Sportique Century Riding Cream & Warming Up Oil – Review

I was recently asked to try out a couple of cycling products then write a review on them. Excellent I thought, I love freebies, I wonder what it can be, would it be a new bike, a chainset, new components? I was thinking bling, then I was handed a brown padded envelope. Now, either it was stuffed with money and I was being paid off, or it was small products. It turned out to be the latter and came in the form of Sportique Century Riding Cream and Sportique Warming Up Oil.

OK it wasn’t what I expected but hey it’s a freebie and as I said, I love freebies, c’mon who doesn’t! Now I’ve never really bothered with chamois cream or warming up oil before so was happy to give it a go. The first thing that stuck out was the clean crisp and simple packaging. All the products in the range come in a white and red tube with a red cap and the colour scheme works for me and it’s very easy to spot all the products in the same range.

So armed with my new freebies I headed home racking my brains for ways to convince my wife that it would be better if she massaged the Warming Up Oil into my thighs! 😉

Now was the perfect time to try out the Sportique Century Riding Cream as for the first time in a very long time the people of Scotland were being treated to a very rare glimpse of the sun! With temperatures soaring to 23° the place was a wash with milk bottle Scots enjoying another “Taps aff day“, resulting in the lobster look coming back into fashion!

I tried the Sportique Century Riding Cream during my commute to work last week. On applying the cream I noticed that it was fragrance free and wasn’t that thick a cream, making it easy to apply. Having two boys I know how thick and horrible to apply these types of creams like Sudocrem can be. The riding cream can be applied directly to the skin or to the clothing, leaving no residue and is easily washed away.

I have to say that I did notice a difference, there wasn’t rubbing in the usual places, ok there probably was rubbing but it didn’t leave a raw and uncomfortable mark. I was suitably impressed, especially since it was a warm day. My commute was only 7 miles so it wasn’t really a fair test so on the Sunday I headed off with my mate to climb Dukes Pass and do the Drymen climb. For those of you not familiar with these climbs, they are tough going! 48 miles was completed in warm conditions with 4249ft of climbing with no discomfort or chaffing at all. I have been sold on the stuff now and have used it on every one of my rides since, whether it be my 7 mile commute to work or a 40-60 mile weekend ride.

Next up in the Sportique range for me to try was the Sportique Warming Up Oil. Again it’s not the type of product I’ve used before so I was entering unknown territory and being unable to convince my wife to massage the oil into my thighs I had to resort to applying it myself. 🙁

Striaght away I noticed that unlike the Sportique Centure Riding Cream, the Sportique Warming Up Oil did have a slight fragrance to it. Nothing as potent as Deep Heat to be fair! The Warming Up Oil was quite a runny oil and not sticky like some oils can be.

Now one thing I have to say is that even though I’m a roadie and cycle 100+ miles a week, my legs still own their own hair! I haven’t fallen into the leg shaving category yet…….. damn did I say yet? That implies that it maybe something that will happen in the future……… ok lets clear that up a little, that WON’T be happening! I know I said I’d never go down the lycra bib-shorts route and I did but that’s a different story and I’m going to leave that one there!

So where were we, ah that’s right I was on about my hairy legs……. I found the Warming Up Oil very easy to apply even with my hairy legs, and I instantly felt my legs/muscles warm up, nothing like the hideous burning sensation you get when applying deep heat, there was just a nice little glowing feel to them.

Just like Deep Heat I wouldn’t advise having a cheeky wee scratch, you blokes will know what I’m on about 😉 , until you’ve thoroughly washed your hands. It’s not something I’ve experienced, I’m just putting the warning out there.

So what did I think of the products and would I use them again? Of course I’ll use them again as my freebies haven’t run out yet! On a serious note, I would use the Riding Cream (chamois cream) again but not sure if the Warming Up Oil is for me. To be fair I have only used it the once and my legs weren’t sore or heavy so don’t think I’ve given it a fair chance. I’ll keep using it until the freebie is finished, trying it on tired legs and do a follow up post on it.

There are six sport related products available in the Sportique Range:

• Sportique Century Riding Cream
• Sportique Elements Cream
• Sportique Get Going Cream
• Sportique Road Rash Remedy Balm
• Sportique Warming Up Cream
• Sportique Warming Up Oil

Why not give the brand a try to see if it works for you, maybe you’ll have better luck than I did convincing your other half to apply the Warming Up Oil to your body!

Stuart
IT Manager