saddle sores

Hi All-
Have been lurking around this web site getting great info, and finally joined! Yea! Anywho, I have had two bike fittings, one at the bike shop where I bought my beautiful Ruby Expert, and one with a professional fitter from Portland last Friday. He is fully amazing, and put my seat down and put on a new stem. Riding less aggressively now until I get stronger, but there is still one problem... the dreaded saddle sores. I am on a Specialized lithia saddle,
have tried 4 different creams and 5 types of shorts. I pay close attention to my form, but still got the sores Saturday after a 40 mile ride. FYI, they are on both sides, where the legs meet the pelvis, right near the sits bones. Have tried 5 different saddles also. I am scheduled to ride STP in two weeks, and I am worried. Going back to Portland fitter, but would really appreciate any advice from people who have dealt w this.
Thanks a million

If you can figure it out, let me know. Traditional wisdom here will tell you that the saddles are too pear shaped and you need to go to a more t-shaped one. I have tried so many I have lost count (most recently the Specialized Jett - supposedly one of the most t-shaped - will be putting up for sale soon!) and have not found one yet that was comfortable for riding and did not chafe in the same place you described. I plan to keep looking - maybe the Turbomatic next. No kind of cream or powder helps either. In the meantime, since the area affected on me is not soft tissue or very close to soft tissue, I have used various types of bandaids (blister band aids, heavy duty sports strips, tegaderm) or liquid bandaid and just cover the areas up before a ride. It is always the same place on me. I take along extras just in case I need it. That is working for me as a stop gap until I can find a saddle that works. Good luck.

I know everybody has what works for them, but have you thought of trying a Brooks saddle? After a couple hundred miles, the leather starts to more or less become your saddle with your butt imprint right there for you to see. Other than the expected sore sit bones when I was first getting used to riding and breaking in the saddle, and now on only longer rides, I've had zero issues. I don't wear Chamois cream, though have recently become fond of Lady Anti-Monkey Butt Powder. I've been riding about 100-200 miles weekly since I got the saddle, and although the longest ride I've done so far is 52 miles, there's a reason these saddles are used by most everyone (okay, mostly men) for touring. It might be worth a shot. I got mine from Wallbike, and they have a 6-month return policy.

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Originally Posted by Grits

If you can figure it out, let me know. Traditional wisdom here will tell you that the saddles are too pear shaped and you need to go to a more t-shaped one. I have tried so many I have lost count (most recently the Specialized Jett - supposedly one of the most t-shaped - will be putting up for sale soon!) and have not found one yet that was comfortable for riding and did not chafe in the same place you described. I plan to keep looking - maybe the Turbomatic next. No kind of cream or powder helps either. In the meantime, since the area affected on me is not soft tissue or very close to soft tissue, I have used various types of bandaids (blister band aids, heavy duty sports strips, tegaderm) or liquid bandaid and just cover the areas up before a ride. It is always the same place on me. I take along extras just in case I need it. That is working for me as a stop gap until I can find a saddle that works. Good luck.

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Thanks for the input. The boils I just got were right where the sits bones are, so the seat might not be quite wide enough. Have you tried the Brooks saddles?

We might have completely different issues. Mine saddle doesn't cause boils. It is really chafing or sometimes almost a cut in the crease where my legs meet my glutes below my sit bones. I haven't tried a Brooks yet, but that might need to be the next step! Have you sat on the Specialized butt-o-meter to see what width is recommended? Plus there is a long thread on here about saddle selection and sizing. If you do a search on saddles you will find it.

Are you shaving the area? Some folks get ingrown hairs and chaffing from shaving and riding.

Have you tried the "glide" sort of products that runners use?

When you're done riding for the day, how do you treat the area? (I find if I have chaffing, neosporin cream seems to help a lot over night.)

The treatment I use is either an acne cream called "Differin" or a homeopathic cream recommended on another bike site called "Traumeel". The combo usually clears it up in about 3-5 days. The problem is, I want to ride MORE!!

Another thing to consider ... Are you wearing underwear with your biking shorts? If so the seam in the underwear may likely cause additional chafing so either go commando or use seamless underwear, such as boy shorts or whatever else you may find without seams.

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Originally Posted by kmehrzad

Another thing to consider ... Are you wearing underwear with your biking shorts? If so the seam in the underwear may likely cause additional chafing so either go commando or use seamless underwear, such as boy shorts or whatever else you may find without seams.

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Although many of the boy shorts I see (and the ones I have) have a big seam running up the middle of the crotch, which would not be cool for cycling. But maybe some brands are not made that way.

Another thing is to start every ride with a clean butt and clean shorts, if you're not doing that already. And change out of the shorts into clean, dry clothes as soon as possible after the ride. When I do rides that don't start at home, I bring a change of clothes and put them on as soon after the ride as possible, before driving home (or at the first gas station/fast food place I pass, if there's no restroom at the ride start).

I know this is a newbie question, but at what mile point/ time of ride do you need to apply a chamois cream? I'm building up my time on the bike and want to get to the point of long rides and, of course, I want to avoid the feared saddle sores.

Totally individual. The better your saddle and shorts fit you, the less you're likely to need. Chamois cream helps prevent chafing - which isn't necessarily the same thing as saddle sores. Sometimes chamois cream can clog pores and block air circulation and even contribute to saddle sores.

When you start to get a little bit of chafing, use it, before you get a lot of chafing. If you never do, consider yourself lucky and forget about it.

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Originally Posted by Rubylvr

... a homeopathic cream recommended on another bike site called "Traumeel".

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Traumeel is not supposed to be applied to broken skin! It's to heal bruises, sore muscles and joint pain, NOT for external damage.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Traumeel is not supposed to be applied to broken skin! It's to heal bruises, sore muscles and joint pain, NOT for external damage.

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It doesn't matter, there isn't enough of anything in it to do anything anyway.http://saveyourself.ca/articles/real...s/traumeel.php

Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but never mind the active ingredients, 22% ethanol doesn't seem like something I'd want to put on a sensitive area, nor does it seem like "nothing."

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but never mind the active ingredients, 22% ethanol doesn't seem like something I'd want to put on a sensitive area, nor does it seem like "nothing."

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I think that it is 13.8% alcohols of several different types. I don't think that is a big deal. But fair enough, knowing it has alcohol in it is information of value. Nevertheless, I wouldn't use it because there is no evidence that it has enough active ingredient of anything to matter.

I apply my chamois cream before I ride. For long rides I work it into my chamois as well as my skin, for short rides I don't worry about the chamois.

Guess I'm lucky, I don't have any issues but I also won't ride without the chamois cream.

A lot of the ultra riders that I know use an acne cream with a drying agent in it. I personally don't use any creams because I feel it makes things worse in the long run. I will however use bodyglide in areas for long rides. It seems to breath well and prevents friction sores just fine for me.

But as already mentioned a good saddle fit and shorts fit is the best solution but often hard to accomplish. I find that it's really important to find shorts that fit up in your crotch area and don't move around. So although it seems counter intuitive, a too thick chamois will make chafing worse for me because the fabric gets bunched up and doesn't fit close in to my crotch.

It's also really important that your saddle height is correct and you're not rocking too much on the saddle.