Chafing

ethelred

Ah yes, kind of a delicate subject that I can't exactly ask my non-cycling friends about... I've been spending a lot of time on my road bike this spring (just bought it last September) and although the seat feels comfortable and I had an expert "fitting" when I purchased it, I have a little raw spot in a place where the sun doesn't shine. Not a saddle sore, which I haven't had, but understand they're more like pimples... this is just a tiny spot where the skin rubbed raw, and really hurts.

Anyone else have this problem? Are there ointments or something I can put on it to help it heal? (I realize time is probably the best remedy, but hate to miss out on rides until it heals.) Also, are there ways to prevent this from happening?

I'm in the U.S., if that makes a difference as far as over-the-counter remedies.

Thanks for your help! (Even my husband didn't want to discuss this with me, and he's a marathon runner who has his own chafing issues!)

matagi

Ok, here goes .....

I am assuming that you are wearing proper cycling knicks and not wearing underwear with them. If that is not the case, then you need to buy yourself a pair of good quality knicks and lose the underwear.

Then you need to make sure that firstly your knicks fit properly ie. without excessive bunching and secondly that there are no high points in the stitching on the chamois. Either of these have the potential to create a "high spot" which will rub in the wrong place and cause chafe.

The next thing you need is a barrier on the skin - my preference (because I'm cheap ) is to use a zinc and castor oil diaper rash cream. You can even apply it to your chamois if needed. Although I should point out that you will need to wash your knicks in warm water to remove the stuff.

To help the chafe point heal a little quicker, I'd suggest applying some triple antibiotic ointment (which you lucky people can buy over-the-counter, unlike us poor unfortunates down here in Australia)

ethelred

Thanks for your response! Yes, I have proper cycling shorts and don't wear them with underwear, so all is good there. I'll check the stitching to see if there's anything that's sticking out and potentially rubbing.

I'll try the diaper cream remedy... come to think of it, I may have heard that idea before but didn't think about it until I read your response. So is it going to be OK to wash the shorts in warm water when their label says cold? I've been washing them in cold and hanging to dry, just to be safe, since they're so friggin expensive.

Thanks again for helping a newbie! I really appreciate it, and so do my bits. :-)

matagi

Yes it should be fine - I wash all my cycling gear in warm water, in the washing machine on a gentle cycle, then I hang them out to dry.

Aussie Steve

I washed my knicks once in warm water by accident- they stretched! so I have been super careful since then, to only use cold water. One thing I do, is put the knicks in an underwear bag- the mesh kind- only costs a few dollars, and prevents other clothes from wrapping around the knicks and stretching 'em. Dont like the idea of a jersey or shirt getting tangled in the knicks- with the centrifugal force added as well, knicks could get stretched to the max...

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I have never had a problem with Premature Ejac... it's my partners that had the problem

matagi

Yes, I probably should have added that I have a very high tech European front loader (Asko brand) with a delicates cycle, which I use for washing my cycling gear (water temperature set to 40C/100F) and I haven't had a problem.

A top-loader on the other hand can cause problems if your clothes wrap themselves around the agitator.

C'dale Girl

If you don't want to mess with the home remedy, as a preventative measure Nashbar sells a chamois cream. Can't think of the name but I love it for longer rides. It's in a white bottle, that very simply has some black writing on it, with a pretty simple name too. I'll check at home later and post the name. It goes on very clean and you don't have to worry about it not coming out or being tough to get out. And a little bit goes a long way, just rubbing some into the chamois before heading out for the ride.

Interesting about the shorts though. I've always washed my on warm, normal cycle and they do fine. Something about washing any workout clothes in cold . . . in my mind I prefer warm if at all possible because I think that gets them cleaner, so that's just what I've always done.

I've never had any problems with them stretching or wrapping around anything. I don't even use a lingerie bag. I just throw them in. Now watch. Now that I've seen Steve's post, I'll be doomed and they'll get ruined.