my couch and still look as narrow as my Selle Italia Flight. Any recommendations as to models, shapes, gels, cutouts, cut-ins?

  • I would like to coach her as to the finer points of cycling comfort and eventually the question as to “where to sit” will arise. I tend to sit on the very nose of my TT saddle because the boys like to hang out in the front during time trials. They find the freedom… well liberating. However, in my road bike which has a narrower and firmer nose, they boys find the best place in the center of the saddle. Where do you women prefer the nether region to be placed: Front, Center or back? Is it pertinent to the saddle cutout? Does it make a difference if the saddle nose is point down slightly?

I would appreciate your candor in answering these questions but for the rather private responses, feel free to PM me your answers.

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2

post this in the wimmens forum

don’t coach your wife

don’t pick your wifes saddle. your wife picks your wifes saddle.

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Oh, I didn’t notice the womens forum. My bad. But it’s here already and there are women here so I won’t delete it in case I get good responses.

As far as coaching, I think I will be ok in that department with ove 30 years of racing and team managing under my bibs.

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4

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

As far as coaching, I think I will be ok in that department with ove 30 years of racing and team managing under my bibs.

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Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

As far as coaching, I think I will be ok in that department with ove 30 years of racing and team managing under my bibs.

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I have to agree with jackmott. Sounds like a really bad idea.

6

What I mean by “coaching my wife” is the very fundamental basic elementary matters of cycling like clipping on the pedal and tigthening a skewer and shifting. You know, stuff like that. But thanks Jack. I do understand your point as I tried teaching her to ski once and it was a total disaster. We got a ski instructor afterwards.

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X2 for what Jackmott said.

As for the saddle stuff, get her a fit at a place that has demo saddles. My wife went through at least two different saddles before finding one that was comfortable. It will be a very personal choice.

Fwiw, my wife goes commando and uses triple paste diaper cream (like I do) as a chamois cream.

8

I agree. Bad idea. Your wife should get on here and post in the womens. Plus there are several threads already on these subjects that she can check out.

9

I love bibs as do all my teammates. my favorite bibs are my capo bibs.
ABSOLUTELY COMMANDO
LOTS of lube on the girlie bits - I like Hoo Ha Ride Glide - totally awesome stuff, but so is assos.
saddle - well I took some time to find the right one - just like boys we girls have differences. My favorite is the one that came on my specialized sworks ruby pro - not much to it.
on the TT bike I use a Terry saddle - my LBS at the time worked with me to allow me to try different ones until I was comfy.

I cannot emphasize the lube enough

10

What I mean by “coaching my wife” is the very fundamental basic elementary matters of cycling like clipping on the pedal and tigthening a skewer and shifting. You know, stuff like that. But thanks Jack. I do understand your point as I tried teaching her to ski once and it was a total disaster. We got a ski instructor afterwards.

If she wrecks, DO NOT go for her bike first!! Pick her up first and then the equipment. I had a buddy do that when “coached” his wife and they are now divorced. Hey, they divorced over other stuff, but still…

11

Ahh… Wifes and sports… Sigh!

My wife is (was) a 3:05 marathon runner, qualified for Boston countless times, and gets an automatic bid to NYC every year. Suddenly she wanted to do triathlons with me. What I learned (she was 49 when this started):

Let her pick the bike. She didn’t want the expensive one, she wanted the girly one.

Let her pick the saddle. You might get lucky, but there is a good chance that you will spend a lot of money and sell several saddles on ebay before she is happy. My wife is happy with the Specialized Ruby Women’s. Even though she is little she needed a 155 saddle.

Do not try to teach her to swim. That is a marriage breaker. I am sure I could have admitted to cheating and got less grief than what I got in the pool trying to correct her position. Just buy swim lessons and leave her alone.

Wetsuits - See bikes above. She wanted the pink and baby blue one.

Don’t pick a race that doesn’t have a race for her (skill/training/ability). If you sign up for a HIM and there is no olympic or sprint she will try to jump in the HIM. It will be tough to talk her out of it. Then you get to hear her whine the whole way home about her performance and how bad it was and how you should have stopped her… blah…blah…blah.

12

What I mean by “coaching my wife” is the very fundamental basic elementary matters of cycling like clipping on the pedal and tigthening a skewer and shifting. You know, stuff like that. But thanks Jack. I do understand your point as I tried teaching her to ski once and it was a total disaster. We got a ski instructor afterwards.

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Just don’t get mad when she ignores every single thing you tell her. But will listen to every single thing she reads on Active.com’s spam e-mails.

I’ve coached people and had very good success with it. I could get them to run through a brick wall. I put workouts on their schedule and said let’s see you do that one, and they did.

I can’t get my wife to not stop her Garmin at every stop sign (and not just Auto Pause, I mean stop it) even when I tell her I want to see a total elapsed time on the ride.

We did an organized century ride last weekend. She wanted to use her race wheels, 650 tubulars. I told her not to do that and that it was a very bad idea since if she had trouble I know there will be no one out there that has a 650 tubular. She has a flat. Has it almost changed. Sag guy comes by and says, here let me finish. Followed by, “Oh shit” as he snapped the valve stem off trying to blow it up in a HED 3 wheel. Of course, no one has a 650 tubular and she only had one spare. So her century was a quarter century.

I was hoping she would listen to me after that. The next day she was doing her long ride to make up for the one she just missed. She hands me her Garmin and says, “There’s 5 miles missing in there because I forgot to restart it when I stopped to check my tires.” ARRRRGGGGHHHH.

13

My n=1 experience with my wife is that she A) prefers bibs to shorts, B) doesn’t wear anything under her bibs. They also make some female-specific chamois creams (Hooha for one). We personally think its just a scent thing (Hooha smells like lavender), but that’s just our experience.

Have her look at Terry saddles–they’re made for women. Specialized also has some BG-woman saddles which are also designed for female anatomy.

I’d say you’re in for a great time. My wife got into triathlon last year after watching me for a year, and it’s a lot of fun to train together. Good luck to her!

14

Ahh… Wifes and sports… Sigh!

My wife is (was) a 3:05 marathon runner, qualified for Boston countless times, and gets an automatic bid to NYC every year. Suddenly she wanted to do triathlons with me. What I learned (she was 49 when this started):

Let her pick the bike. She didn’t want the expensive one, she wanted the girly one.

Let her pick the saddle. You might get lucky, but there is a good chance that you will spend a lot of money and sell several saddles on ebay before she is happy. My wife is happy with the Specialized Ruby Women’s. Even though she is little she needed a 155 saddle.

Do not try to teach her to swim. That is a marriage breaker. I am sure I could have admitted to cheating and got less grief than what I got in the pool trying to correct her position. Just buy swim lessons and leave her alone.

Wetsuits - See bikes above. She wanted the pink and baby blue one.

Don’t pick a race that doesn’t have a race for her (skill/training/ability). If you sign up for a HIM and there is no olympic or sprint she will try to jump in the HIM. It will be tough to talk her out of it. Then you get to hear her whine the whole way home about her performance and how bad it was and how you should have stopped her… blah…blah…blah.

Well the bike is already here and thank goodness she likes the colors. Bought it really cheap. I may have to invest in saddles (oh boy) but I’d like to start with a range of saddles that ST women here already prefer. (Like what Triigggirl recommends). I don’t need to coach her in swimming as she is better than me in that department having raced in the ASIAN Games and the SouthEast Asian Games multiple times. We haven’t decided on racing just yet - and would like to start on training first. In fact, I don’t intend for her to ride outside. We’ll start with the trainer so she gets used to the saddle.

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15

don’t pick your wifes saddle. your wife picks your wifes saddle.

^^ this. she’ll probably be happier with one that has a cutout, though - almost all women are (terry butterfly, selle italia lady/diva gel flow, cobb v-flow plus or max).

wider doesn’t necessarily mean more comfortable, either - look at all of the complaints about the adamo being too wide. while women tend to have wider hips, that doesn’t mean their sit bones are further apart, and women tend to carry more fat at the top of the thighs which can cause chafing with wide saddles.

have her try a bunch of saddles, then pick the one that feels best for her. the saddle will dictate her positioning on it.

i wear bibs. washroom stops aren’t that big a deal unless you’re unable to dress yourself in the first place. full-zip jerseys do help, though.

no underwear under bike shorts of any kind. ever.

chamois cream is personal preference. if she feels better about it, “hoo ha ride glide” is made for women, as is DZ nutz bliss. i have no personal experience with either one.

agree with jackmott that you’d get more responses in the womens.

cheers!

-mistress k

16

I love bibs as do all my teammates. my favorite bibs are my capo bibs.
ABSOLUTELY COMMANDO
LOTS of lube on the girlie bits - I like Hoo Ha Ride Glide - totally awesome stuff, but so is assos.
saddle - well I took some time to find the right one - just like boys we girls have differences. My favorite is the one that came on my specialized sworks ruby pro - not much to it.
on the TT bike I use a Terry saddle - my LBS at the time worked with me to allow me to try different ones until I was comfy.

I cannot emphasize the lube enough

Hi TriGirrrrl,

Appreciate and note all your good points. Your Capo bibs are women specific? I like my Capo bibs too - more for the chamois. My assos cream gives me a tingling sensation (at least for the first minute). I don’t know how she would react to that. Well, there’s only one way to find out.

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17

OK, to the womens forum this goes.

Boys, feel free to send me your commentary.

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18

Not much to add. Bibs are wonderful. I like Voler’s – long-lasting, relatively inexpensive, nice chamois. I use Assos Chamois cream.

As for saddles, I have an SLR on my road bike and like the same saddle for sprints. Never liked Terry saddles much, trying a Cobb saddle now. Liked the Arione road saddle ok (SLR is MUCH better) but hated the tri saddle.

Like most, I learned a lot by trial and error. Your wife probably will, too!

19

I love bibs as do all my teammates. my favorite bibs are my capo bibs.
ABSOLUTELY COMMANDO
LOTS of lube on the girlie bits - I like Hoo Ha Ride Glide - totally awesome stuff, but so is assos.
saddle - well I took some time to find the right one - just like boys we girls have differences. My favorite is the one that came on my specialized sworks ruby pro - not much to it.
on the TT bike I use a Terry saddle - my LBS at the time worked with me to allow me to try different ones until I was comfy.

I cannot emphasize the lube enough

Hi TriGirrrrl,

Appreciate and note all your good points. Your Capo bibs are women specific? I like my Capo bibs too - more for the chamois. My assos cream gives me a tingling sensation (at least for the first minute). I don’t know how she would react to that. Well, there’s only one way to find out.

.

Hoo Ha Ride Glide tingles more than assos…
my capo bibs are men’s bibs and more comfy than my team’s women specific by champsys by a LONG shot.

20

And she complained afterwards that her (pardon the term) lips hurt. (Feel free to protest my anatomical terms and do suggest to me whatever it is you prefer me to use.)

Lips is what I would say. Although, I suppose one could also use the term “sleeve of wizard,” were it appropriate (although I hope, for your sake, it is not.)

*I like wearing bibs as I can’t stand the shorts drawstring, but do you ladies wear bibs? I can’t imagine how you would but for reasons anatomical and for immediate restroom trips but how do you stand the drawstrings on shorts? Considering all these factors, what cycling shorts would you recommend, in terms of brand, model, etc. *

None of my shorts has a drawstring (cycling shorts, I mean. I think my tri shorts do have a drawstring, but it’s inobtrusive and I have never noticed it until just now). Many ladies DO wear bibs. I am not one of them, as I dislike the fit of them. My preferred shorts are Pearl Izumi Sugar Short Shorts. I have maybe 4-5 pairs. I like the shorter (4, 5, 6 inch) inseam type shorts, and PIs A) run fairly true to size and B) fit me well. I have other shorts that I wear, but those are my favorites.

*So do you women go commando as well? The term seems mascular and inappropriate so what is the feminine term for going commando? Amazona? *

Yes. And Commando.

*What ar the advantages and or disadavantages of being intimate with your chamois? For those that can’t stand the intimacy, is there any particular lingerie brand or model you would recommend that is cycling related? *

“Being intimate with my chamois”?? Is that like rubbing one out with my pants, instead of with a battery-powered device or partner of my choosing? If you mean going commando again, there are no disadvantages. Don’t wear underwear.

For those that prefer the intimate option, any particular recommendations with regard to intimate chamois creams?

I don’t use anything for shorter rides. For longer rides, bodyglide and occasionally diaper rash creme.

*I don’t think I will ever find a saddle as wide as my couch but I would like to get her a saddle that feels as wide as my couch and still look as narrow as my Selle Italia Flight. Any recommendations as to models, shapes, gels, cutouts, cut-ins? *

Every man (and woman)'s junk is an island, dude. You’ve got to pick your own saddle. You know that as well as anyone. Just because she’s a chick and I am a chick and other chicks are chicks, it doesn’t mean our hoopters are all the same. That being said, “wide as a couch”=never a term that should apply to a saddle (or used anywhere in the same paragraph as your wife, really, for any reason). And I have a Specialized Tri Tip on my TT bike, A Specialized BG comp on both my MTBs, and a Terry Damselfly on my road bike. I like all of them, but on their respective bikes. So…it varies.

I would like to coach her as to the finer points of cycling comfort and eventually the question as to “where to sit” will arise. I tend to sit on the very nose of my TT saddle because the boys like to hang out in the front during time trials. They find the freedom… well liberating. However, in my road bike which has a narrower and firmer nose, they boys find the best place in the center of the saddle. Where do you women prefer the nether region to be placed: Front, Center or back? Is it pertinent to the saddle cutout? Does it make a difference if the saddle nose is point down slightly?

Again, personal preference. But really, unlike you dudes, we can’t move our business out of the way. What part/area I am sitting on depends on which bike and what position. That stuff is stuff that needs to be worked out by oneself. I ride on the very far back on my MTB, in the middle on my road, and in the front on my tri bike. It varies, as you can see.

*I would appreciate your candor in answering these questions but for the rather private responses, feel free to PM me your answers. *

Why on earth would this be private information? I’m not Brett Favre-ing pictures or anything here. I’m okay with talking about in public what I wear to ride my bike and how that relates to a part of my anatomy that half the world also has. :wink: