Saddleback has entered administration after 22 years in business, with 42 employees made redundant on Friday 29 May 2026 and the cycling distributor ceasing trading for now.

The company had been trying to secure refinancing to keep operating, but talks with its bank, alternative lenders and key suppliers failed. By Monday 1 June, Saddleback's website was seemingly taken down, a sign of how quickly the collapse moved once staff were told the business was going into administration.

The company was a British distributor for brands including Castelli, Chris King, Sportful and Silca, and its problems follow the loss of two of its largest distribution agreements. That matters because Saddleback's fall is not just a story about one firm running out of road; it also shows how fragile the cycling supply chain has become after a series of shifts in brand distribution.

There is still a gap between administration and closure. Entering administration does not necessarily mean the end of a business, even though Saddleback has stopped trading and made its staff redundant. Administrators can still try to rescue it or sell it on, which leaves open the possibility that the name survives under new ownership even if the current operation does not.

Those market changes have been moving fast. Cannondale returned to a direct-to-dealer model under Pon.Bike in March 2026, Enve ended its relationship with Saddleback a month before the collapse and moved its UK service to a European partner based in Paris, and Princeton Carbonworks was announced in the week after Cannondale's departure. Saddleback was already under pressure before Friday, and the question now is whether anyone steps in quickly enough to preserve any part of the business before it is wound down.