Ride Mechanic Anti-friction Cream Moonshine 95g

Contains soothing skin lubricants and no added fragrance or colour.

HISTORY: In the early days of cycling knicks were knitted out of wool and this "one-piece" construction would bunch-up making for an uncomfortable ride.  The knicks then changed to multi-panel designs with different fibres.  This meant that there were seams, and with seams came extra friction, and with extra friction came greater discomfort. Designers looked for ways to cover up the seams, opting for the soft leather from a Chamois goat, hence the name chamois. The chamois leather was tanned using cod liver oil and became very stiff when dry.  Cyclists took great are of their chamois and did not let it dry out, and often coated it with various "moisturisers" like lard, lanolin, olive oil etc. Needless to say it was not a beautifully clean piece of clothing.

Nowadays, knicks do not contain chamois leather and are multi-layers of synthetic fibres with carefully engineered wicking fibres to remove moisture from the skin. Because of the moisture absorbing technology, manufacturers do not design the padding to be coated with oily anti-friction creams.  There is also an expectation from riders that the padding will be clean and dry after washing.  Most riders still use anti-friction creams and it is the oily nature of chamois creams that makes them work.

CLEANING: The more oil, the more likely the anti-friction product will be to impregnate and bind to the fabric and cause “staining”.  Knicks should be turned inside out and then washed using laundry detergent in normal wash cycle,.  Moonshine is a low staining product and should wash out easily.