Bonjour from Babolat: Part Trois

pedrogcr said:
Hey there everyone, especially @Babolat Official.

Does anyone know if the grommets/bumper of any of the more "modern" versions of the Aeropro Drive or Pure Aero will fit on the Aeropro Cortex (second gen - pictured)?

I have a very old Junior version (heavily customized to 27.5 inches) that is one of my favorite sticks, but the bumper is in pretty bad shape (the grommets are actually not bad).

I went ahead and purchased a set or grommets/bumper for the Origin, but haven't worked up the courage to remove the old onesbecause if those don't fit i'll ruin the racket...

Thanks for the help!

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Hello pedrogcr,

Unfortunately no parts newer than the ones for the 2013 Aeropro Drives will fit an Aeropro Drive.

-Josh
 
Power Player said:
Josh do any of your colleagues still use the older Pure Drives like the 2012? Is it possible that we can get grommets for those frames or are they relics at this point? It stinks because I love using the frame but the grommets cracked and split on my old APD and it's basically not usable anymore because I can't find grommets for it. Would hate to see that happen to the PD12.

I can still source grommets from my Head Extreme IG, which is basically like Head's version of the PDR except it still has available grommets to this day.

Honestly I think a LOT of people would buy a Pure Drive that has the normal spacing and feels/plays like the PD12. You all could basically reissue that frame and it would probably sell like crazy. The newer Pure Drives are ok, but more clunky and muted. Plus the open pattern basically gave me a totally different stringbed from one match to the next. On top of that the grip size is huge on the newer Babs, which is a bit annoying, but I still have some skin feels lying around to adjust that.

The PD12 was the perfect tweener, honestly. Changing the string pattern was not a great idea.
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Hi Power,

Unfortunately no, no one I know in the office is using anything older, and we have zero parts left. We get so many of these requests still, and I wish there was something we could do for everyone.
-Josh
 
SinneGOAT said:
@Babolat Official Ive been comparing the beam and geometry of the new pure strike to the prior generation, and I had a few questions.

Was there a mold change between the two? As on the gen 3 the beam hangs over the grommets more, and is more flat on the face.

Also, is the weighting around the gen 3 different than gen 4? I feel the 3 has weight in the throat and swings a little differently.

Thank you!
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Hi Sinne,

As far as I know, the geometry is the same as they use the same grommets. The weighting is supposed to be the same too, but with spec tolerances, any two frames can certainly feel a little different.

-josh
 
mavsman149 said:
Will the 2012 Pure Drive lite white grommets fit the 2012 PDR? I believe it's the same mold, right?
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Hi mavsman,

They do, but it's a little tricky because if I recall, the bumper is one hole shorter. I think. I did successfully do it back on the day, but it's been so long I can't recall exactly what made it a little difficult.
-Josh
 
Pekoms said:
Quick question. I never tried any Pure strike but would like. I know gen 4 is out but now is very expensive. So between gen 2 and 3 wich one has better connection/feel with the ball, control, and generous sweetspot? I like control over power, to take big swings without the fear of overhitting
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Hi Pekoms,

Most seemed to prefer gen 3 over gen 2, especially in the feel department. There aren't huge differences in performance though, so I'm sure either gen could work for you. The gen 4s are more flexible, so if the previous gens seem too powerful, you should consider one of the new ones.

-josh
 
Babolat Official said:
Hi Power,

Unfortunately no, no one I know in the office is using anything older, and we have zero parts left. We get so many of these requests still, and I wish there was something we could do for everyone.
-Josh
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There may not be anything you can do, but there certainly is something your company could do, which is continue to support the products that people buy by making grommets available. Having to buy a new a whole new racquet because you can't get grommets isn't a great position to be put into. It doesn't make me want to support Babolat with my next racquet purchase. Not to mention that I feel like I will have to hoard grommets since I have no clue when they will stop making them. In fairness any company could be this way. Babolat could probably double the price of these out of production sets and undercut the gougers and we'd all be happier.

Maybe there is something you could do. Could they provide us with specifications so we could 3d print them? This is unlikely as I suspect these are made with injection molding. My understanding is that creating the mold is the expensive part, which makes me think that the more units they make and sell, the more profit they get for the cost of that mold and then this is just a move to encourage us to replace our racquets.

Thanks for your responses and desire to help.
 
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jtap said:
There may not be anything you can do, but there certainly is something your company could do, which is continue to support the products that people buy by making grommets available. Having to buy a new a whole new racquet because you can't get grommets isn't a great position to be put into. It doesn't make me want to support Babolat with my next racquet purchase. Not to mention that I feel like I will have to hoard grommets since I have no clue when they will stop making them. In fairness any company could be this way. Babolat could probably double the price of these out of production sets and undercut the gougers and we'd all be happier.

Maybe there is something you could do. Could they provide us with specifications so we could 3d print them? This is unlikely as I suspect these are made with injection molding. My understanding is that creating the mold is the expensive part, which makes me think that the more units they make and sell, the more profit they get for the cost of that mold and then this is just a move to encourage us to replace our racquets.

Thanks for your responses and desire to help.
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Hi jtap,

I hear what you're saying, and I agree it would be nice for us to still have them available, but unfortunately it's not an option. No brand has grommets available indefinitely, for a variety of reasons, and given the 3 year life cycle of our frames, we will have parts available for roughly 6 years as we try to keep parts in stock for the current and previous generation of frames. That is far longer than some, and I don't see that the trend in general in the industry is towards increasing the amount of time grommets are produced for out of production frames. You do need to stock up on grommets, no matter the racquet or brand, if you want to be sure to have them. There's no other way around that unfortunately. I don't see much chance of any specs being disclosed to us either unfortunately as that information belongs to the factories in China, as do the racquet molds, and I can't imagine that information would be made available to anyone.

-Josh
 
Babolat Official said:
Hi jtap,

I hear what you're saying, and I agree it would be nice for us to still have them available, but unfortunately it's not an option. No brand has grommets available indefinitely, for a variety of reasons, and given the 3 year life cycle of our frames, we will have parts available for roughly 6 years as we try to keep parts in stock for the current and previous generation of frames. That is far longer than some, and I don't see that the trend in general in the industry is towards increasing the amount of time grommets are produced for out of production frames. You do need to stock up on grommets, no matter the racquet or brand, if you want to be sure to have them. There's no other way around that unfortunately. I don't see much chance of any specs being disclosed to us either unfortunately as that information belongs to the factories in China, as do the racquet molds, and I can't imagine that information would be made available to anyone.

-Josh
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It’s a surprise to find out that mold and grommet specs are owned/kept solely by the manufacturer.

You just think there’d be a CAD file in Europe for everything stamped out in China.
 
Babolat Official said:
Hi jtap,

I hear what you're saying, and I agree it would be nice for us to still have them available, but unfortunately it's not an option. No brand has grommets available indefinitely, for a variety of reasons, and given the 3 year life cycle of our frames, we will have parts available for roughly 6 years as we try to keep parts in stock for the current and previous generation of frames. That is far longer than some, and I don't see that the trend in general in the industry is towards increasing the amount of time grommets are produced for out of production frames. You do need to stock up on grommets, no matter the racquet or brand, if you want to be sure to have them. There's no other way around that unfortunately. I don't see much chance of any specs being disclosed to us either unfortunately as that information belongs to the factories in China, as do the racquet molds, and I can't imagine that information would be made available to anyone.

-Josh
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I appreciate your response and this is my first experience with grommets being discontinued and so I'm learning the hard way. Had I known this was how it works I would have stocked up for sure and will do so next time. I also appreciate what you are saying with regards to Babolat making them available longer than others. This is all new to me.

If the Chinese factories aren't making more then they don't need the mold. Could they be contacted to purchase the now useless-to-them mold? It sounds like you are saying they have full control and could possibly make a run for us if we bought a minimum order.


side note: If anyone that has experience making molds thinks they could make molds I'm interested in the idea. I'm down to my last couple brand new grommet sets but am looking into ideas and could be willing to buy an injection molding machine if I could make or get decent molds made.
 
Hawks9451 said:
It’s a surprise to find out that mold and grommet specs are owned/kept solely by the manufacturer.

You just think there’d be a CAD file in Europe for everything stamped out in China.
Click to expand...
That's kind of what I was thinking. That they had the file and they would give it to china factory A and they would make the molds and get paid a certain amount to do so and for X number of runs maybe. Once you have the mold why would you want to stop making the pieces as long as people were buying them. That's why I said I'd love to contact them and if they aren't making them or using the molds then I would buy it and buy an injection molding machine and make my own. I really just need the bumper guards but since you jack up that top grommet to take them out you kind of need that also. Those are the 2 main pieces though. I thought about the FITEX (individual grommet) idea but then you lose the "woofer" tech, which is in the grommet and still doesn't solve the bumper issue which is the only reason I have ever taken the grommets out, to replace those. It could be interesting to try and see if you can feel a difference without the "woofer"(s).
You can fit some of the grommet sets into some of the holes but after they did the FSI change there are certain spacings that are off and the bigger diameter holes are in different locations for tie-offs. You can't just cut the grommet in between holes when there is a "woofer" hump there.

One thing that makes me skeptical of all that we are being told is that the pictures I have seen of Nadal's racquet (Aussie open 2023 for example) sure looks like he's still using the one that requires these discontinued grommets (900021). Does he just have a warehouse of new old stock or do they have a bunch that are for rafa only or are they having them made just for him :unsure:
 
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Wonie88 said:
You’re not wrong. When you have a stale/struggling frame line it’s not smart to just lazily tweak the existing PJ. The 16/20 100 with a soft RA is the only exciting part of the release. It shoulda been 10.8 instead of 10.6 tho.
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It is 10.8
 
@Babolat Official any word on a 2024 Pure Aero refresh around US Open time? 2 years is a typical industry cycle, but based on pure strike 4 year refresh, thinking maybe 2 years in optimistic?
 
gino said:
@Babolat Official any word on a 2024 Pure Aero refresh around US Open time? 2 years is a typical industry cycle, but based on pure strike 4 year refresh, thinking maybe 2 years in optimistic?
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given there hasn't been a Pure Drive refresh yet and the Aeros just got updated at the end of 2022... no, probably not for a while
 
Pure Drive launched in Sept 2020 (tho other models in the line launched in 2021) - so yeah... of course the Pure Drive will be updated before the Aeros which only just got updated in September 2022/2023
 
I have a feeling that the next Pure Drive will be slightly more comfortable than past generations. I haven't play tested the new Pure Strike but have heard from many that the new line is more comfortable. I would assume this is mostly due to the lower stiffness rating, but maybe the new vibration dampening tech "NF2" will help to dampen vibrations to some extent? The Pure Drive will probably get the same "Flax fibers - NF2 TECH" as the latest Pure Aero has.

The company behind the "tech": https://www.jeccomposites.com/news/...uce-flax-fibers-in-pure-aero-tennis-racquets/
The tech used in other sports: https://www.jeccomposites.com/news/spotted-by-jec/sports-powered-by-natural-flax-fibres/
 
Hello Babolat!

Moving from a Pure Aero (2019) to a Pure Strike 98 Gen4 (16x19) - what string recommendations would you suggest? Please include tensions and whether it's recommended to have different strings and tensions in crosses and mains.

Thank you!
 
gino said:
@Babolat Official any word on a 2024 Pure Aero refresh around US Open time? 2 years is a typical industry cycle, but based on pure strike 4 year refresh, thinking maybe 2 years in optimistic?
Click to expand...
Hello @gino. Apologies for the late response.
2024 is the year of the Pure Strike which launched in January. In January of 2025, we will launch the new Pure Drive generation and in 2026 we will launch a new Pure Aero generation. In the past, we have released the next year's model around the US Open but 2024 is the first time we launched everything on a calendar year cycle.
Hopefully this makes sense and great question.
Craig
 
Babolat Official said:
Hello @gino. Apologies for the late response.
2024 is the year of the Pure Strike which launched in January. In January of 2025, we will launch the new Pure Drive generation and in 2026 we will launch a new Pure Aero generation. In the past, we have released the next year's model around the US Open but 2024 is the first time we launched everything on a calendar year cycle.
Hopefully this makes sense and great question.
Craig
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thanks for the transparency and detailed answer, Craig!
 
Babolat Official said:
Hello @gino. Apologies for the late response.
2024 is the year of the Pure Strike which launched in January. In January of 2025, we will launch the new Pure Drive generation and in 2026 we will launch a new Pure Aero generation. In the past, we have released the next year's model around the US Open but 2024 is the first time we launched everything on a calendar year cycle.
Hopefully this makes sense and great question.
Craig
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Hi Craig, do the Pure strike 97 grommets fit on old Pure storms, such as the Zylon Matrix?


Also, since you all released the Rafa Origin, which is basically a modded APDO. Is it possible to ever consider releasing a Pure Drive Classic? Something based on the Swirly-2012 version for those of us who hate the FSI string pattern and muted feel of the new versions?

I am not sure how the sales of the Rafas went, but I think a lot of people would love to be able to buy the original Pure drive or Soft Drive again. You see how many people here are asking for grommets for them.

Personally, I think you all need to do more to compete with Wilson Pro Labs and Head reissues. The rafa was a really good move, but the Pure Drive needs some love too.
 
hi.. we are very close to the pure drive release? its been five years. im assuming jan release? a few peeps have seen the new frame. . its a powder blue from what ive seen. more importantly what changes have been made. most importantly. has the stringbed been adjusted?
 
@Babolat Official hi.. we are very close to the pure drive release? its been five years. im assuming jan release? a few peeps have seen the new frame. . its a powder blue from what ive seen. more importantly what changes have been made. most importantly. has the stringbed been adjusted
 
meanwhile damn. if the new pj is the powder blue that i have seen. it sucks. its become a chick stick. the current pj blows it away. so long story short. if they havent altered the string bed. this will have been a five year wait for a complete bust. lol. it all comes down to that string bed. cause the powder blue pj is just outright femm
 
danbrenner said:
meanwhile damn. if the new pj is the powder blue that i have seen. it sucks. its become a chick stick. the current pj blows it away. so long story short. if they havent altered the string bed. this will have been a five year wait for a complete bust. lol. it all comes down to that string bed. cause the powder blue pj is just outright femm
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What's wrong with marketing a product towards women? Women make up half the tennis-playing population, and at the courts I frequent, I see more women playing with Pure Drives than men, so a paint job friendly to women tennis players is very smart. Plus, I like the powder blue and I'm a male player -- so it's actually appealing to more than 50% of the population. Not really sure what the issue is here, or why it would be "a complete bust" to appeal to a demographic likely to buy the racket. Just my two cents.
 
TwinCinema said:
What's wrong with marketing a product towards women? Women make up half the tennis-playing population, and at the courts I frequent, I see more women playing with Pure Drives than men, so a paint job friendly to women tennis players is very smart. Plus, I like the powder blue and I'm a male player -- so it's actually appealing to more than 50% of the population. Not really sure what the issue is here, or why it would be "a complete bust" to appeal to a demographic likely to buy the racket. Just my two cents.
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Yeah good point - this is a frame much more popular on the WTA than the ATP, see it more in college women's hands than men's, and I see a lot of women using it who play USTA. I might be an outlier, but I for one dig the Mint Boom MP, bright yellow Extreme, etc., and don't mind how this looks in the limited images that have been available.
 
TwinCinema said:
What's wrong with marketing a product towards women? Women make up half the tennis-playing population, and at the courts I frequent, I see more women playing with Pure Drives than men, so a paint job friendly to women tennis players is very smart. Plus, I like the powder blue and I'm a male player -- so it's actually appealing to more than 50% of the population. Not really sure what the issue is here, or why it would be "a complete bust" to appeal to a demographic likely to buy the racket. Just my two cents.
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Your point is spot on! There are more WTA players using PD compared to ATP.
I personally did not like 2018 pj which is the lighter blue but it sure sold well (one of top selling racquets for couple years.
 
TwinCinema said:
What's wrong with marketing a product towards women? Women make up half the tennis-playing population, and at the courts I frequent, I see more women playing with Pure Drives than men, so a paint job friendly to women tennis players is very smart. Plus, I like the powder blue and I'm a male player -- so it's actually appealing to more than 50% of the population. Not really sure what the issue is here, or why it would be "a complete bust" to appeal to a demographic likely to buy the racket. Just my two cents.
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Genuinely one of the smartest marketing/business related posts regarding tennis products in awhile.
 
TwinCinema said:
What's wrong with marketing a product towards women? Women make up half the tennis-playing population, and at the courts I frequent, I see more women playing with Pure Drives than men, so a paint job friendly to women tennis players is very smart. Plus, I like the powder blue and I'm a male player -- so it's actually appealing to more than 50% of the population. Not really sure what the issue is here, or why it would be "a complete bust" to appeal to a demographic likely to buy the racket. Just my two cents.
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Well it would suck for me.
I don’t like chick flicks. Or chick sticks
 
Meh, it always was a chick stick anyways - great racquet though, if you can handle the stiffness - I'd even possibly be playing matches with them, if they hadn't dropped the Tour+.
Gone to modified VCore 98+s for matches (if you have to modify racquets vs using them virtually off the shelf they might as well be arm friendly to start with) & Prince TT95s & ATS95s whenever I can get away with them.
 
Just to be transparent. I have been using the current version modified since its inception. 331 g static. Head hydrosorb grip. 4g along the handle. And 2g at 3 and 9. 5.0 pts headlight.
I’ve been using it along with my modified blade 100 with the same specs.
Two amazing frames.
 
JOSH. where have you been. weve been messaging you for months now. usually you return our messages. jul 2. was the last time you posted. whats up with the new pd. ? is the string spacing any different.? that is the main question.
 
danbrenner said:
JOSH. where have you been. weve been messaging you for months now. usually you return our messages. jul 2. was the last time you posted. whats up with the new pd. ? is the string spacing any different.? that is the main question.
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Hi Dan,

Apologies for the delay as I took over the Talk Tennis for Babolat and may have missed your questions.

The New Pure Drive is launching in Jan. What mode string spacing are you asking about?

Craig
 
danbrenner said:
Just to be transparent. I have been using the current version modified since its inception. 331 g static. Head hydrosorb grip. 4g along the handle. And 2g at 3 and 9. 5.0 pts headlight.
I’ve been using it along with my modified blade 100 with the same specs.
Two amazing frames.
Click to expand...

Hi @danbrenner. Like you, I've also added similar weight to mine. Just curious- what swing weight you at with your setup? Cheers!
 
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