Originally Posted by jgwilliams

As someone who has often suffered with saddle sores here's my two cents worth.

First of all, once you're back on your bike make sure you regularly use prophylactic treatment to prevent reoccurence. For me that means thoroughly washing the affected area and then slapping on Sudocrem. You may not be familiar with that but it's what we use on baby's to prevent nappy (diaper) rash. Here's the list of ingredients, in case that's helpful: Liquid Paraffin, Paraffin wax. Beeswax, Microcrystalline wax, Sodium benzoate, Linalyl acetate, Propylene glycol, Citric acid, Butylated hydroxyanisole, Sorbitan sesquioleate.

Secondly, if you do think you have one developing, I've found that slapping on a hydrocolloid dressing protects the area from chafing and promotes healing. They remain on for several days and can be quite painful when you do finally remove them but, for me at least, they are really worth it. Compeed blister hydrocolloid plasters are reasonably cheap and easy to come by.

Finally, make sure you've got a comfortable saddle. Saddles are probably the most individual thing on a bike so asking advice on these boards won't necessarily be that helpful. I've spent a small fortune on saddles over the year (and shorts, for that matter). About the only helpful thing I can tell you is that the most expensive isn't necessarily the best. The two I've had that worked pretty well for me were a Fizik Arione (which, sadly, snapped across the middle recently) and a Fabric Line Shallow.

Best of luck

John