OK, so stop laughing at the back there.

I’m doing the Dunwich Dynamo in July (120 miles of road from Hackney to Suffolk through the night). And when I recently did the London-Brighton NCN route as a training ride (80 miles all in – longest ride I’ve done so far), I had only one problem – my arse. Legs fine. Backside so painful I had to ride last few miles standing up.

I used minty arse lard. I had on nice padded shorts. And a BG saddle that I’m very well used to.

On the other side of the coin, it was a very warm day. And I’m a big, hairy bloke.

The bits that hurt were the points where my legs and groin rub together. So I’m thinking hair + sweat + high mileage = ouch.

I’m figuring shaving my arse would cut down on friction. But I’m loathe to do it this close to the ride if it will actually end up hurting more etc.

Anyway, I’m rambling. Bring on the sarcastic comments (and hopefully some actual advice from people who’ve actually applied a Bic down there before).

Just shave one cheek, that way it will either be 50% better if your theory is correct or if it does go wrong you will only be 50% worse off.

It’s all about the compromise.

Have you heard of Veet for Men Hair removal gel?

You can get it from Boots

nowt wrong with a good shave downstairs, front or back and thats being honest. Look at it this way if it helps its a bonus if it dont then atleast its better for personal hygiene

DO NOT DO IT!!!

Speaking as someone who made the mistake of having a Brazilian a week or so before SITS as a pair one year, it is a mistake to think that removal of the hair will reduce friction. It just exposes the skin to more direct friction. It will leave you with all manner of unpleasant ingrown hairs and infected follicles, even with minty arse lard, it’s a nightmare. I reckon the hair gives protection and reduces chafage. I’d check the fit and quality of your chamois as your shorts should contour round from the inner thigh to groin and not allow those two sides of the ‘crease to rub together. THough I’m not a bloke, I’ve just asked my other half and he agrees with the fit issue.

Someone posted a hilarious blog entry about arsal shavage last time this was asked. Not a good idea. When is the Dunwich BTW?

A wee trick I used to deploy whilst hillwalking/backpacking on hot days was to roll up a small towel around the small of my back. This will reduce/prevent any sweat from trickling down off your back.

Are you applying the MAL to your body and the padding in your shorts?

I’d also recommend trimming, but not shaving, to reduce the amount of hair sweat has to dry on to.

😆

Not sure this doesn’t duplicate the MAL but for Ironman events i Vaseline up my nether regions before the swim it lasts well for the bike & run legs too to stop chaffing of my downstairs area, it works everytime and thats 12 plus hours of SBR for me.

don’t do it.

mate done the whole shaving between the cracks because of some girl’s comment about his hairy harris.

he couldn’t stand up, sit down, walk due to the re-growth; “a thousand rose bush thorns” pricking your cheeks.

would guess that the in-growing hairs would be very unpleasent. tricky one to ask the dr. about too.

>80 miles all in – longest ride I’ve done so far<

Get out and ride more then – simples…

Oh, and MTFU – shavings for wimmin

Watch out for ‘Veet for Men’. My partner used it to remove a few stray straggly hairs on his chest and it got very itchy.

As a hairy bloke I wouldn’t; you will end up with really painful hairs and loads of spots where they break through the skin. Perhaps something like waxing would be better (a la ‘back, sack and crack’) as the hairs grow back naturally and not as a sharp edge? Sounds ferkin’ painful though!

The more times you are waxed, the less painful it is. Works for me 😉

Hair is there as a natural lubricant. There is a reason it grows thickest where it does.

The Dynamo is at night and almost entirely flat so you ought to sweat a good deal less. Did you actually apply the MAL to the area that was problematic? Get a good application all around the area in question.

I’m all for leg-shaving, but shaving what’s going to be chafed against a saddle sounds like a very bad idea for the reason’s mentioned above.

Not done the Dynamo for a few years – it’s a lovely ride once you escape into the country and start spotting candle-lit jam-jars. Have fun.

Post the pics up when you’ve done it?

So it sounds like being hairy provides a physiological advantage….

Nice.

Sounds like you may need to ease up on the pies.

It may be a bike fit issue as much as anything else.

I’ve used clippers on my arse before, didn’t create a problem. Far more hygienic, especially for 24hour races and longer rides.

Just make sure you shower first! 😆

mate did it before an expedition race. I’m sure it was day 3 he spent the whole day in tears. Or day4, or day 5. Or them all. I had to duct tape his arse crack to stop it rubbing and he needed hospital treatment afterwards. Don;t do it.

don’t do it

An old chefs trick is to apply a generous amount of cornflour it stops the chafing.

That’s brilliant spikerman, I’ve often considered shaving/waxing my arse but that’s put me off completely.

They’re gonna ban me.

Try a narrower saddle, more vaseline, and chuck the chamois.

agree with most so far do not shave! trim works for me, to short n it will cause stubble rash on the other cheek!

I did a whole season of XC guiding around Whistler and didn’t even bother with padded shorts let alone shave my arse. I’d slap some cream down there but I found that padded liners and the like just added to the sweating / irritation. Good fitting underpants stops stuff from bouncing about, and baggies allow everything to breathe. I guess my anal beard did it’s job admirably and my arse just got used to taking a good battering.

Vaseline or MAL all over, when I did LeJog worked a treat upto 100 miles a day for 14 days and not even a pimple, the last day I forgot, I’ll never do that again.

Get some proper fitting shorts, even if that means spending silly money on Assos or similar – if you find a pair that fit perfectly then they’re well worth the money.

Thanks all for the advice.

BigDummy, Dunwich Dynamo’s night of 4/5 July. See http://www.southwarkcyclists.org.uk/dunwichfaqs.htm

So, I guess it’s more liberal use of MAL, no shaving and grin and bear it!

Si M

I guess my anal beard did it’s job admirably and my arse just got used to taking a good battering.

nice to have a job ‘with benefits’ 🙂

The difference between mtb and road in the amount of time actually spent in the saddle.

On road, your ass is bearing your weight far more often and for long periods of time. I’d venture that you’re not used to it.

I wasn’t.

Also, as well as avoiding silly ideas like shaving yer bum ‘ole, try a different chamois cream.

Assos is OK, but it tends to become less thick than it starts out, especially on hot days. Try udderly smooth, which is thicker (and you get more of it for less money than Assos).

Technique for chamois cream for me is to get a good coating all over the chamois, including “up front”. Then also make sure you get an equally good coating all over you (and that includes your sack and crack and in between).

Sure, you feel a bit squidgy 😯 but you’ll thank all of us at the end.

Oh, and buy some decent (bib) shorts. My current faves are the Giordana Tenax.

Enjoy the Dynamo – it’s on my list for next year.

Without wishing to sound repugnant, make sure everything is as clean as possible down there before you start riding. 😯

I’ve never done the DD, but if it’s like the South West version (the Exmouth Exodus) you’ll be more worried about fighting off the invisible bats and not crashing into a hedge when you fall asleep than any arse-based discomfort.

sudocrem the area at night, stops rash’s/infectiong getting a hold, libberal doses of udderly smooth, feels wierd like you’ve pood yourelf after gettig the squits, but 100+ miles later you’ll be fresh as a daisy.

Shave your arse I guarantee you won’t even manage your current 80 mile limit :lol:. Simpler more effective ideas would be; ride more, change your saddle, get some shorts with a better insert. Personally I would go for the former and the latter as a start.

DONT DO IT!
The grow back itching is really not worth it.

I would suggest a groin wax/ bikini line but nothing else.

You sit on your arse at work for 8 hours a day and the 5 days after you shave it is hell!

I know as I did it and it was the stupidest thing I have ever done!