Chamois cream help!!

[Moogiebug]

Hi ladies (or anyone!)

Sorry if this is a bit graphic sounding (or requiring graphic answers ) but I am very new to cycling & very sensitive in my lady parts

Can anyone tell me….. where is it ‘safe & ok’ to put chamois cream ‘down there’…?! I get soreness from pressure/rubbing on my ‘outer bits where the fur grows’ (I’m sorry for the description!) Can I put it there? I’ve always been a sudocreme fan but not sure it will be any good! I’ve got cream designed for women but don’t want to upset things!

And also kind of back, almost between the buttocks…. (Oh, this is a lovely topic!)

Currently I have a saddle which does not work for me so hopefully my new one will be better & will help too!!

Also, whilst I’m asking personal questions! Ladies…. To remove the ‘fur down there’ or to leave it?! Any difference for cycling?!

Thankyou! And apologies!!

[rjb]

a search on the forum throws up several helplines. Theres more if you use the search facility top right above,
viewtopic.php?p=1852299&hilit=chamois+cream#p1852299

[BlackRat]

I (a man) always used to use chamois cream and still have a tube of the stuff laying around, but in the past few years haven't found the need for it - don't know why. But after a ride I smear aloe vera along my groins and that eases any discomfort that may have arisen.

[531colin]

Another bloke here.
Read this https://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2011/04 ... ddles.html
Also, read my DIY bike fit piece linked below.
The importance of saddle position can't be overstated.....thats not just height, its fore and aft as well as tilt.

[BlackRat]

"The importance of saddle position can't be overstated.....thats not just height, its fore and aft as well as tilt."
Agreed, and I am somewhat surprised when I see photos of other forum members' bikes where the saddle is much higher than the bars. My saddle is about level with the handlebars and cannot imagine how uncomfortable it must be to have the front of the saddle pressing into the - ahem - front part of the crotch.

[531colin]

"The importance of saddle position can't be overstated.....thats not just height, its fore and aft as well as tilt."
Agreed, and I am somewhat surprised when I see photos of other forum members' bikes where the saddle is much higher than the bars. My saddle is about level with the handlebars and cannot imagine how uncomfortable it must be to have the front of the saddle pressing into the - ahem - front part of the crotch.

foot level on bottom pedal by 531colin, on Flickr

I'm a "saddle and bars about level" sort of bloke too.
.....but just look at the picture above....if my arms were longer, or my bars further back, or I bent my back more, I could have my bars lower than that without changing the angle of my pelvis on the saddle.

[mattheus]

Can anyone tell me….. where is it ‘safe & ok’ to put chamois cream ‘down there’…?! I get soreness from pressure/rubbing on my ‘outer bits where the fur grows’ (I’m sorry for the description!) Can I put it there? I’ve always been a sudocreme fan but not sure it will be any good! I’ve got cream designed for women but don’t want to upset things!

And also kind of back, almost between the buttocks…. (Oh, this is a lovely topic!)

Currently I have a saddle which does not work for me so hopefully my new one will be better & will help too!!

Also, whilst I’m asking personal questions! Ladies…. To remove the ‘fur down there’ or to leave it?! Any difference for cycling?!

I hope it's ok to answer this, after a respectful pause for Ladies to respond ...

There is a very good book (covering many cycling health issues) by an ex-BC doctor. (Sadly he's no longer in post due to some ... "admin errors" around lotions and potions for the TdeF squad .. but you can read about that elsewhere.)

Anyway, before all that palaver he was involved with helping the women olympians stay comfortable on the bike. Amongst other things, they recommend not cutting hair really short, as this increases irritation/rashes in "saddle contact" areas. A trim/tidy-up is fine, according to taste/fashion

I'm fairly sure they recommended creams (sudocreme is one of many effective stuffs); I can't see any reason they should be less effective for womens contact areas than for mens! My personal recommendation is that sudocreme is by far the best thing UNLESS you can still find some Conotrane (which sadly went out of production). Specialist cycling creams are megabucks on a per-kg basis, and don't seem to do anything extra.

[awavey]

There is a very good book (covering many cycling health issues) by an ex-BC doctor. (Sadly he's no longer in post due to some ... "admin errors" around lotions and potions for the TdeF squad .. but you can read about that elsewhere.)

Anyway, before all that palaver he was involved with helping the women olympians stay comfortable on the bike.

given some of those Olympians eventually had to goto other doctors outside of BC, to sort out the intense pain they were in, theyd been conditioned to believe was normal.

I dont rate his ability that highly in that department

[awavey]

I remember years back trying to delicately ask a seasoned old club rider who was never embarrassed about anything you asked him, where to put the stuff, and his take was simply if its chafing, put it there.

gynos tend to recommend sudocrem, probably because they dont ride bikes that much. but I think the female specific chamois creams are supposedly lower in ph than the mens types, so there is a difference, its not just marketing or pricing thing for once,and so are kinder to those more sensitive parts, front or backside.

of course bearing in mind you shouldnt be chafing on your front, because pressure point on the front means you are rotated forward and your body weight is pushing the sensitive parts to rest on the saddle nose, where as you want to be sat on your sit bones in your rear, saddle cut outs can help alleviate some of that pressure, but you might want to check saddle heights, reach to bars, saddle position, angle etc first. Even kit choice try some with different or specific women pads, as the front pad can often be wider than is required, so its not just about creams.

and no dont trim, no brazilian waxing, the hair does a similar job to the creams essentially as it reduces friction in the contact point rather than friction on your skin.

[mattheus]

There is a very good book (covering many cycling health issues) by an ex-BC doctor. (Sadly he's no longer in post due to some ... "admin errors" around lotions and potions for the TdeF squad .. but you can read about that elsewhere.)

Anyway, before all that palaver he was involved with helping the women olympians stay comfortable on the bike.

given some of those Olympians eventually had to goto other doctors outside of BC, to sort out the intense pain they were in, theyd been conditioned to believe was normal.

I dont rate his ability that highly in that department

The version of events I recall is that his team were solving that exact issue i.e.

theyd been conditioned to believe [pain] was normal

If you have evidence/citation to the contrary, I stand to be corrected.

[awavey]

The version of events I recall is that his team were solving that exact issue i.e.

theyd been conditioned to believe [pain] was normal

If you have evidence/citation to the contrary, I stand to be corrected.

Hannah Dines, says her problems started in 2014, and mentions other cyclists at BC she swapped similar experiences with
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/para ... sts-411689
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... e-cyclists

Laura Kenny talks about some of it here also mentions 2016.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/8763286167071783

and then this was also from 2016 where all 18 women on the squad reported issues when they were surveyed
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/ ... ore-medals

and whilst it mentions a certain Dr by name in that, only time his name comes up in these sources,I dont believe he was as closely involved in that by then as it might have seemed at the time, but fine I cant prove that directly to the contrary.

but Im sure in Laura Kennys book as she covers the topic, she credits it was Phil Burt, who put together the team to fix the saddle & chamois kit issues, like none of them had ever heard of a proper bike fit before then either.

regardless it was 2016, not 1916, or 2011 and it even mentions Vicky P suffered similar problems in the Guardian article, Im sure others did too but Vicky is the only one on record to have reported them in 2012, why did it take another 4 years, and the whole squad to basically revolt before anything was done about it.

And these werent sudden revelations and a brand new piece of medical science BC discovered in 2016, they were issues that were well known about within womens cycling at least for years beforehand, and it was just ignored as one of those things the women had to put up with, cycling is "meant" to be painful,and lots of women pro cyclists had to have corrective surgery post career as a result listening to dumb advice like that.

I also think it was pretty bad Barkers endometriosis wasnt diagnosed properly for years too, if one of your top talent riders is telling you she's in so much pain she cant even stand up sometimes, you might want to pay more attention to get that checked out.

[mattheus]

The version of events I recall is that his team were solving that exact issue i.e.

theyd been conditioned to believe [pain] was normal

<snip>
and then this was also from 2016 where all 18 women on the squad reported issues when they were surveyed
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/ ... ore-medals

Good link, thanks.
Interesting that they recommended a cheap cream for the riders:
" They were also issued with Doublebase gel, a cheap over-the-counter moisturiser containing liquid paraffin, to treat any tender spots and to apply ahead of rides instead of chamois cream. In addition they were given Dermol 500, an antibacterial shower gel that can be used as a soap substitute."
.. so no need for expensive female-specific chamois creams.

(reading your link has jogged my memory - Dermol500 is recommended in Doc F***man's book )

I also think it was pretty bad Barkers endometriosis wasnt diagnosed properly for years too, if one of your top talent riders is telling you she's in so much pain she cant even stand up sometimes, you might want to pay more attention to get that checked out.

Yes, that's very sad. I know it's a much under-diagnosed and under-estimated condition across the population.
I didn't know about it until I was <mumble> decades old, when a female cycling friend told me about her problems. (it's amazing what subjects people are willing to talk about on a dawn-to-dusk bike ride)

[Nicholas]

Hi ladies (or anyone!)

Can anyone tell me….. where is it ‘safe & ok’ to put chamois cream ‘down there’…?! I get soreness from pressure/rubbing on my ‘outer bits where the fur grows’ (I’m sorry for the description!) Can I put it there? I’ve always been a sudocreme fan but not sure it will be any good! I’ve got cream designed for women but don’t want to upset things!

And also kind of back, almost between the buttocks…. (Oh, this is a lovely topic!)

Also, whilst I’m asking personal questions! Ladies…. To remove the ‘fur down there’ or to leave it?! Any difference for cycling?!

Thankyou! And apologies!!

I won't attempt to answer your questions OP, but if you seek out Katie Kookaburra on YouTube, she has made videos which cover the things you're asking.

And I hear that Assos do a very good chamois cream designed for ladies.

Good luck!

[freeflow]

Sudocreme is lanolin based and also contains zinc oxide. The zinc oxide can lead to white patches on the outside of appare during use. For this reason I'd recommend using Conotrane cream, which is silicone based and does not contain zinc oxide.

It's also worth noting that sudocreme is an ointment whereas Conotrane is a cream ( continuous phase of oil Vs water)

[mattheus]

Sudocreme is lanolin based and also contains zinc oxide. The zinc oxide can lead to white patches on the outside of appare during use. For this reason I'd recommend using Conotrane cream, which is silicone based and does not contain zinc oxide.

It's also worth noting that sudocreme is an ointment whereas Conotrane is a cream ( continuous phase of oil Vs water)

Where are you getting your Conotrane from? They ceased production a few years ago (think it was because the owners bought up the Sudocrem brand IIRC? - or vice versa!).

I was happy to move to Conotrane (when I found out about it - thankyou Tim Wainwright RIP) for various minor convenience issues (like it seems to stick to your fingers much less), but didn't find it notably more "effective" than Sudocrem.