Need advice on a TMI regarding cycling
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nurseshannon1975
Posts: 24
So after six months of losing weight, I decided to take up riding a bike as a new exercise and am really enjoying it. My sister and I rented a couple bikes on the first ride and by the next day I went back to the bike shop and bought a bike. I bought an Electra Townie. I have been riding just a couple miles just about everyday and really love it! Here's the problem....I am a pretty large girl. The seat on the Townie is nice sized but my butt and crotch are getting a bit chaffed and hurting. I reposition on the seat frequently but that really hasn't helped. Anyone have this problem and what can I do about it?? Thanks for any help.
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Replies
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If it's chafing, they make a special anti-friction cream. Most bike shops have it.0
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Congrats on getting a bike. As for the issue, more time on the bike will help clear the problem up.
Happy riding.0 -
are you wearing padded shorts?0
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I started riding the bicycle at 300 pounds. The clothing really makes a difference during the ride. When I started riding I used compression shorts or tight fitting boxer briefs (not sure what the female version would be called).
I use Queen Helene's Creme for Chamois Cream, which true to its name should be applied to the Chamois rather than one's skin. However, said cream can be effectively applied to one's skin to reduce friction. Just use the cream sparingly.
In the event that a rash or blistering appears then AD Diaper Cream is the most effective thing I have found to date to heal the chafing.
Keep in mind that wet clothing next to skin along with friction will cause intense chafing. I discovered the AD Cream after getting soaked in the rain and continuing to lay mortar block underpinning. I chafed so badly that I bled for days afterwards and was miserable until I found and applied the AD cream.0 -
Your butt is going to hurt until it gets accustomed to sitting on the seat. Keep on riding and the pain from the seat should go away. As far as chafing, I second getting a pair of bike shorts and chamois cream.
Have fun riding!0 -
Cycling is a great fun way to lose weight and burn up lots of calories
I know what you mean - it does get better the more you ride, but you can get gel saddle covers which provide more padding, or even a gel saddle itself. Also, I have padded cycling capri trousers and padded cycling shorts and that helps too especially on longer rides.
@Dahamac
I saw some women's compression shorts in a local shop (in the UK) and wondered what they are - are they to be worn under normal cycling clothes, and what does the compression bit refer to?0 -
Ooh, no...padded saddles are bad. Padded shorts, good. Is the chafing from your underwear? Wearing padded shorts without undies may be the only thing you need to change. Or maybe your saddle is simply the wrong shape/size. I personally cannot do pear-shaped saddles or I get bad inner-thigh burn (where my thigh meets cheek) and have to keep pushing myself back on the saddle. I do best on t-shaped saddles with really abrupt transition from nose to rear. And firm saddles, too. Squishy just makes the saddle deform and press into sensitive spots.0
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Electra townies have a pretty forgiving saddle with lots of suspension. (I have an Electra Betty, and it feels like I'm riding a Cadillac compared to the rest of my bikes, lol).
If its a chafing issue, wearing proper bike shorts (which come with a chamois sewn into the crotch area and eliminates seams) under your normal clothes (or by themselves if you like) can help. Please note: you are not supposed to wear undies with bike shorts. A skin lubricant (like hoo-ha ride glide or body glide) can help with specific chafing areas. I notice that on my Electra, my usual chafing areas are the inside of my thighs (where the saddle edge rubs due to the upright seating position) and the area where my thigh meets my butt (usually due to underwear issues).
If its general soreness rather than chafing, simply time & adjustment will help.
Love those Electra bikes!0 -
The anti-chafe cream or lubricant is sold at mainstream sports stores like ****s and Sports Authority, too, in the bicycling section. Use liberally! The instant you're done with any workout or anything that made you sweaty, get in the shower - letting that sweat stick on your skin will irritate your skin further. I know some people here will be like, Duh, but I have kids and frankly sometimes I don't have time to get in the shower right away, but that hasn't been good for my skin.
ww.teamestrogen.com has bicycling shorts in your size; they have them up to women's 4X and currently have a bike short in 5x (but it looks a bit skimpy on the length; but it might work for a really short plus size woman.) A lot of us plus size women try wearing men's clothing in order to get large enough sizes; that works for some clothing items, but bike shorts are anatomically very different in their padding. The Canari brand is lower-price for bike shorts and some of their styles run large. Men's bike shorts have most of their padding up front; not enough in the back for a woman. My point is, men's shorts just won't protect your rear. If you've been wearing natural fibers, the problem might be that they hold a lot of wet sweat right up against your skin. Synthetics, for all their nastiness, at least don't hold sweat like a sponge like cotton does.
You might also need to have your seat at a different angle, perhaps pointing the "nose" down just a tiny bit.0 -
Oh, & I agree with Dhamac - a zinc-oxide based diaper ointment is the way to go, not just down below but also if you get chaffing around the boobs.0
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I'm with the no padded seat gang on this issue. Padded shorts (no undies- learned the hard way) and chamios creme. If you go with the padded shorts go to a good store and try them on, if they don't fit you well through the crotch don't get them. You can see my favorite bike in my pic, and it has a skinny hard seat, LOVE IT, but I also have a hybrid (bought it 12 years and ~70 lbs ago) I ride with the family that have a big squishy seat, HATE IT. What I've found is the more points of contact there are the more places there are to rub. Go to a Local Bike Shop (LBS), get fitted, just sit on a gel pad and your hip bones will make an indention, then the shop can use this measurement to fit you to a new saddle (Think mine was around $50 when I replaced one a few years ago). It makes a huge difference. If you go to the place you bought your bike they may have suggestions. Good Luck and keep riding!0
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Why do you guys say no on the padded saddle? I love my gel saddle and planned to move it onto my new bike.0
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I have not read the nine million other posts ahead of me, but they possibly offer the same advice... Invest in the proper clothing for cycling, and buy a product like Chamois Butt'r to help prevent/soothe chafing. I like to use Body Glide, an anti chafing product that goes right on your nether region like Speed Stick...0
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I wouln't have survived the Seattle to Portland ride without these products!0
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Proper shorts - well fitting lycra with a proper padded "chamois" insert (it's not really washleather - they used to be, but these days they're a really high-technology 2 way stretch perforated gel with layers of mesh and coolmax over them) - and - here's the real kicker... NO PANTS/KNICKERS/ANY OTHER UNDERWEAR under the shorts. Some people swear by additional preparations like Chamois Cream - the "UDDERLY SMOOTH" or "CHAMOIS BUTTr" makes are good, but for real long distance stuff I wouldn't be without my Assos Chamois Cream and a good pair of bib-shorts.
Saddles are a personal thing - everyone's backside is different, and frankly it's almost impossible to recommend a particular saddle. A good Local Bike Shop will be able to recommend something - some shops (Specialized dealers I believe) even have an *kitten*-o-meter which you sit on, and it measures the distance between your Sit-Bones - so you can get the correct width of saddle. The fit of a saddle is so specific that for example, my favourite saddle - the Fizik Arione, which I can sit on and ride all day without problems on my roadbike, feels completely uncomfortable and just "wrong" on my touring bike frame... all because I'm a little more upright on the tourer, and as I'm not leaning forward so much, there's more weight on my sit-bones on the tourer.
It can take a while to find a saddle that suits - but it's oh so worth it in the long run - or long ride as the case may be...0 -
I saw some women's compression shorts in a local shop (in the UK) and wondered what they are - are they to be worn under normal cycling clothes, and what does the compression bit refer to?
Compression shorts are basically just really tight strong lycra shorts - they're used by some Rugby players etc. for support to help with knocks and bruises - but they're also supposed to be good in terms of aiding recovery after hard exercise - they support the muscles, helping to reduce muscle soreness either from knocks in contact sports or from heavy use, in - for example - longer distance rides etc. Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_sportswear for a bit more bumph...0 -
Why do you guys say no on the padded saddle? I love my gel saddle and planned to move it onto my new bike.
On a relatively upright bike it may work...on a road bike where you are in a more forward/aero/aggressive position most people find that the gel displaced by their sitbones moves forward, mashing into their privates and causing chafing and/or nerve impingement. Nerves that you REALLY don't want damaged. I find the harder the better. Sit bones and the tissue surrounding eventually toughen-up and don't hurt at all (seriously, after riding across lower MI last Summer my butt was about the only part of me that didn't hurt and I was on a rock hard saddle).0 -
I saw some women's compression shorts in a local shop (in the UK) and wondered what they are - are they to be worn under normal cycling clothes, and what does the compression bit refer to?
Compression shorts are basically just really tight strong lycra shorts - they're used by some Rugby players etc. for support to help with knocks and bruises - but they're also supposed to be good in terms of aiding recovery after hard exercise - they support the muscles, helping to reduce muscle soreness either from knocks in contact sports or from heavy use, in - for example - longer distance rides etc. Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_sportswear for a bit more bumph...
Ah brill, thanks for that. I've joined a couple of cycling forums and will have a proper mooch at them over the weekend to learn more and more about cycling as I get more and more into it. It's a great de-stresser, just you and the bike, it's freedom for someone who is stuck in an office 5 days a week.
Oh and I now agree about gel saddles or covers. I rode my old cheapo hybrid round to my friend as I'm giving it to her, and I had a bigger saddle on that than on my Specialized hybrid AND a gel cover, and it rubbed more and wasn't comfortable to sit on at all now that I'm used to a much slimmer saddle. It hurt the first week but I got used to it and ride for long times with no discomfort or chafing.0 -
Why do you guys say no on the padded saddle? I love my gel saddle and planned to move it onto my new bike.
On a relatively upright bike it may work...on a road bike where you are in a more forward/aero/aggressive position most people find that the gel displaced by their sitbones moves forward, mashing into their privates and causing chafing and/or nerve impingement. Nerves that you REALLY don't want damaged. I find the harder the better. Sit bones and the tissue surrounding eventually toughen-up and don't hurt at all (seriously, after riding across lower MI last Summer my butt was about the only part of me that didn't hurt and I was on a rock hard saddle).
Thanks. I had it on my mountain bike and my new bike has a more upright posture - not like a road bike.0 -
I think also the material of the bike shorts has to be form fitting enough that it wont move around. As you get more and more into biking you may need to buy a good pair of shorts more often because you will probably drop pounds and the material will get loose over time.I have one pair of Pearl Izumi symphony shorts that has mesh in the sides. They were great at first but the mesh did not lend good integrity to the fabric and it stretched and made the chafing really bad.0
