Jett vs. Ariel SL Specialized saddles

[Nattie]

Hi - I read the thread on Specialized's Jett saddle. Very informative! A few days before reading I ordered a Jett saddle... however now I'm a bit confused and not sure of whether I chose the right saddle? Basically I just want a light and comfortable saddle for touring (eg. 100 km a day)... previously my sit-bone region and more more female region hurt after eg. 50 km. ...
but is the Jett the one? I reckon I'd sacrifice weight for comfort ...

The blurb on the Jett mentions racing but not padding - the blurb on the Ariel SL mentions "enough cushion for all day riding comfort". Has anyone ridden an Ariel SL? What did you think? Then there's the comfy looking gel Avatar that is not specifically designed for women, but I've had no experience with gel seats...

Does anyone have any advice? I know it also comes down to personal design but ... is the Jett more designed for racing as opposed to comfort over long-distances? Help! :)

[mimitabby]

forget the blubs that advertisers put with their saddles.
As you will discover from reading our opinions on the saddle threads,
no saddle is going to make everyone happy.
It's a very highly individual thing. Lots of people swear by the Terry butterfly
for example, it MADE ME swear. I couldn't wait to get it off my bike.

The best thing to do is to try the one you're getting and if it's awful
send it back. If you like it, don't waste your time trying the other one.

[Pedal Wench]

I use both the Avatar gel, (size 155) and the Jett (also 155). They fit the same, in that nothing hits my thighs or feels differently. The Jett is significantly lighter, so for fast rides, I use it, although I've used it for weeklong tours and centuries. The Avatar has more cush and is quite comfy too, but heavier. I'm doing a long endurance ride this weekend and I'm bringing both. (Will be doing loops late in teh ride, so I can head to my car for gear swaps.)

[Grog]

The Jett didn't work for me (as you have read on that thread) but it might work for you.

I don't like cushy saddles. I now ride a Selle Italia SLR and it's even less padded than the Jett I think. Sometimes I think of trying a cushier saddle, but honestly I don't think it's worth the trouble. This one doesn't hurt me anywhere, except after five hours on the bike, but even my office chair hurts after five hours so...

[Nattie]

thanks for the replies.

if you have both the avatar and the jett, which would you use for say a month-long tour where you're doing around 6hrs a day on the bike? to me, i don't care so much about weight (as opposed to seat comfort) in these circumstances ... and this is what I'm buying for, essentially (asides from the fact that the one that came on my Trek hurts me after even 30 mins!)!

[Pedal Wench]

You know, I was about to say immediately that the Avatar gel. But, I've used the Jett on a weeklong tour, and even with the Avatar in my bag, I still went with the Jett. It's fine for long days in the saddle. I'll report back next week after the endurance event next weekend.

[Nattie]

interesting... i mean i know that it depends on one's anatomy etc but it almost seems intuitive that a more padded one would be more comfortable on long rides, doesn't it? that'd be great to report back thanks! happy riding during it.

[Pedal Wench]

but it almost seems intuitive that a more padded one would be more comfortable on long rides, doesn't it?

Well, actually, not really. The more padding means my sitbones sink in deeper, meaning more contact area. So, it's actually a toss-up!

[Nattie]

ah, good point... keen to hear which one 'wins' then, for your purposes next week.

[Grog]

Well, actually, not really. The more padding means my sitbones sink in deeper, meaning more contact area. So, it's actually a toss-up!

I agree. I'm not very comfortable on a padded saddle. On a not-so-padded saddle, what you're sitting on at the start is what you get at the end. On a very padded saddle, there's always the chance that the padding will compress over time (maybe even during only one ride). Plus it can chafe more because the padding is shifting around a little.

YMMV of course...

[Offthegrid]

The Jett gives me a bad saddle sore. I think it's from the way the stitching is done.

[Brandy]

I have on and off issues with my Jett...sometimes I'm fine on long rides, other times I have issues. I am scared to swap it though and just start the whole search over again. I have a double century this weekend, so I'll decide after that.

[Nattie]

Please let us know how it went then!

[Nattie]

An update - I just finally got the Jett today and went for a ride... much to my disheartenment (if that's a word), after only about 5 km I could start to feel the BG sign on the side of the nose, that Grog had such a time with... after 30 km only I had no doubt that if I went for very long at all, I would get quite a nasty chafing from this. It's hard to believe that this seat, designed for women, could be so poorly designed for some! Anyway, back to the shop it will go... can anyone tell me if the Avatar or the Ariel specialized saddles have any of these raised logos that could prove annoying anywhere (eg. to one's inner thighs)????? :(

[redrover77]

I've just tried the Specialized Ariel over the weekend (70miles). Compared to my previous Selle San Marco Rolls, what a difference! No soft tissue pain though quite a bit of pressure redistributed to the bones on either side... but the ache is far far more tolerable in comparison to that horrible sting when you go to pee for the first time after a ride! Methinks my bones will get used to it. The saddle is soft but firm, sit bones had no problems whatsoever.

No annoying raised bits anywhere I can tell...

So I think its a keeper... though I am trying the Selle SMP Strike TRK (that has been touted on this forum regularly) when the postman gets around to delivering it!

[smilingcat]

It seems many of you don't like the jett 130. So now I'm tad concerned.

my litespeed and my trainer has Sella Italia SLR and it was more than okay. My new used bike (orbea dama race) came with worn Sellta Italia trans am. Its comfortable but I'm not crazy about it.

I took for a short 25 mile spin with my new jett 130 (the skinniest) saddle. And it felt better than my SLR saddle. My only concern is the longevity of jett with that exposed stiching...

Anyway just goes to show you that saddles are highly personal thing.

I may add more thing in coming month regarding this saddle. But for now I adjusted few things on my bike. so I have to decide is it the saddle? or is it the other things? Reach is 10mm shorter and adjusted the height of the wing bar down 20mm. I think I picked up another mile or two in my speed.

smilingcat.

[smilingcat]

I like the Jett saddle. Its comfy for me and unlike the trans am saddle my you know what didn't hurt at all. yaaaayyy!!!

Also being narrower I could slide back on the saddle for some of the climbs to get more leverage and power. Wide trans am saddle precluded me from doing such things.

And it only took three rides to be comfortable.

Smilingcat

[maillotpois]

Cross-post from the "for sale" forum...

For sale! Women's Specialized Jett 130, black. Brand new (50 miles on it). It's just not working for me. (Every butt-y's different. )

I paid $100 something for it. Make me an offer.

[smilingcat]

Oh my, maillotpois.

Are you asking moi since how much I loved my Jett 130?? let me think about it... Also if you find some other takers, don't wait for me...

I'm still contemplating a lateral move with buy Lightspeed Bella, sell my Orbea Dama Race... Looking at Litespeed Blade for TT or possibly Specialized S-works transition tri/TT frame (it is so cheap can't almost pass it up!!).

Smilingcat

[maillotpois]

smiling cat - I'd be haopy to send it to you for a very modest sum if you like. Think about it. Always good to have a spare.

[Thorn]

When you say "130" is that outer edge to outer edge or target sit-bone area to target sit-bone area?

Sorry to ask a dumb question, but I always assumed that the Specialized numbers referred to the width of the saddle, but someone said they refer to sit-bone width.

[maillotpois]

Thorn - I tried to find out the answer to your question, but the specialized site wasn't very helpful. I believe it means sit bone width.

[blueskies]

When you say "130" is that outer edge to outer edge or target sit-bone area to target sit-bone area?


It's the saddle width. I have the 143 & the widest part of the saddle is 143 mms wide.

[michelem]

According to Specialized, this is how it works:

http://www.specialized.com/specs/spec.jsp?speccode=bodygeometrysaddles&tablewidth=400&cellwidth=350

The 130mm should fit a woman who prefers a more aero position and has a sit bone width of 70-100mm. The woman with the same sit bone width (70-100mm), who prefers a more upright position, may be more comfie on the 143.

I love my 130.

[Andrea]

I got a Jett 150 (2007 model closeout) this week and rode 2 hours the first day & 1 hour today. So far, so good. I've got a 52 mile race on Saturday, so I'm hoping that it works OK.

My initial thoughts were that if I didn't have a Thompson seatpost that it wouldn't work, because @ level, the back end feels like it's up too high & when I tilted the nose up the first time, it started to rub my groin. However, I used the 2-bolt Thompson mounting system to fine tune just the perfect amount of upward tilt so that the back of the saddle is just right and there's just enough support in the front that I can shift forward off the seatbones and still be comfy without too much groin pressure. As of now, it's actually very comfy and supportive of whichever part of my pelvis I choose to sit on. If I had to deal with the notch-type adjustment of a usual mount system, I don't think I could get it just right.

The cutout has a nice shape, too. Now I just have to do some longer rides and let it break in to see if the padding shifts too much (which was my problem with the 3 different Terry saddles I've tried- the padding broke down and smashed the cutout closed w/soft tissue inside :eek:)

Oh yeah- and I noticed that they've removed a lot of the excess stitching & whatnot on the 2008 models, but I was trying to save a buck by getting the '07 closeout since I have had such a horrible time finding a saddle that agrees with my undercarriage.

Updates will follow!

[Andrea]

I sent it back to Specialized. My 3rd ride went beyond seatbone soreness to full-on groin chafing. It was a race, so I was riding more aggressively than I did in the first two rides- much more time on the drops, higher cadence, some riding rolled forward on the nose instead of staying on the butt... I could hardly walk afterwards :(

Next in the saddle que: San Marco Women's Aspide followed by Topeak Allay. Not sure what to do if neither of those works. Once again, I'll keep you posted!

[KnottedYet]

Andrea - were you the one who was trying a Brooks for racing, too?

[Andrea]

Yep. It was very comfortable if I was sitting up with my hands on the tops of my handlebars, but if I decreased my hip angle at all (even just going to the hoods... drops were almost out of the question), the pressure up front was too much. I didn't return it, even though the Wallbike guy said it would be no problem. I figure if I ever get a tourer/commuter with a more upright geometry that it will be a great saddle!

[Starfish]

Next in the saddle que: San Marco Women's Aspide followed by Topeak Allay. Not sure what to do if neither of those works. Once again, I'll keep you posted!

Those are next on my list, too. I've been on one of the older Jett 155's for a year now, and it is OK, but not perfect. I will be curious to read your report, and I am also sending you a PM.

[rij73]

That's too bad about the Jett, Andrea... Do keep us posted. Like I think I mentioned, I've been doing okay on the Terry Butterfly, but it does feel bulky (don't know how else to describe the feeling), and I don't like how it looks on the bike...