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!