"Manscaping" down there.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by wallymann

google saddle-sore: a bacteria-filled pore.

"Skin flora is usually non-pathogenic, and either commensal (are not harmful to their host) or mutualistic (offer a benefit). The benefits bacteria can offer include preventing transient pathogenic organisms from colonizing the skin surface, either by competing for nutrients, secreting chemicals against them, or stimulating the skin's immune system.[3] However, resident microbes can cause skin diseases and enter the blood system creating life-threatening diseases particularly in immuno-suppressed people"

[ColonelJLloyd]

So. . . saddle sores are good for you?

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

So. . . saddle sores are good for you?

Don't be dense. No, saddle sores aren't good for you. But bacteria isn't necessarily bad for you either. In fact, most bacteria in/on your body are beneficial to you.

[alioup]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

So. . . saddle sores are good for you?

There are millions of species of bacteria including bad ones (saddle sore) and good ones (friendly flora).

Saying that all bacteria is bad for you is kinda like saying "wow this sram front derailleur sucks, all bikes suck..."

[ColonelJLloyd]

I'm not being dense, but we're not talking about drinking kombucha. Who here has made a single inference, let alone an assertion, that all bacteria is bad for you?

I'm gonna continue to employ the ol' Wahl and guard. Feels good and my lady likes it.

Originally Posted by mistermo

Don't be dense. No, saddle sores aren't good for you. But bacteria isn't necessarily bad for you either. In fact, most bacteria in/on your body are beneficial to you.

[mistermo]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

I'm not being dense, but we're not talking about drinking kombucha. Who here has made a single inference, let alone an assertion, that all bacteria is bad for you?

I'm gonna continue to employ the ol' Wahl and guard. Feels good and my lady likes it.

Go re-read post #1. There is your assertion.

[Sierra]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

i don't see any reason to think he was coming on to you.. T
I shave everything, including full junk, taint, and crack.. Because why not? Full hairlessness is better looking than selective hairlessness, which requires shave lines... And if you're shaving up the leg and stopping at the crotch, you end up with feminine bikini line like edges, which I am personally not into sporting.

Thank you for this information.

[Seramount]

once I started shaving the legs, wasn't a big leap to expand the maintenance program to other areas.

the old Wahl clipper with no. 1 guard gets a weekly workout mowing the head, arms, chest, pits, and privates.

not gonna use a razor on those places tho.

[11.4]

Sounds like a bunch of impractical shavers here. And a few I wouldn't try to describe at all.

Think for a second about the purposes of shaving:

1. Less pain if you crash.
2. Easier massage.
3. Fewer skin sores (assuming you shave regularly).
4. Slightly better heat transport or heat preservation in hot or cold weather, respectively.
5. Easier wound management.
6. And, of course, ego gratification.

Now if you take a crash, road rash isn't going to stop at the leg grippers on your shorts. So if you want to make it easier and less painful to recover from road rash, figure that your hips usually get hit, which means you want to shave to your waist. It also makes it easier to have them massaged, though ymmv.

As for hair underneath, it isn't just a question of infection (and it isn't really a question about infection at all, as discussed above) but more a question of plucking. No, not that kind. But when you move on your saddle and yank a few hairs out, it does hurt and they do get inflamed and they do turn into festering nodules of bike-hate.

The first shaving, or even the first few, may result in a few painful nibs, but once your skin is acclimatized (remember when you first started shaving as an excuse for trying to shave off all your acne?) you'll get a nice clean result that won't catch or pull or otherwise act up.

How intimate you want to go is entirely up to you, though at that point, unless you have a wife or girlfriend or whatever that has an opinion (in which case you do what they want and shut up). However, if it's facing the saddle, Without getting too graphic, there's a lot to be said for getting it all clean, but it definitely is a learning curve. So to speak.

[wallymann]

Originally Posted by mistermo

"Skin flora is usually non-pathogenic, and either commensal (are not harmful to their host) or mutualistic (offer a benefit). The benefits bacteria can offer include preventing transient pathogenic organisms from colonizing the skin surface, either by competing for nutrients, secreting chemicals against them, or stimulating the skin's immune system.[3] However, resident microbes can cause skin diseases and enter the blood system creating life-threatening diseases particularly in immuno-suppressed people"

i get it. bacteria have a role to play. blah, blah, blah.

it sounds like the idea behind this manscaping is not the total eradication of all skin bacteria, but altering the hair density of certain areas so that they are not cess-pools of skin bacteria run amok, which can lead to saddle-sores.

[Llewellyn]

Originally Posted by Joxster

I dip my love spuds in warm porridge before every ride

PMSL

[bikingshearer]

Originally Posted by johnniecakes

This was part of a longer conversation that covered spouses, retirement planning, my revised living will etc....

Yeah, I can see how discussing the pros and cons of clear-cutting your naughty bits would naturally flow from that conversation . . . .

[OtayBW]

I have the sense that this is i) a solution designed for a problem waiting to happen, and/or ii) a vanity thing. Believe my taint will remain untainted....

[seanile]

Originally Posted by Joxster

I dip my love spuds in warm porridge before every ride

i don't often laugh at the internet, but when i do, it's when someone says "love spuds" and means it.

but really, buzzers are not shaving. never shave unless you want seriously aggravated ingrown hairs and the potential sebaceous cysts (been there, unpleasant).
the reason i buzz down south, from the front to the taint to the lower depths of the crack, is due to how hair sometimes ends up getting pulled/tugged in areas i don't want it to and that gets seriously uncomfortable after 65 miles. keeping it short makes it far more manageable and unnoticeable. anecdote, my 132mile ride last weekend would've been a lot more pleasant had i trimmed up. and i know this because i've biked 3800miles across the country in 70days with my preferred maintenance method and never once had a need for chamois cream, or gold bond. a close crop kept me happy.
and for all y'all fretting at the talk of pubes and the maintenance of such... relax...it's anatomy...we've all got it. there's nothing to be scared of. it's all a matter of "hey, what helps you get comfortable on the bike?" easy enough. i make jokes when i'm uncomfortable too, but some people are asking for actual guidance.

[Cicli]

The only time one should shave their junk. Never had the need to Do this but it would likely work.

Slash and burn-
The act whereby and individual can rid him/herself of pubic "crabs" by shaving half of one's pubic hair, then lighting the other half on fire; the result of which is the crabs running out into the clearing whereupon they can readily be stabbed with a ball-point pen.