PAIN!
If you’re pressed for time and want a real quick review of how I have beaten saddle sores then read this handy bullet point list, otherwise skip to the full article.
- Clean your contact area
- Try a different saddle
- Wear clean shorts
- Use Hibiclens
- Use Rubbing Alcohol
- Clean your contact area before and after every ride
- Keep things as dry as possible
- Don’t usually follow this routine, follow it with a fanatical zeal and dedication such as rednecks follow NASCAR, beer, automotive, and farm tractor brands.
Since 2005 I have been having problems with saddle sores. I don’t want to get into too much detail here; I will just say that it has been one of the most annoying aspects of my life for the last 5 years. It all started on my first weeklong tour, I was riding a B-17 and had a painful spot before the tour even started. The third day of the tour I broke down and talked to one of the bike shop employees along on the ride if I should try a different saddle. He looked at my B-17 and told me I was riding the best saddle on the planet and it wasn’t the saddles fault. He instead pointed the nose down a bit on my saddle and told me to stay clean.
The saddle sore would grow and get more painful throughout the season and then finally go away sometime in January. Besides making my riding painful it would become inflamed and hurt even just walking around. I went to 3 different doctors and got nothing but a stack of bills. I switched back and forth between the B-17 and a Specialized BG2 saddle, the only two saddles I owned and neither offered any relief. I traded a mountain bike for a recumbent in 2006, but found riding it so boring that I sold it on ebay. I was convinced that the Brooks B-17 saddle was not the problem. So much so that I bought a new one, albeit one with the fashionable perennial cutout called “The Imperial”. Needless to say, it didn’t work.
The Rolls seemed like an excellent classic choice, and worked pretty well for me.
I researched saddle sores and cysts obsessively on the internet. I considered an extended break from cycling, and did take many days off. Every year around May I would think that I was cured since I had been riding all spring pain free, then as soon as a hot, long day in saddle came it would come back. I was at the end of my rope and this year was no different, so I tried the only thing I hadn’t tried. I bought some saddles.
I tried a San Marco Rolls, and while it was no where near as comfortable as the B-17 when I didn’t have a saddle sore, I noticed I didn’t feel the saddle sore when I was riding it. I continued to ride the Rolls and the saddle sore continued to get better. It was great, until I started getting sores in different places. I tried a San Marco Regal, mainly because I always thought it was a classic beautiful saddle and it seemed to be pretty good as well, but I still had these new saddle sores that hurt.
Now lets go back a bit, I said I researched saddle sores on the internet; well the main thing people tend to say is stay clean, try different saddles, wear clean shorts, try different chamois creams, and more importantly stay clean. I thought I was staying clean; I would take a shower almost after every ride. I usually cleaned up before every ride, and I considered that I was a generally clean person, and I definitely wasn’t wearing sweaty bike shorts twice in a row. I think it was the “almost every ride” that was tripping me up.
I decided my problem with saddle sores was a problem with localized skin infections, so two weeks ago I tackled cleanliness with a reckless abandon. I purchased Hibiclens, which is an industrial strength antiseptic used in hospitals, you’ll usually find it behind the counter in the pharmacy. I purchased Isopropyl alcohol, or rubbing alcohol, and I purchased Calmosptine, which is an industrial strength skin ointment.
My friend Miles blogged about using Hibiclens after he finished his 600 KM brevet, and I thought, damn if anyone knows what he’s talking about then its this guy. So I went to Walgreen’s and opened my wallet, it was about 8 bucks for the bottle, but worth every cent. Hibiclens is an antiseptic made from 70% alcohol but has a few cool features. First it bonds to your skin and continues to kill microbial activity for up to six hours after application, it remains active in sweat, and it’s a mild, non-irritating cleanser. I use Hibilcens two times a day, in the morning, and evening.
The rubbing alcohol is applied before and after every ride, its cheap so I apply liberally with a paper towel; it will generally burn a little after a long ride, which to me means its working. Rubbing alcohol should kill a lot of stuff, clean pores, and dry quickly. It’s definitely not mild, but it gets the job done. I have also been paying extra close attention to keeping things down south as dry as possible.
I’m currently using actual Paceline Chamois Butt-R as a chamois cream instead of the Bag Balm and other various cheaper creams I’ve tried. I’m carrying a small tube to reapply on longer rides when its hot and sweated off. I don’t think this is that much different then the other stuff but I decided to try and do everything I could, even using actual chamois cream.
That leaves the Calmoseptine. Jane gave me a few sample packs of this stuff on GOBA, and I seemed to benefit from it. Over the years many riders had told me to try various diaper rash ointments to cure my saddle sore problems and I have a drawer full of half empty tubes, but none of them seemed to help. I noticed an improvement when I started using Calmoseptine. It’s pricy at about 8 bucks a tube and you can usually find it behind the counter at many pharmacies. Like I said earlier its industrial strength and mainly used by bed ridden patients, but I’ve found that it sticks to skin like nothing else I’ve tried. When I had some painful spots I applied a little of this when I was going to be doing anything that might agitate them or cause sweat. Besides protecting skin it has menthol which has a pleasant, but very potent cooling effect, almost like sitting on an big ice cube. I haven’t really needed it for a week.
So all I have left to talk about are the results of my new diligent approach. I started about two weeks ago, the first week I only rode 3 times while I noticed my current batch of saddle sores begin to heal. As of this morning I have ridden nine days in a row and have been completely free of pain the last 4 of them. In the past I rarely could ride more then one or two days in a row before I had to skip a day from the pain. I can only hope that continued meticulous cleaning will keep the saddle sores away for good and if you suffer from persistent saddle sores it will help you as well.
Barn Door Cycling 
You can also buy Hibistat towelettes to carry on the ride with you. Better than rubbing alcohol. I carry antiseptic wipes to REALLY clean my hands before I touch myself or my chamois cream, then I use Hibistat towelettes to clean my “contact area” then I apply my cream and I always use a tube so that I don’t get any germs into the container of cream by touching it. I squeeze it out onto my fingers and NEVER touch the top of the tube. Like you say – like rednecks and NASCAR.
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for the past 3 months, constant saddle sore(s); I don’t THINK anything is different but I’m ready to try anything and everything. For the Calmoseptine — when do you use it? Before a ride, after a ride, daily whether riding or not? I just ordered a new saddle, so we’ll see how the combo of all of these things work.
The Calmoseptine is used after riding, after you’ve cleaned with Hibiclense and after you’ve showered and dried. It’s not really for saddle sores, more for irrated skin from long days in the saddle.
I started getting saddle sores again this winter from indoor trainer riding. Because I was riding inside I wasn’t following my clean routine. Since I got back on it everything is good again.
Here’s what I do. Before the ride clean with Hibiclense. Use Chamois Cream for riding. After the ride clean with Hibiclense. Shower. Dry.
I haven’t used Calmoseptine since last summer. It’s really only useful for really irrated skin, more like a rash then actual sores.
Hope that helps!
This post helped me so much. I used to be plagued by saddle sores. Since I discovered hibiclens I seldom have a problem. Once everything healed up I only have to use it once per day after I shower. No more butt acne. Thank you!
Very glad to have helped!
Thank you soooooooo much! I cycled for an entire year without getting one of these. Then, I bought a trainer (Wahoo Kickr) in October and began getting these a week or two into it. I had no idea why this was happening to me until I came across your article. This completely fixed the issue. I use the rubbing alcohol just before and after the workout and the Hibiclens during my shower afterwards. It all came down to infections that I was more susceptible to getting than other people. These no longer happen and I can cycle on my trainer to my hearts content with no more pain! Again, thank you so much for putting this out there.