Hey TR forum! I have a long mtb race coming up, about 16 hours. On rides this long I develop some impressive open sores along the sit-bone area. I would not consider it a saddle sore because there is no infection, its just raw broken skin. I have high quality bib shorts and saddle, bike fit is good. I do use chamois cream. The last 4 hours of these long rides get pretty uncomfortable. I’m considering two ideas, 1) double up on bike shorts. Dual chamois. Negative on this would be increased heat. 2) Apply some “mole skin”, maybe strips of KT tape on the skin. Not sure how chamois cream would work on this. I’m a little desperate! Best regards!
I double up on bibs some times on longer trainer rides. It helps to distribute pressure from the saddle more evenly. It may or may not help in this case since it sounds more like a chafing issue. I would try taping the area but I guess shaving is mandatory for success.
Trying a different brand of chamois cream that is more slippery could be an option.
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10 or 12 hours in can you swap to a different brand of chamois, or change saddles (swap out seat post if you don’t have a dropper)?
I have similar issues with sit bone pressure pain (not really sores, as the skin doesn’t break) but I find i get relief in subsequent rides if I wear a different chamois, or ride a different bike. I think this results in a slight change in pressure points which helps somewhat.
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Ouch! Have you identified why your butt is abrading against the saddle? For example, are your knees behind your pedal axles when pushing down, thus pushing your butt back along the saddle with each stroke? Are you a grinder?
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I’ve had similar on very long, hot rides, and also multi day events. No magical solution I’m afraid. Switching shorts can help a bit (never tried it mid ride though!), reapplying chamois cream mid-ride seemed to help a bit though. I use a greasy cream rather than a creamy one, if that makes sense (called bum butter, a UK thing) which I think stays useful for longer. I did buy Compeed for emergency use but haven’t tried it yet, it may well make things worse!
I’m inclined to think that experimenting with a different shape saddle may be the answer - I’ve tried various high quality chamois that are very comfy for multiple hours, but there’s still an eventual tipping point. Presumably maintaining a lot of volume on training would just create tougher skin, but that isn’t easy to do!
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Thicker cham cream or even Vaseline. Bibs that are too loose or worn out also do this because they are not glued to the body.
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I was thinking this also and brought a second bib and saddle. Only made it 7 hours so never swapped anything.
Knees are just in front of the pedal axle. I think I’m “balanced” when it comes to pedaling style. One thing that’s on my mind is the saddle. Maybe I’ve put too much importance on weight and I should factor in comfort. I’v always thought a saddle fits or it doesn’t. So just get the lightest saddle that fits. And this has been fine for rides 6 hours or less.
I think you may be on point, my current saddle is a Selle Italia SLR Flow. I’m not a fan of the Ergon’s. Any suggestions for a saddle? (I need something lower profile, dropper is in the frame as deep as it can go.) (Shorts are Pactimo’s 12 hour bib.) I’d take any recommendation on bib too… t-u
I have tried “Aquaphore” w/ no luck, at least not any better than DZ or Butt’r. Next up is “Bag Balm”.
So I tried tapping w/ KT tape. Then slathered the butt’r on. After a few hours the tape bunched up and just made a mess. Bummer.
Grand pioneer work! To bad it didn’t work out.
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