Saddle Sore

I bought a bike saddle from Tredz online store in November 2011. Ordered 1st November, delivered with typical Tredz urgency at least 3 weeks later.

The saddle in question was a Charge Spoon, recommended by my buddy Steve.

I was a bit disappointed to find, when it arrived, that it was upholstered in "synthetic" leather, but at the price (around £25), I wasn't too bothered, as it was only a trial purchase.

I liked it straight away. It's a good shape, very firm. Kind of saddle you'll love or hate, no in betweens.

It didn't get anywhere near as much use over the winter as it would usually get. I had very little work, so I wasn't commuting. The weather was rubbish for leisure rides, so not many of those either.

By the middle of March the surface material had started to fray, which was mildly annoying, considering the minimal amount of use it had, so I decided (eventually) to contact Tredz about it.

I sent them the above photo with the following email:

Hi Tredz,
I ordered a Charge Spoon saddle from you on 1st November 2011, which arrived a couple of weeks later. (order no 162557)
As you can see from the attached photo, the surface material has split and is peeling away.
I do a lot of mileage, using my bike for commuting and audax riding, but I expect a lot more from a saddle than I’m getting from this one. I’ve only been riding it for 4.5 months, and my mileage dropped considerably over the winter months.
Your thoughts, comments, and suggestions please.

Kind regards
Jim 

After no reply for a couple of weeks, I phoned them, and was asked to resend the email as they couldn't find it, so I did. Here's their reply:

Thanks for getting the pictures through again!

Having looked at the picture, and where the wearing has occurred, the saddle has appeared to suffer under normal wear and tear. that said , I am a little surprised that it has gone so soon, but there are many factors that are involved here, including your thigh shape, trouser/short material, weather conditions (sunlight/moisture), not to mention riding style and if like me, you may crash the bike a lot! which can bring on the wearing much sooner.

With all this in mind, I have just contacted our Charge supplier to see if this would be considered a warranty issue. They have informed me that Charge saddle have a 90 day manufacturers warranty, from date of purchase (or in your case delivery). So unfortunately there is little we can do regarding this particular saddle for you.

However, we would still like to help you as much as we can, and as the Spoon saddle is widely regarded as being a good one, we would highly recommend upgrading to the leather version (the synthetic material is weaker, and will not last as long, as you have experienced),
and we would be happy to offer one of these saddles to you for a discounted price of £67.99 for the Brown Leather and Ti-Railed version, and are happy to offer a discount on any other item that you may prefer - but please contact us regarding the pricing first, just to be sure.

We are sorry that we cannot help further with the saddle you have, but should you have any queries, or would like to discuss the order in any way, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards,
Errol,
Tredz Customer Care

My response:

Hi Errol,
Thanks for this – very helpful, though I am disappointed to say the least! I don’t crash my bike all that often as I’m a roadie and don’t bounce too well these days. I always wear Endura Humvee, either short or long, as they’re just the perfect garment. My thighs do not resemble those of Sir Chris of Hoy, though living in Pembrokeshire, I wish they did. My bike, (Surly Crosscheck) while not moving, is kept indoors, and is looked after, some might say, a little too well, so if that’s “normal” wear, then I’m completely dissatisfied with that particular product, even at the price I paid.
Thanks for the offer of a discount on the TI rail leather saddle, but I still just can’t afford that at the moment (and they’re currently being offered at wiggle even cheaperhttp://www.wiggle.co.uk/charge-spoon-ti-leather-saddle-with-titanium-rails/.) I’ll have a think about it and get back to you.
cheers
Jim

No response from Tredz as yet.

I contacted Charge:

Hi There,
I’m the guy who commented on your facebook page.
I attach a photo of what’s happened to my Charge Spoon, as you can see, it’s not the stitching which has frayed but the synthetic leather.
I ordered the saddle from Tredz on 1st November 2011, and received it about 3 weeks later.
I commute by bike, and ride long distance (audax) but my mileage is considerably less in the winter as my work as a cycle trainer is seasonal, so my saddle has seen no unseemly or extraordinary use. When not in use my cycle is always kept indoors and well maintained.
The fraying appeared about a month ago; the end of March, meaning I’d been riding it about 3 months.
I personally don’t consider this acceptable at all. From any saddle whatsoever, I would expect a year’s riding from it before it started to fall apart. I’d like your opinion on whether you think it’s acceptable wear and tear. I’m not after anything else.

Jim

Their rather perplexing response:

Thanks for getting in touch. As I have already mentioned on Facebook, we have no influence on warranty or do we cover warranty here. We are only 3 people total in Charge and have a team of experienced people dedicated to dealing with issues like these around the world.

For this reason, I can only agree with what our distributor has said as they have more experience than I. They see all warranty returns in the UK from Cannondale, GT, Mongoose, Charge, WTP bmx, etc. They see a lot more worn out components than we do.
As a contrast we do not see or hear of returns. We have many test mules so our own saddles don't get a lot of use, we don't see differing wear here.

Thanks for mailing us and I'm sorry I couldn't give you an alternative view. I hope you understand.

Kind regards,

Neil Cousins