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Meld 3D Saddle Review - BUYER BEWARE

Purchased a $350 Meld custom saddle from www.meld3d.com in Sept, 2017.

Aesthetically good looking saddle and fit well. Order process was slow but in many ways worth the wait. Mounted on a 2018 Cannondale Evo Hi-mod and have ridden about 1500 miles.

That was the good part.

Fast forward today. The saddle split in two under the cushioning and given my experience so far I submitted to the company - photo’s, receipt, and a truthful statement of use - exactly how advertised.

Ever since then - this company has done nothing but blame me for the failure of their saddle. The latest excuse is “impact” from possibly hitting a pothole. I have ridden dozens of saddles over the years and never seen anything like this happen.

Their tone is rude, demeaning, and pointed to everything I have done wrong to cause damage to the product. I have dozen of Hi-Rez pictures to support that the saddle looks absolutely brand new and has never even been leant against a wall.

THIS COMPANY IS BAD NEWS IF YOU NEED HELP WITH THEIR PRODUCT. LOOK AT THEIR BBB RATING (D+). They have a growing number of negative feedback on various websites with customers experiencing same failure and lack of support.

I am hugely disappointed. These folks are a black mark on the cycling community which I love.

Thread moved to Manufacturer Feedback forum.

I have never encountered a split saddle neither myself nor among family or friends. Whether you ride on potholes or not is your business. File a complaint with BBB, state attorney, call and fax the company, write a review on any site you can get your hands on - make them want to have you off their chest. On the broader end of things it is a pity that the technology does not pan out.

Quote:

"The saddle split in two under the cushioning"

It looks like Smithjeb posted the same review on multiple forums. I looked at a thread with the response from Meld. They posted photos of Smithjeb's saddle: it's definitely not "split in two". It looks like the saddle shell was hit from below, causing it to crack. I cannot imagine how this could have occurred while riding, it looks like the shell was hit while the saddle was off the bike.

Quote:

"LOOK AT THEIR BBB RATING (D+)"

Here's Specialized BBB report, they score an F:
bbb.org/us/ca/morgan-hill/profile/bicycle-dealers/specialized-bicycle-components-1216-203171

I don't think either Meld or Specialized is better than the other, it's just nobody really cares about BBB these days. Also, in my circle of business friends, BBB has a certain 'reputation', summarized in this Time magazine report:
business.time.com/2013/03/19/why-the-better-business-bureau-should-give-itself-a-bad-grade/

Quote:

On the broader end of things it is a pity that the technology does not pan out.

This is obviously false, as Smithjeb himself said

Quote:

Aesthetically good looking saddle and fit well. Order process was slow but in many ways worth the wait.

I looked at the responses in the threads Smithjeb started on various forums. The responses seem divided into two groups:
(a) they make simple, negative remarks either without substantiation or without sense, like "MTB saddles need less strength than road saddles", or "the technology does not pan out".
(b) they either get confused by what (a) said, or mention that Smithjeb seemed like he has some personal vendetta, or remark that people in (a) have some sort of agenda. With regards to the last, the question is, "Who loses out with Meld's success?" The answer would be: everyone in the cycling industry who loses $$ from selling fewer saddles. That would be the other manufacturers, retailers, bike fitters, basically everyone who gains something with the sale of a saddle.

For me, the sad thing is that I can't trust such 'reviews' anymore. When I see another Smithjeb review, all I can think of are vendettas and hidden agendas.

Sounds like the company has even more problems than indicated in the original post.

Simple, negative remark without substantiation = hidden agenda/personal vendetta