Ax Lightness - no more! -Not so much, read page 2 respond by Nils

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

Just was informed that Ax Lightness will stop production and will not be available for order.
Owner has decided it will just be Benotti from now and on.
Obviously production in Germany is too expensive and know-how will be used in Benotti bikes.

I don't know more than this.....

(Don't ask who told me, because i can't share that.)
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

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53x12
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by 53x12

Interesting, thanks for sharing. To sad really. AX Lightness did a lot for pushing the boundaries for the WW market. But I can see how in a ever tightening economy, it would be hard to survive. Especially with high labor costs.
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RussellS
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by RussellS

Not terribly surprising. AX made all of their bike parts in a custom, small batch mode. They did not have enough volume to really mass produce and get the low costs from that. They were not buying thousands of tons of carbon fiber direct from the suppliers to make their parts. They bought small batches from distributors who got their stuff from other distributors, etc. Lot of markup and middlemen. They also made a lot of different parts so they could not really specialize on just one thing and reduce costs. Bike part business is very different than their other market. Carbon race cars I think. In that they could price each custom job and get reimbursed for labor and some profit too. Very different than making bike parts for unknown customers and trying to get close to a price point.

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Leviathan
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by Leviathan

I guess Axel is hoping RoadSailor wheels are more profitable?

Mep
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by Mep

This is such unfortunate news. Ax Lightness has been one of the stalwarts of the WW community for at least a decade in my mind.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Have the benotti frames been made from Ax Lightness?

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Asteroid
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by Asteroid

They offer some very nice products. Somewhat high prices, however, so perhaps it made them less competitive. Especially when the other outfits - Berk, MCFK, Gelu, ControlTech, etc. - often sold online at lower prices. Plus, you'd see Ax's items listed on Fair Wheel, but never in stock.
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Vuong05
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by Vuong05

This truly is sad news. Always appreciated what they did for the WW community by pushing the limits. Maybe I can pick up a VIAL EVO D for cheap?
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kode54
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by kode54

terrible. oh well. the frame sets themselves are so few around. i'm glad i got mine repaired when i did. i just hope it holds up for another 2 seasons or until i find a replacement for it.

thx for sharing the intel.
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C36
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by C36

Vuong05 wrote:This truly is sad news. Always appreciated what they did for the WW community by pushing the limits. Maybe I can pick up a VIAL EVO D for cheap?

I wouldn't be surprise the opposite. That the rare factor pushes prices up.


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spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

C36 wrote:
Vuong05 wrote:This truly is sad news. Always appreciated what they did for the WW community by pushing the limits. Maybe I can pick up a VIAL EVO D for cheap?

I wouldn't be surprise the opposite. That the rare factor pushes prices up.


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Down for sure... I probably would not touch one at this point unless it was very cheap. Kinda glad I did not get one .
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4ibanez
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by 4ibanez

Such a shame. Pretty much every true WW bike would have 1 or more AX parts. I guess aero is taking over, but it's good Axel is still around and making some cool stuff. I might have to try and get another saddle before they disappear!

Johnny Rad
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by Johnny Rad

UPDATED:

After seeing AX Lightness in the WW game for so long, it's indeed a pity to see them go. [Happily not true!]

Fortunately, we've still got a number of strong WW manufacturers to choose from (Extralite, MCFK, Berk, Tune, Schmolke, Gelu, ControlTech, Far & Near, Carbon-Ti, POP, etc PLUS AX Lightness still).

I don't know about THM's finances, by they're now part of 3T. And EE Cycleworks is part of Cane Creek. It's good to have both of them still around, too.


RIP AX-Lightness [Happily not true!] and M2Racer!
Last edited by Johnny Rad on Thu Jun 22, 2017 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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cyclespeed
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by cyclespeed

I love my AX saddles to bits. I don't know what I'd do without them. I would definitely buy up at least 1 more if I saw one for sold cheap.

spdntrxi
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by spdntrxi

Same here .. saddle and seatpost for me.... when it does come time to replace I might try Berk
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2002 Moots Compact-SL- getting aero look makeover
2019 Parlee Z0XD - "classified"
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