now that the new season is just around the corner, I think its a good time to talk about saddle sores & share the best preventive measures.
I don’t know if anatomically different sexual characteristics play a role and affects some people more than others. But this came up as a topic once at bpv.
Especially for people who haven’t spent so much time on the saddle or start with polo/bike riding, it can be an unclear topic and cause a lot of silent suffering because it’s a shameful topic. but it’s very normal & part of the “bike business”, that’s why I want to talk about it.
so, as the title already says: tell me your stories & solution strategies with saddle sores. don’t be shy.
(why i chose the topic under discussion- training is because the wellbeing of your body is a not insignificant part of your sportive performance and the care and preparation can be understood as part of the training. but feel free to suggest a better corner in poloverse)
Sorry, I can’t speak for folks with vulvas, but here’s my advice:
Time in the saddle is key—the more you ride, the more your body adapts.
Reduce friction with chamois or lotion products like Butt’r (made for cycling).
In polo, bike control (like high speed braking and pivoting) often means wanting more friction, so many players wear jeans for better grip.
Sweat caused acne can be painful, this can be unavoidable especially in hot, humid places with multiple days of pick up and riding around. Shower after games when possible and wear clean, breathable clothes to help.
Saddles, try as many as you can. The one that’s the most comfortable for the first five minutes might not be the one that’s comfortable for eight hours of riding.
expensive solution:
go to BIKEFITTING.
the shape of the saddle should correspond to your anatomy (pelvic bones etc) and to your position on the bike. it wouldnt be the same if you re almost lying down with your chin on the stem vs if you sit straight like at school.
if you spend hours in saddle in unhealthy position to gain some confort on your bike, you may end up with back pain ( not only with various types of " between the legs" pain) . Then it will clearly impact your basic ballance and all tricky tricks like pivoting and racklette.
cheap solution ( mine),
valid only if you re not victim of fake esthetics. Get a chunky saddle with a hole in the middle, it will adjust to your anatomy and you will sit on your bike for hours pain free and move all the directions, like on a sofa ( the trade mark of one of my confortable and “uggly” saddles). smth like this ( ~30 eur or less)
On your skin after showering (I am not a doctor and you should be aware not putting it on vulval mucosa).
I think a bit of any other disinfection would work as well.
As far as I understood all the research I did about the topic, the problem are little skin ruptures and skin bacteria (which is normal but gets more when sweating).
Cotton underwear made it also better for me - my beautician once told me cotton hot pants that cover the first part of your tights. (I never found some )
-great point that has been maybe before, don’t be ashamed to try a chunky saddle if it works out works (and if someone reading this makes fun of that, just don’t please)
-many bike shops have a device for measuring your pelvic (?) bones and you can use it for free (or do it yourself at home there is some tutorials on the Internet)
-some brands that people I know with butt pain had good experiences:
Ergon, SQLab (pricy but good quality, they offer saddles in different widths)
Terry (similar but less pricy)
-there is a service that rents saddles - also pricy but cheaper than buying all of them I guess: https://betterride.de/
-body position can do a lot for comfort, don’t be afraid to tinker around. Some things to consider are: saddle angle, stem height, stem length, grip/brake angle
I used to have a problem with ingrown hairs. Now during polo season I am careful to exfoliate my nether regions. I use a loofa or some scratchy shower gloves.
Before I found a solution I looked into laser hair removal. TBH, I think the problem is less bad now because I don’t play back to back weekends any more. I know other competitive cyclists who swear by laser hair removal.
For general friction sores my take is that leaving skin moist for long periods of time is the main factor. Can’t speak for the other sex, but for me airing out the boys and some friction cream prior to play works well.
I love my tioga dh saddle. It’s 30cm long and quite wide. I don’t proselytise because they are already hard enough to find on eBay.
