I suffer from the cold weather in the best of times, and as I’m getting older I find the cold and rain to be more and more crap. Never used embrocation creams – do they actually make your legs feel a bit warmer, or are they just for posers? If they do actually work, any recommendations? Can embrocations also be used when MTBing, or does that violate one of the Rules?

Nature’s Kiss Hot Stuff is fantastic. I use it for racing in the cold, don’t tend to bother for normal riding, but have done previously and it works just fine.

It makes race HQ’s smell a bit funny and shaved men look shinier, that’s all I know I’m afraid!

Used to use them playing rugby……tried some on my dodgy shoulder pre run and yo be honest didn’t make a lot of difference apart from I smelt like an old rugby player 😆
I find that three quarter bibs or tights plus baggy full length riding trousers saves my achy knees and keeps my muscles warm these days. It helps if you don’t give a damn about the MTB fashion police too 😆

The only actual research I’ve seen classifies the vast majority of it as snake oil.

IIRC the benefits were actually from the rubbing/massaging it in rather than the composition.
Some benefits from making your legs greasy (cold wet mud/road grim slides off).

I’ve never bothered.

Make sure you know how to remove the stuff if you do use it. Getting in a hot bath with it on is not the answer.

So I’ll just throw this out there. I went to some BC coaching, whereby they stated that embryocation was basically a bad idea. The concept of course is that it pulls blood to the surface of your legs, but that is a percentage of your bloodstream that’s being pulled away from oxygen carrying ability to your muscles vis a vis a marginal gain style loss of performance.

Thier advice was baby oil, which allows moisture to slide off but the oil traps heat underneath once you start to generate it and warms you up.

Also, your body pulls blood away from the skin in the cold for a reason – it helps keep your core warm. So I’d imagine that you’d have to work that bit harder to keep itself warm, thereby leaving less energy for riding.

Aren’t you wearing warm tights or something?

Saw a test done a while back where they inserted prices into the muscles applied warming cream to one leg and a coiling one to the other, both legs remained at the same temperature, the owner of the legs did say one felt hot and the other one cold, and correctly identified which was which, but the actual temperature of the muscles remained the same.

Saw the same doc as mentioned above debunking a load of the bs surrounding stuff like deep heat etc. They have no effect on the temp of the muscle but instead give you a false impression that you’re warmed up.

Layer up properly and you’ll be fine

In stuff like Ralgex the active ingredient is methyl nicotinic acid (or niacin or something like that). The tingling comes from a reaction within the skin cells – it’s doing nothing for your muscles.

Any benefit will come from the massage as you apply it.
Put tights on, wrap up, and do a gentle warm-up.

Oh – and the same stuff is in Red Bull, which is why it makes you buzzy.

rubefacients work by irritating the nerve endings,

That should result in increased blood flow, which at least in theory should be beneficial.

Jury for their efficacy in pain relief as opposed to muscle prep is still out:

http://www.cochrane.org/CD007403/SYMPT_topical-rubefacients-for-acute-and-chronic-musculoskeletal-pain-in-adults

The reason I use it for racing is that I don’t “layer up”, or wear tights of anything. I still suspect it’s snake oil, but it’s nice smelling snake oil that makes my legs warm. Assuming you have bear skin is there any advantage?

Rorschach has got there ahead of me.

Watch withnail and I for further info. Or in fact the answer to many questions!