Pressure sore?

[Cyclespirit77]

Quick question for the more experienced.
I have an issue every time I get back on the bike. I get a pressure sore in the same place all the time. this is despite using different bikes/saddles.

It is right on the skin where my sit bone is and only takes a short couple of rides for me to start feeling it.

I end up taking time off the bike but then, reluctantly, don't get back on again after a while as I don't want it to flare up again.

Am I being silly and should I persist a bit more and do more cycling?
Will the skin get tougher if I'm sensible about when I cycle?

Cheers

[robing]

I had this problem on a recent cycle tour and started wearing 2 pairs of cycling shorts. It worked!

[NUKe]

We need a bit more information are you wearing cycling shorts, have tried chamiox cream(NOT Sure I spelt that right). Is your saddle set at the right height. The shorts would be my first thought.

[Cyclespirit77]

Hi. All set up correctly. Saddle height, fore/aft. Tilt. Saddle is a Fizik Antares.
I wear Specialized RBX comp bib shorts. Not the most expensive but have been looking at other options lately. I do use Cham cream and this does help but the sore/pimple keeps on coming back and always in the same place, always on the right side. Left side is fine, never get any issues. Feel like the left side could do 1000 miles with no trouble but as soon as I've done 10 miles on the right, it's irritated.

Time off the bike always helps and I've started putting tea-tree oil on the affected area. This seems to be helping.

It would be nice to be able to just go out on my bike with no worries but this is ruining it all.

Indecently, up until about 2 years ago I didn't wear shorts with a pad. I had quite a hard saddle, wore normal hipster style boxers with leggings. Never had a problem!! Don't think I'd get away with that now though

I have also been doing less cycling. This is why I thought, is it that I'm just not used to it and need to toughen up the skin over my sit bones!?!?!

[Paulatic]

Indecently, up until about 2 years ago I didn't wear shorts with a pad. I had quite a hard saddle, wore normal hipster style boxers with leggings. Never had a problem!! Don't think I'd get away with that now though

Why not? I’d of thought there is no harm in trying. I gave up padded shorts 2yrs ago with no ill effect yet upto 60ml rides.
TeaTree oil is good. I use a few drops of it mixed into Almond oil which will nourish the skin better

[Vorpal]

See a GP next time you have a flare up. It might be an ingrown hair, or something in your skin pores that is getting irritated/infected.

[mjr]

Hi. All set up correctly. Saddle height, fore/aft. Tilt. Saddle is a Fizik Antares.

Did you arrive on that after a Fizik dealer's saddle fitting and test? It looks like that saddle is available in 142mm and 152mm widths, so are your sit bones are either about 110 or 120mm apart (respectively)? It also looks very table and T-shaped to me, so do you have a definite fold form while cycling where the back of your thigh meets your bum? Finally, the promotional photos on Fizik's site show it with the nose distinctly downwards - is that how you're using it?

I do use Cham cream and this does help but the sore/pimple keeps on coming back and always in the same place, always on the right side. Left side is fine, never get any issues. Feel like the left side could do 1000 miles with no trouble but as soon as I've done 10 miles on the right, it's irritated.

I assume you've checked whether the saddle/seatpost is straight on the bike!

Some feels that chamois cream traps sweat and any nasties against the skin for longer, defeating the ability of clothes to wick it away and giving it more time to damage the skin. Tea-tree oil also makes me wondering if that's what you're dealing with.

I agree with Vorpal:

See a GP next time you have a flare up. It might be an ingrown hair, or something in your skin pores that is getting irritated/infected.

Baring your bum may not be your favourite past time (it seems to be for some young drinkers...) but it's unlikely to be anything they've not seen before.

Indecently, up until about 2 years ago I didn't wear shorts with a pad. I had quite a hard saddle, wore normal hipster style boxers with leggings. Never had a problem!! Don't think I'd get away with that now though

I have also been doing less cycling. This is why I thought, is it that I'm just not used to it and need to toughen up the skin over my sit bones!?!?!

Grrrr. I feel there are far too many sadists online saying such things to people suffering problems. I was having such trouble and then realised that I rode moderate distances and rode every day when I was younger, on a 1980s mixed-gel-densities "anatomic" saddle (which was actually shaped like a saddle point, not the modern fashion for tables) and solved my problems by giving up on padded clothes (and especially their irritating fabrics and seams in awful places) and picking saddles with the right shapes and right mix of padding in the right places for me - firmer where it supports sit bones, softer and/or lower to support softer bits.

[NUKe]

IS this an actual abrasion or is it just painful
1. it could be as Vorpul pointed out something not cycling related. But you could try chamois cream to relieve and stop the abrasion.
2. if its painful but no abrasion it will be a padding/ saddle shape issue.

padding in shorts degrades all the time and all padding is not equal. make sure the shorts are a good fit. if they have become loose the padding may not be in the appropriate places.

required Saddle Shape on bike position. if you ride a fairly aggressive race bike then that requires a very narrow saddle because the hips tilt forward. A more upright position say of a touring machine the hips are not as tilted so the sit bones are wider apart.

[Audax67]

Are your legs the same length? Mine aren't, and I regularly martyred my left sitbone* until I got a supple leather saddle. Plastic saddles (Fitzik, Selle Italia, SMP and their ilk) were instruments of torture, likewise hard Brooks. The difference, BTW, isn't that appreciable: only 11 mm. I didn't realize it was there until a radiologist pointed it out.

* in the Calendar as St. Ramus of Ischium**

** lie

[BarryS]

Anecdotes shared on a forum do not equal diagnosis.
On the advice of my local pharmacist, if the problem is persistent see the doc ( I went with just the same today)