Random product I had on hand that works VERY well, is Blemish spot treatment/serums… Intended for acne spots/pimples haha. The brand Ive found best is Murad, its strong with 2% Salicylic Acid, but it does the job quickly and does reduce the inflammation/swelling.
One of those stinking hot summers, a big ride week and getting rather desperate for some relief. Summer is typically only time I ever get really irritated skin. Anyway, I didn’t have any chamois creme or could buy nearby. So gave the blemish serum a go, and felt almost 100 bucks the following day.
I had to do a pretty serious round of medications to rid myself of a really bad saddle sore that I tried to manage for about a year before I cried uncle and went to see the Dr. It eventually turned into MRSA and I was very concerned it was going to require surgery. The surface was healed, but, the infection had gone deep down and created a large marble sized lump in my groin. Thankfully, whatever he Dr. prescribed along with time off the bike allowed t to clear up.
So, from my experience, do not squeeze saddle sores or try to treat them with Neosporin. You may heal the surface and retain a subdermal infection.
Go see a Dr. if you are dealing with a single or recurring saddle sores that don’t heal within a month.
All good info. Ordered some things mentioned above to try out.
When you refer to saddle sores, is it one of these or both of these, is there a difference and is there a different treatment for either?
What I’ve experienced in the past is a visible sore like a pimple. That doesn’t happen anymore.
What I experience now is no visible evidence of a sore but a lump under the skin and sometimes of considerable size. They seem to last a while. Never keeping me off the bike but a real pain in my @$$.
I’ve noticed, during seasons with spotty weather, when I’m on the trainer half the time and outside the other half on 2 different bikes with 2 different saddles the sores go away. I’m guessing the different saddles have different pressure points and it gives my bum some relief while not reducing the amount of time in the saddle. Similar result, though not as effective, with switching up the brand of bibs. Different padding redistributes the load and in turn relieves areas constantly under pressure.
If it hasn’t been mentioned. Check your saddle. It might be comfy but it also might contribute to your saddle sores.
If you’re on an old saddle and see an increase in saddle sores check the shell it could be cracked. If the saddle is old and relatively light weight, replace it. Saddles like the Toupe or SLR aren’t meant for more than a season or two of use before replacement.
Several people have mentioned saddle height and fore/aft position. Make sure your saddle is aligned correctly as well. I find on my R3 that the nose tends to shift left or right a little bit over time and that’s when I generally start having problems. Saddle tilt is more of a personal preference but over time it’s not uncommon for the nose to slip down especially if you ride the nose like I like to do during high power efforts.
A update. I did a 9 hour ride about 277 km long. Started hurting at about 4.5. Had no choice but to keep going. Was sheer agony. In the end it seemed like I had a massive sunburn down there. A few days later I was peeling multiple layers of skin off that were quite thick. I tried many things to figure out what was wrong and then it a happened again about five weeks later.
Turns out it was my less than six month old specialized rbx bib comps that failed. They lasted less than 2500 km and are done for. They are fine if I ride for under an hour but no more as I can really start to feel it.
Interesting thing is my 9 year old specialized rbx pro bib shorts have well over 19000 km on them and have no issues at all other than looking a little crappy. I can ride the pro’s for days with no issue. I might call specialized to see if they have any in a box somewhere.
For me it is all about saddle height. If I have it too low I was starting to get one from my rapha bibs. After I made the adjustment it went away. Dont even need chamois cream.
Would the same suggestions apply for when you can’t stay dry during your ride? Like during a triathlon?
For sprint/olypmpic I have applied chamois cream before the race and it seemed to work. 70.3 I apply the chamois cream before the swim and start to feel chafing near the end of the bike. For 140.6 I’ve tried to towel dry in T1 and apply chamois cream, then reapply at Special Needs around the halfway point but by then the chafing is already noticeable. No lumps, just skin rubbed raw and red.
Your #2 is exactly what I’m experiencing now - like a marble sized lump that’s like a pimple but without a head. Today I’ve found it a little uncomfortable even to sit on a wooden chair at work. So annoying! I’ve been going to town with using chamois cream during rides (dz Nuts), and sudocreme and/or antibacterial cream during day/night. I ALWAYS ride with a clean chamois/bike pants and shower straight after. Repeat - it’s so annoying!
So you just kept riding and it went away? I’m wondering if I need a half or full week off bike as riding through it today seemed to make it get bigger. I’m feeling pretty stressed about it!
I haven’t read all the replies here, but when I recently went for a bikefit, my fitter said that all saddle sores can be eliminated by a proper fit. Now he may be bias but he’s fit a hell of a lot of people and does some really long rides himself.
Get off the bike for a few days and treat it. I got one a couple of weeks ago after riding cobbles with a 3mm too high saddle that was on its last legs. Took a week and a half for my aged body to heal it. Shorter for younger riders but don’t ride with one. I won’t, I am no Sean Kelly. To me it is pointless; it will ruin your ride. If it ruptures it will just ruin more and more of them. Clean it, anti B it and cover it if you have to; if you can put band aids down there (i.e. if you have shaved it). This will stop day to day chaffing and mitigate some seat pain.
Ironically the last professional bike fit I had the guy adjusted my position and saddle (amongst other things) and I was plagued with them. The bike was also unstable so I dropped it a few mm and went back to the old saddle. Hey presto! no more saddle sores or speed wobbles.
@PeterYock
FWIW
In the past few years I seem to have developed a lot sensitivities to saddle fit that I never had before. I went down the chamois cream route… new shorts. Everything. Eventually I settled on a saddle that worked for me. The trick for me that was never mentioned in the “how to buy a saddle” posts was the nose width. I had to go to town with this after the professional fit and getting a new bike with one of those short nosed ITMs on it. For me the sit bone area width was not really critical. It was the width of the ‘nose’ and the shape of the transition zone. I needed a narrow nose and a really tight transition from the wide area. Otherwise I was guaranteed those ‘marbles’ down there.
Also FWIW I can’t ride cut outs anymore. They tended to be too compliant and cradled me too much; this lead to mechanical prostatitis. Took me over a year to sort that out as the docs hadn’t got a clue and couldn’t diagnose it. I never thought it was my bike. Until I swapped saddles and it stopped.
I used to have saddle sores, touch wood I haven’t for a few months now. Incorrect saddle height. Positioning. Difference between TT saddle height and road bike. (use the same saddle on both) I was using cream every ride, now Im not at all. I’ve had sores which required self surgery, hot needle and boom…instant gratification. You cant continue to ride on them. Eventually they became too painful.
Check your chamois though. If it doesn’t hold density anymore, ditch it.
Yeah I think I might be overdue for another bike fit. I’ve had one before - around 12 months ago. But I think the (re) emergence of reoccurring saddle sore means something still isn’t right. Bummer. Literally.
Chipping in here for what worked for me recently. I switched saddles. It’s been a long winter indoors down here. LOTS (too many) steady-state ERG mode workouts across a lot of trainers. Pressure point saddle sores. Switched saddles - bam - problem solved. For now. I think I’ll rotate saddles more often. I went from a Power to a Stealth… now on a Cadex Boost.
I am going to chip in here also. I have never had a saddle sore in my years of cycling (lucky I guess) but I have also never used chamois cream. In my mind (as small as it is lol) it seems the under carriage needs to toughen up and if you are constantly putting cream down there doesn’t it keep it soft like hand creams and stuff are supposed to do?
I am sure someone will say I don’t ride that much then but I log a bunch of saddle time especially on the trainer.
I survived my first few years without a drop of chamois cream too, but I think the increase in volume I had to make on the bike both in the lead-up to my recent half iron man, and now just adapting to the mid volume trainer road plans, has meant I’ve needed some. I’m mostly using it now in the hope that it’ll prevent saddle sores while my body toughens up and gets used to increased volume being the new norm, but I’m totally on board with wanting to get back to using none eventually.