Babolat Pure Drive Solid Bumper Gaurd Grommet Set

[g4driver]

TW,

Can you list the item number/part number so I can order the solid Pure Drive Bumper Guard Grommet Set for these Pure Drive/ Play/ Plus frames? I am looking to buy solid bumper guards in the grommet sets for the 2009/10/11 and 2012/13/14 Pure Drives. So many PD owners need new ones.

Look closely at the photos of two Pure Drive Play frames and one of my old 2010 Pure Drive Plus frames. One of the Pure Drive Play frames has a different and solid bumper guard. Babolat is evidently making the solid bumper guard shown in the Orange/White/ Blue PD Play.

If you look the three bumper guards the one on the far left doesn't have the three long holes in it. The bumper guards with the three long holes in the photos simply wear out faster (since Babolat put three LARGE holes in the bumper guard on each side of the frame (six large holes per bumper guard.)

While you are looking at this, will someone at TW please ask Babolat to stop putting holes in their bumper guards? The purpose is to protect the frame. Making them with holes in the bumper guards defeats that purpose, and forces players to have them changed much more often.

Thanks for the help and taking the feedback

 

[TW Staff]

g4driver,

Our stock codes for the Pure Drives are as follows:

Babolat Pure Drive/PDR/GT/+/Jr/Z/Lite/Tour Grom- 900096-105
Babolat Pure Drive/PD+/Tour Grom 2015- 900138

My best guess is that Babolat put holes in the bumper guard to reduce weight. Nonetheless, I can definitely pass along your feedback to them in the next meeting.

Thanks,
Brittany, TW

 

[esgee48]

Or tell @Babolat Official

 

[g4driver]

Thanks, Brittany.

I spoke to Mark Boone. These aren't my frames, I am just restringing and install new grommets in them. The PD Play with the solid bumper guard is a 2015 model, while the other PD Play is a 2012/13/14 model. The PD Plus is a 2009/10/11 model.

The folks at TW and Babolat are extremely helpful. It is rare to see two great companies have such a symbiotic relationship, that TW and Babolat share together. (That is a compliment to both of you if my meaning isn't clear.) The world would be a nicer place if other companies and people worked as well together as does TW and Babolat. It's more than making a buck by selling a product and it shows in your employees. Your customer service is simply outstanding.


In case this helps anyone us, looking to extend the shelf life of the 2009-2014 Pure Drive Bumper Guards, Josh from Babolat gave me a very interesting and useful reply. From this thread.

https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/bonjour-from-babolat-part-deux.555932/page-25

Hi G4,

Thanks for your post, and your feedback. To be honest, I never heard a reason as to why we made the switch to the bumper with the holes cutout. I agree that it seems counter-intuitive to not have a solid bumper, and I guess that's one reason we went away from that for the 2015 PD FSI family of racquets. I think we changed to the bumpers with the cutouts some time between the 2009 and 2012 models, and at one point, we had two different part numbers for these bumpers/grommets. The old code (900055) had the solid bumper, and the new part (900096) had the cutouts. We then started getting the old code with the cutouts as well, so there were no longer any parts with solid bumpers. You may be able to find some old stock of the 900055 with the solid bumper out there, but I have another option for you.

The parts for the Aeropro Drive do fit the old Pure Drives, and have the solid bumper guard. They are part number 900021, and here is a link to TW if you want to order some: http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/Bab..._Junior_Black_Grommet/descpageBAB-BAPDMG.html. I used to use these for the college players I strung for so that I wouldn't have to change the bumper every time I strung their racquet. I suppose they technically would change the weight and/or balance, but it would be negligible, and I never had anyone tell me they noticed any difference. I have not weighed the actual bumpers, but could if someone really wants to know

I hope this helps!

-Josh

 

[racquet_x-pert]

Thanks @g4driver for posting your question and pictures back in 2017 both here and in Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois!

Hi Brittany, Mark and team @TW_Staff.
Hi Josh @Babolat Official (Josh Newton perhaps?),
For a Babolat Pure Drive GT 100", it sounds like 900096, 900055 and 900021 bumper guard sets will all work.
Babolat Pure Drive/PDR/GT/+/Jr/Z/Lite/Tour Grom- 900096 (This is the lite one with holes/cutouts - rips easily.)
Babolat Pure Drive/PDR/GT/+/Jr/Z/Lite/Tour Grom - older code - 900055 (from Josh @Babolat Official - older code, originally a full bumper guard, then became lite with cutouts).
Babolat Babolat AeroPro Drive/Drive +/Team/Junior Black Grommet - 900021 (from Josh @Babolat Official - This fits old Pure Drives and has solid bumper guard.) Black version 106184. White version 106185.

Babolat Pure Drive/PD+/Tour Grom 2015- 900138 (This is the full bumper guard - will last a long time.) This is for the 2015 frame, not interchangeable with the bumper guard/grommets above.

As a comparison, Wilson made virtually no changes to the Burn racquet series head shape. These Wilson bumper grommet replacement sets are interchangeable:
Wilson 100S/LS PINK B&G - WRG725400 (This is the lite one with holes - rips easily.)
Wilson Burn 100S CV 100S 100LS 100ULS B&G - WRG734200 (This is the full bumper guard - will last a long time.)

@Babolat_Official wrote on April 1, 2019 in the thread called Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois:
"Those can use part number 900055 or 900096. The 900096 part is more recent, and has some "holes" in the plastic part of the bumper. The original 900055 part had a solid bumper, but it's hard to find at this point. I don't know the exact weight difference between the two bumpers, but it's not much. If you want a solid bumper, you can use the part for the old Aeropro Drive, which is 900021.

Josh"

@Babolat_Official wrote on July 7, 2017 in the thread called Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois similar comments saying that the 900021 is the full bumper guard and the 90096 has cutouts.

Here's a picture of a rehabbed frame I worked on recently with the 900096 bumper guard grommet replacement set (the one with the cutouts). This included cleaning the frame, sanding, paint and clear coat over large paint chips where the base of the frame was exposed, new Pro Control grip @Gamma Tech.My friend was in shock that it was brought back to life. Of course, my friend has some of the cutouts ripped after 6 hours of play. Thanks Josh @Babolat Official for the multiple posts saying the 900021 can be used instead of 900096. Next time I will use that.