Honey on the Butt of Cycling

Chamois Crème and Cycling

Interbike is a cycling industry event that brings together retailers, manufacturers, media, and cycling enthusiasts to share information and conduct business. This two day event features retail education events including the IBD Summit and the world’s largest outdoor demonstration. Also included in the schedule is a Customer Appreciation Day, which opens the event to the consumers who power the industry. Interbike is a proud contributor to PeopleForBikes and the largest supporter of the cycling industry.

Interbike 2015 was no exception to the high standards that this event is known for – closing at the end of last week, this year’s show introduced a number of new products to the industry including one that features honey. Although we would not often think about honey being an important part of this sport, it does play a role in the products offered by Biomaxa. At this year’s show, Biomaxa released two products for bicycle and body care that feature lanolin – one of which also features honey.

Biomaxa’s chamois crème, which is an all-natural substance, is meant to be used to treat chaffing on the upper thighs and buttock. This product features lanolin, Manuka honey, and oil from the Manuka tree. This combination helps to create a soothing cream that also lubricates and helps prevent infection with its antibacterial properties. While it may seem odd for a lube company to create a personal care product such as this, the combination of ingredients makes perfect sense and will be beneficial to riders.

While the health and antibacterial properties of Manuka honey has been well-known for some time, using this sticky substance as an anti-chaffing agent is a newer application. When we think about honey, we do not associate it with making an area smoother but in this application with the combination of ingredients being used, it does work. The antibacterial properties of Manuka honey make it the perfect addition to the chamois cream to help soothe the skin and prevent any type of infection.

The other product introduced by Biomaxa, a bicycle biolubricant, also features lanolin. For those who do not know, lanolin is an oily substance often used to keep wool from going stinky. This lubricant uses the same premise to keep bike chains from squeaking and keeping bearings working smoothly. Biomaxa’s booth was manned by two pleasant New Zealanders who were on hand to secure United States distribution of Biomaxa’s products such as their biolubricant, bio-grease and chamois creams.