Bike chaffing

[ImBrian]

I've posted in here as there seems to be more traffic then in cycling.
I'm hoping someone can help with a rather delicate chaffing issue!
Basically the gist of it is every time I ride my bike I get red inflamed bumps (hair follicles?) right at the top of my inner thigh where your knicker line would run. They’re slightly sore and itchy and look awful. Plus they’re mostly on the right hand side so I must sit a bit off.
I have a seat fitted to my sit bones, I’ve tried padded shorts/knickers, different styles of knickers, chammy cream and they’re still popping up. Do I need to just persevere in the hope my fanny skin just hardens up? I’ve only been back bike riding a few weeks and instead of my usual once a year ride I’ve been hammering it. I’m hoping it’s not like weight lifting where you need to develop callouses 😂

Yeah it’ll toughen up!! I take a break from cycling when it’s icy - usually Nov to March. Come April I’m wincing and pedalling out of the saddle again. For the knicker line bit I put a line of Vaseline along the crease which seems to help.

Do you wear knickers AND padded shorts? If so don’t! I guess the other thing to check is whether your saddle is designed for the female
anatomy? Does it have a cut out? Is it too long for you? X I use the selle Italian diva which is amazing

So far yes but I’ve only worn them once, I’ll try them knickerless next time. My saddles a specialized mimic, it’s got a channel and it’s supposed to be a ladies one. It is quite long though. It’s on trial and I know there was a shorter version.

Would definitely try knicker less- the shorts are designed to be worn as a single layer 😎 it might be worth adjusting your saddle forward or back? Even a millimetre can make a difference! Sorry that’s not much help but I’ve disco weed the hard way that there’s never a simple answer! Like why I’m suddenly getting horrendous plantar fasciitis after cycling when I never have before- no different anything’s😰

Definitely take your knickers off.

Ok knickerless riding it is 😂
I was thinking about dropping the front of the saddle slightly, see if that helps.

No knickers definitely. If that doesn't solve the issue try the shorter saddle. Specialized do with mimic or a cut out. You may find a cutout suits you better. I hate mimic but cutout works great for me with the shorter saddle.

Change one thing at a time. So lose the knickers first and try that………if it doesn’t work think about other things such as bike /saddle fit.