Installing Grommets in Babolat Pure Drive

illzoni

Semi-Pro
Please excuse my searching skills, as I could swear I read of others' frustrations with replacing the grommets in their Babolat Pure Drive (aka PD) but couldn't find the thread.

I have limited experience replacing grommets, limited to my son's previous Wilson racquets which were fairly easy. A few weeks ago I replaced my son's grommets in his PD and boy, was that fun! Both the grommet and bump guard that go over the top of the hoop were challenging because they're a bit short. This made getting them in difficult, and keeping them in was very frustrating and required the use of small clamps. The grommets on the sides were quite a bit easier to install, but the bottom grommet was very difficult to get the second string through for tying off.

More recently I replaced the grommets on a used PD I bought and believe I was a bit wiser installing the top grommets and bump guard. After installing the center 12 grommets, I took my needle-nose pliers to the top grommet strip and bump guard (separately), clamped down tight in the blank area before the next group of grommets and give a twist, stretching them enough to ease further installation.

This next technique may not be ideal for preserving the cosmetics of the racquet, but I didn't/don't care:
11226933_10206092430297132_2456136471473388473_n.jpg

Zip ties rock!

The side grommet strips appear identical:
11173310_10206092430497137_9140227210832085986_n.jpg

...and this contributed to my previous problems.

But closer inspection revealed:
11229763_10206092430697142_5821423384870031931_n.jpg

...they're not symmetrical! One end grommet has a larger interior diameter!!

That last discovery made stringing the racquet sooooo much easier. And made me feel stupid for note noticing last time.

Maybe my sharing will prevent someone else from enduring the frustration. :)
 
Last edited:

g4driver

Legend
Thanks for sharing. That larger holed grommet appears to be for the Tie-off, but not sure why Babolat would not make them symmetrical.
 

illzoni

Semi-Pro
Thanks for sharing. That larger holed grommet appears to be for the Tie-off, but not sure why Babolat would not make them symmetrical.

The grommet hole in the hoop is larger for the larger grommet. The larger grommet will fit in the smaller hole, but it's much smoother doing things by design.

Time to order more grommets. :)
 

Babolat Official

Hall of Fame
Please excuse my searching skills, as I could swear I read of others' frustrations with replacing the grommets in their Babolat Pure Drive (aka PD) but couldn't find the thread.

I have limited experience replacing grommets, limited to my son's previous Wilson racquets which were fairly easy. A few weeks ago I replaced my son's grommets in his PD and boy, was that fun! Both the grommet and bump guard that go over the top of the hoop were challenging because they're a bit short. This made getting them in difficult, and keeping them in was very frustrating and required the use of small clamps. The grommets on the sides were quite a bit easier to install, but the bottom grommet was very difficult to get the second string through for tying off.

More recently I replaced the grommets on a used PD I bought and believe I was a bit wiser installing the top grommets and bump guard. After installing the center 12 grommets, I took my needle-nose pliers to the top grommet strip and bump guard (separately), clamped down tight in the blank area before the next group of grommets and give a twist, stretching them enough to ease further installation.

This next technique may not be ideal for preserving the cosmetics of the racquet, but I didn't/don't care:
11226933_10206092430297132_2456136471473388473_n.jpg

Zip ties rock!

The side grommet strips appear identical:
11173310_10206092430497137_9140227210832085986_n.jpg

...and this contributed to my previous problems.

But closer inspection revealed:
11229763_10206092430697142_5821423384870031931_n.jpg

...they're not symmetrical! One end grommet has a larger interior diameter!!

That last discovery made stringing the racquet sooooo much easier. And made me feel stupid for note noticing last time.

Maybe my sharing will prevent someone else from enduring the frustration. :)

call our team and they can walk you through the process: +18773169435
 

illzoni

Semi-Pro

Thanks Irvin!

Yep, the video addresses the similar looking grommets from 1:17 to 3:13.
A couple of tips departing from the video:
1) the APD in the vid and my PDs are better regrommeted from the top to the bottom;
2) the zip ties I used are quite helpful in keeping the grommets from creeping back out and I didn't remove them until after stringing.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Thanks Irvin!

Yep, the video addresses the similar looking grommets from 1:17 to 3:13.
A couple of tips departing from the video:
1) the APD in the vid and my PDs are better regrommeted from the top to the bottom;
2) the zip ties I used are quite helpful in keeping the grommets from creeping back out and I didn't remove them until after stringing.

If you try to go from the bottom over the top to the bottom on the other side you would have a hard time installing the bumper and top grommets on an APD for sure.
 
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