- [Man 1] The humble backside, call her what you will: bottom, ass,
rear, or rump. It's one of the three contact points you have with your
bike and, arguably, the most important. A sore bottom is a sad bottom.
Bummer. So, here's GCN's top ten tips to not getting a sore ass.
Let's be honest, sitting or lying down, grazing on some of your favorite snacks,
browsing GCN's vast back catalog videos is sometimes the preferred option,
especially after a long arduous day in the saddle with some terrible weather thrown
in too. Give your ass some downtime. It'll love you more and look after you when you
need it most.
If you think about it, cycling shorts are called that because,
well, they're short, and they're made for cycling. Undies have no shammy protection
between your saddle and your rear and are not fashioned out of material,
be it cotton or silk, that is supposed to be cycled in. If worn between you and your
shorts, they'll ruck up and chafe and leave you smarting and sore for days.
So brave the elements and go naked under your shorts.
Cycling shorts are tight for a reason, and that reason is so that you don't get
friction burns on your most delicate areas. So make sure you get the right
shorts with the maximum benefit. Too tight, and they're going to dig into some
of the areas you don't want them digging into and too loose, and they'll be
sliding around on your undercarriage like a duck on a frozen pond and a rather
itchy frozen pond due to chafing on an epic scale.
- [Dan] If you don't want your patootie to start looking like the face of the
moon, then clean your shorts. If you're someone susceptible to picking up saddle
sores, and exposing your skin to weeks worth of sweat, grime,
and goodness knows what else, isn't going to help. It's going to lead to a bumpy and
uncomfortable ride and by bumpy, we mean scabby.
- Lemon fresh!
- Use chamoise cream, so cool, because in years gone by, it was used to protect
one's undercarriage from rather harsh chamois leather that was used as shorts
inserts back in the day. Now, chamois cream is still used today as a sort of
adult nappy cream really, a soothing aid against friction. Just make sure you don't
use warm up balm or imbrication instead.
One of the best ways to avoid having a sore derriere is to avoid getting a wet
derriere. This is where mud guards can help. Keeping mud and road water off
yourself and your bike also helps avoid that, "I've had to carry a nasty
accident look," that happens so often to those who choose a paler of cycling kits.
- There are loads of different shapes and sizes of saddles on the market these days,
which is great, because there isn't one particular shape which will suit every
kind of rider. So, if you are having trouble with comfort whilst you're out
riding, try a few different saddles and see if you can find one that's right for
you. Bare in mind though, when you are in the market for a new saddle,
just because it looks comfortable, doesn't necessarily mean that it is.
Conversely, some of those wafer-thin saddles that look like they're going to be
about as comfortable as sitting on a pin might actually suit you very well indeed.
Probably not the first thing that you're going to think about when you thinking
about comfort, but putting more power through the pedals, when we do it,
there's more weight taken by your legs, less by your butt.
- From the beginning, for all those of you with little or no patience when it comes
to backside luxury, there are a couple of left field options, which I'm about to
demonstrate now. Now, choice one is you get a cushion,
reasonably sized, and strap it, using whatever method you have to hand,
to your mate's posterior or indeed your own. That should, work a treat.
- Well I have to say, Matt, I've already gotten a huge sense of relief in the
saddle sore region, what is option number two?
- Well option two is slightly different. You basically get a similar sized cushion,
if you have one to hand, and what you do is basically stuff it down your shorts.
I like that, so comfortable. I don't know why
people haven't thought of this before, Dan. Although...
- Ready?
- Yep here we go!
When it comes down to it, there really is no way to make your ride completely
comfortable. It's just a matter of practice.
- Yeah, but hours spent on the saddle every day, for years on end, eventually
your caboose will get just used to the torture that you put it through on a daily
basis, and you'll think back and wonder what all the fuss was about.
If you need some guidance on how to set up your saddle heights,
click on our video up there.
- And if you're wanting to learn how to set up your physique saddle,
click down there.
- And if you haven't already subscribed to GCN, it's absolutely free, and all you've
got to do is click on us. All right, that half an hour has done me in then.
- Oh, I think I might need...
- Can I get that cushion back on?
- ...a massage. Can you put the bike away Dan?
- Can you give me that strap on again?
- Yeah.