DZnuts for the Ladies?

One discovery I have made in my attempts to battle roadbike discomforts is a product called DZnuts. This is a chamois cream that promises to "protect your junk" from chafing, irritation and infections that can occur during long distance cycling on a roadbike. This stuff is sold in most bike shops, branded as a men's product. So I present it here surrounded by lavender and a cup of herbal tea to indicate that it also works for ladies.

If you are wondering for what purpose you would possibly need something like this, then you probably do not need it. But if leaning forward on your saddle for hours rubs you the wrong way, then you know what I speak of. Oh I know it is a delicate topic, and I assure you that I blush and swoon at my own impropriety even as I write this, but somebody had to address it. So yes: DZnuts helps against that. The cream both alleviates the pain if you've already hurt yourself, and will prevent it from happening in the first place if applied before the ride. If they come up with a better product that is women-specific, that would be wonderful. Until then, DZnuts it is.

Comments

  1. It's hard to know what to say. But...on a related topic for the men...
    ...embarking on a tour of the South Island of NZ last summer (the start of a 100 km day) on the way to the Rainbow station road I was riding with boxer shorts under cycle shorts. I found I was suffering early signs of discomfort and irritation. The key was to ride without boxers, which I'm glad my friend advised me about as soon as I mentioned my situation.

    This is a post indirectly in defence of Lycra bike shorts with excellent padding (which I know do not suit everyone and only get donned riding in the wet or on long journeys) ok crucify me!

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  2. LOL at the herbal tea and lavender. I can think of some nouns to fill in the DZ____ blank, but I don't want to cause further swooning ;)

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  3. Dottie -- Thanks for that : ) Maybe the manufacturer should consider that as a marketing pitch.

    cycle seoul -- Boxers under cycling shorts? I can only imagine the "fun" of that ride! I am not against lycra cycling shorts for sport, and I even bought a pair myself, because so many people swore that I would find them comfortable on long rides on my roadbike and that my "sensitivity to artificial fabrics" was nonsense. So I bought some attractive padded shorts by Pearl Izumi. The compression and padding felt good, and they were even quite flattering (which really is an accomplishment as far as women's cycling shorts go!). But my skin felt weird underneath the synthetic material, and after an hour of riding I developed an irritation similar to chemical burn all over the back of my legs under the shorts. So alas, I was right that I simply can't wear this stuff. I will try them again in cooler weather and see whether that makes things any better.

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  4. I think I read or heard somewhere that Pro-cyclist Dave Zabriskie who is the owner of DZnuts is developing a women specific product. He was trying to think of a name for it, but the one he thought of first was even more improper than DZnuts.

    Have you tried different saddles?
    When my wife Kao first started riding a road bike, she was not comfortable on the saddle, so she got a Specialized Dolce saddle and she hasn't complained of discomfort since. The Dolce saddle is definitely not as lovely as a Brooks, but I think it's well made for long distance riding.

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  5. If you have problems with synthetic fabrics, you might want to try Kucharik's merino shorts with a natural leather chamois.

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  6. Mumbleboy -- The saddle I have is very comfortable to ride on, and it is not the problem (i.e., this would happen with any saddle with a nose on it, and I don't like the idea of noseless saddles for other reasons).

    Looks like Dave Zabriskie and Dottie are on the same wavelength regarding the name! Who knows, maybe it will be healthy to shake up the crowds with a name like that. Though the cream will probably be prohibited in Alabama. I have learned more X-rated details about the male anatomy from cyclists' comments than I had ever been aware of in my life. Yet you never see any explicit discussions like that about female "junk". John Forester has a short section about it in Effective Cycling, and I have seen forum discussions where people criticised him for being "vulgar" and "creepy" for it.

    mander -- thanks for the tip! I like the idea of natural leather chamois. Kucharik's website only offers these shorts for men, but I wonder if women's versions exist as well.

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  7. that product name is hilarious!

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  8. Alabama's ban of the 'naked wine' made the papers up here. I should tell Trisha; she mentioned that too.

    Those people who are offended by such matters are those who end up with unwanted pregnancies (or their children do)...and worse...because they 'don't want to talk about'. (~sigh~)

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  9. The logo on that product is supposed to look like a bike saddle, I suppose, but at first, I thought it was the "junk" the product is designed to protect.

    I just use hemorrhoid ointment, and I bet it's cheaper than any sports-oriented product. It has fish oil in it, so you know it has magical properties.

    Keep it away from your dog. Or my dog, at least. She chewed through my tube, probably because of the fish oil smell.

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  10. I don't think this stuff would be of any interest to pets, because it smells overwhelmingly of tea-tree oil, which they hate. No fish oil smell at all.

    My cats love to sniff bicycles though, and sometimes they try to lick around the chainwheel area - must be because of the oils.

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  11. have you seen this?
    http://www.bikerumor.com/2009/09/08/hoo-ha-womens-chamios-cream-for-their-hoo-ha/

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  12. Hoo Ha - Excellent! I don't know though, can it beat the magic of DZNuts? Maybe we need an investigative team! Meanwhile, I contacted DZNuts to ask whether they indeed plan on releasing a women-specific version. Their reply was coyly mysterious, but was basically a yes. It is supposed to be revealed at Interbike.

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  13. ". . .the same wavelength regarding the name!"

    And it recycles all the letters, which is good for the environment.

    Yeah, I'm know I'm late for this party, but for some reason only just found out about it.

    I'll point out that this has been a problem for 150 years or so now and that the traditional balm is lanolin. Another plug for wool; only different. Mix in a bit o' that tea tree oil for its antibiotic properties.

    Anyone from cow country will also be aware of that balm for that other part of the female mammalian anatomy. Bag Balm. Works lower down too; and for that matter on nuts.

    And there's always Gold Bond Powder for those who object to the greasy stuff.

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  14. Well, for my two cents there are really three problems to be addressed here: 1. Avoiding chaffing, 2. Avoiding infection if you do get chaffed and 3. Speeding the healing process if you do get chaffed. All of these products try to address all three with some combination of ingredients. If you can accomplish 1. you don't need to worry about 2. or 3. Here is what works for me: For 1. I use a silicon based lubricant that is actually maketed as a sex aide but works really well for anti-chaffing. These days I've been using silver premium silicone from SLIQUID. If I do end up getting chaffed (which is mostly because I forgot to apply the silicone) then I use triple anti-biotic ointment until it heals (note, Bag Balm has similair anti-biotics in it) for 2 and vitamin E for 3 (which works very well - simply pop open a vitamin e tablet and apply the liquid within). This has gotten me accross the mainland USA three times riding an average of 82 miles a day, day after day.

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  15. Now I'm really late to the party. But why are you so concerned with avoiding noseless seats. They are really the way to go - completely avoid the whole saddle nose chaffing issue. I just wrote a post about my Spongy Wonder on carfreepvd.wordpress.com

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  16. carfreepvd - Appologies for being even later with my reply. I like saddles with noses, as the nose helps me with balance and keeps me on the saddle when there are bumps. Plus I like the feel of leather saddles, and I do not believe noseless ones exist.

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