The contact points on a bike are the feet, hands and butt. Cyclocross racers are only on the saddle for an hour and much of that time is actually off the saddle. On the other hand, gravel racers are sitting on the saddle for hours on end.
At Interbike 2018 in Reno, we checked out some of the items that could help for both short cyclocross and long gravel days in the saddle.
Today, we look at products from Lizard Skins, SQ Lab and Chamois Butt'r.
Each company is on its own slide. Use the next button to scroll through each.
For more new products from Reno, see our Interbike 2018 archive.
Chamois Butt’r Chamois Cream
Finally, we stopped by Chamois Butt’r, which coincidentally also turns 25 this year.
For a quarter century, founder Steve Mathews has been heading up operations. Back when the company started, some shorts still came with natural deerskin chamois liners which dried stiff and somewhat brittle after washing. A softener and lubricant were needed to restore the flexibility and softness to the leather.
Chamois Butt’r was one of those products. The original saddle pad lubricant, Chamois Butt’r is still a best seller, primarily for friction reduction between the mostly synthetic pads. The company has added other products over the years including Eurostyle with witch hazel and “Her” with lavender oil. Mathews did mention that the latter may be rebranded in the future, as both female and non-female athletes like the mild anti-inflammation qualities of the lavender oil.
Chamois Butt’r is 25 years old! With a new plant-based, mineral-oil-free coconut chamois cream. 2018 Interbike Contact Point Product Round-Up. © C. Lee / Cyclocross Magazine
Not to rest on their laurels, a new natural, organic coconut Chamois Butt’r will be available soon. This product addresses those looking for a natural plant-based product (no mineral oil is used) and the emollient qualities of coconut oil. It is in production and will be available in November 2018.
