winterfold – Member
I thought it was just one of life’s guilty pleasures…

To a certain extent, yes. I’ve previously described it as like Keira Knightley sucking Extra Strong Mints and then blowing gently on ones barse.

But at 12 quid a tub, it’s probably worth finding something that offers similar performance benefits (ie eliminating chaffing) without the delightful menthol sensation you get when you shovel a good 3-fingers-worth up your gooch.

For the past 2 years I’ve used Udderley Smooth and swear by it. Interested to know if the agricultural version is the same but cheaper?

I read in a mag once (think it was MBR) that udder cream from a farm shop is the same stuff?

If you are cycling loads then toughen your skin up in that area by using witch hazel on a regular basis.

As mentioned before don’t use hydrocortisone crème as it thins the skin with prolonged use.

Also, don’t be using “1 oz triple antibiotic ointment”, as you would just be helping with stuff like C-diff and MRSA, you have to hope he meant to list antiseptic ointment.

So that’s 2 of his ingredients that show why he’s a cyclist and not a dermatologist.

I’d suggest using a vaseline base, with witch hazel (5% max) and lanolin (5-10%) and leave it at that. Mix with a fast whisk and store in a lightproof airtight container. I wouldn’t think that the shelf life on the lanolin would be all that long, maybe 6 months, unless you start to add perservatives etc.

TBH I would think it’s less hassle and most cost efficient buying bog standard stuff. If you you ride massive distances regularly you don’t need it because you have toughened up and if you only need it occasionally you won’t hit the economies of scale required to make it worth it.

I think you’re probably right Saccades, some brands like Udderly etc aren’t too badly priced, but the Assos stuff ends up costing a fortune if you apply enough to get any kind of real benefit.

Thought I’d have a pop at some home brew though, as big tubs of Vas are only about a quid, and on its own it probably offers as much lubrication as most off-the-shelf creams.

The Vas/E45 looks like a winner, lanolin would have been good but there’s none in the cabinet! I’ll give it a whirl shortly…

The reduced minty-ness of recent Assos purchases has been a major disappointment.

Just saying.

I might squirt in a good dollop of Colgate… 😀

I might squirt in a good dollop of Colgate…

Never mind the smell, look how it gleams. 😯

Generally I’ve used sudocrem, but that’s because I’m too lazy to buy the proper stuff and baulked at the cost of the Elite Ozone I was using.

I disagree with TJ, and I’ve done plenty of miles. Sore spots for me are not pressure induced, but caused by friction. Using a cream just adds a little lubricaiton to limit the effect of that rubbing.

I must say, though, that the most effective guard against chafing is decent shorts. Do not underestimate how good they can be.

I wish I knew about this sort of thing before the weekend. I’ve always used decent shorts but by the 4th lap of the mayhem I was hurting bad. Managed to sooth myself out with baby wipes and do a fith. Would these creams helped that much?

Would these creams helped that much?

Yep. Smear on chammy and round yer nethers.

Update, tried a healthy dollop of Vas/Sudo mixture (4 parts to 1) last night on a wet and muddy ride of around 2hrs.

Seemed to work as well as Assos, though without the lovely menthol breeze. Letting Sudocrem down with Vaseline makes it far less sticky – I’d probably use even less Sudo in future, maybe 6-1 ratio.

I might try adding lanolin, as I’m riding most days and I’m told that regular use of lanolin improves skin elasticity which may help.

Bag Balm is good stuff – it’s a petroleum / lanolin based product with antisepctic in it from the US designed for soothing sore udders. It’s also good as a healing aid for scrapes, chapped lips, etc.

You can get it on Ebay or if you kow someone going to the US it’s sold in a lot of chemists etc.

For those who like live life on the edge I reckon the original recipe would be somewhat enlivened by the addition of a small tin of tiger balm*.

*If you were hanging around Brighton and the Zap in the early 90s you may well have met this girl 😉

Add witch hazel, works a treat.