Cycling UK Forum

im thinking about cycling 1200km from Montpellier to Calais in August. I am female and going to cycling with 3 pairs of padded shorts, to alternate..etc, but ive been reading about "cream" i might need to 'apply'.....im thinking of taking plenty of cotton garments and would be grateful if someone could tell me why I should do 'buttock' cream

in all the 100s of miles ive ridden, ive never had an issue..

can anyone supply any advice?

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Plug over!

It really is a fantastic - can't really advice on creams and unctions .... I wore padded shorts AND padded undershorts and sat on Specialized Body Geometry saddle - my colleague (I'm told) had just the padded shorts and sat on a Brooks B17 (not sure about creams, may be as a pharmacist he had some magic potions )

Rob

I thought the cream was used if you still used shorts with chamois inserts in them, the modern
man made ones didnt need it. Just keep every thing really clean and make sure youve washed
every trace of the washing powder out.

RM

I have used creams on tour but found them messy to use then I came across this its a skin care oil called crotch guard there are at www.crotchguard.com it comes in a spray bottle and is easy to use.

eumenides wrote:in all the 100s of miles ive ridden, ive never had an issue..

can anyone supply any advice?

Like you, I have never had an issue, nor I have I worn padded shorts.
Some people seem to need these magic potions, perhaps you and I are just lucky.

Unpadded shorts, Brooks saddle. I've toured all my adult life, most recent being 830 miles home from N Scotland and never needed or considered using creams etc.

Always worth taking along a small tub of vaseline, just in case. It's a lot cheaper than specialist creams and just as effective for chafing.

Depends on the person. I have done some fairly hard long rides such as PBP and never needed anything and generally nver get problems. I know of others who would not leave home without specialist "creams". Scuse the expression but depends whether you have a hard ass

Why 3 prs shorts? 2 is a maximum. One on/one off can always bungee it to your panniers to dry off if necessary. Germolene cream is good but the best prevention is to ride consistently before you go so ypu're used to sitting in the saddle.

If you've never had any problems and never used chammy creams, there's no need to set off expecting to use them. That said, riding all day for a couple of weeks is a bit different to just a couple of long weekend rides, than a period of recovery before the next ride. I sometimes put a film tub of sudocrem in my touring first aid kit. I've never needed it myself, but have donated it to companions on a couple of tours. You only need enough to last a couple of days so you can find a chemist or whatever without going too far off route.
(as an aside, what do people use in place of film tubs now cameras are all digital?)

borisface wrote:Why 3 prs shorts? 2 is a maximum.

It depends on how sure you are that you'll get them decently dry before wearing time comes round again.
(not normally a problem in France, but you could get unlucky)