Alternative to X-Lite stuff

[minor_LEGEND]

My opinion of X-Lite stuff is that it started out being nicely made stuff (bar ends & what not) then as the popularity kicked off, demand grew & they flooded the market with whatever they thought the masses would buy (Enduro bar ends & chicken stix).

 

[jonboy]

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/v/Manufacturer+Archive/USE/Catalogues/

Pace & middleburn have made stems of various models. Pace also did a tie in with Renthal to create the obscenely light Sub130 (and 130+) bars.

Zero components made some rubbish bits too.

Just have a dig around in the archives.

Amended for accuracy.

 

[JeRkY]

Actually Makster, I agree the clickon posts are better albeit much later than their original Kalloy-esque models, I had forgotten about them.

I think plenty of people had as wider ranges as xlite, just not identically overlapping.

Oh, totally forgot Middleburn as another (limited but much nicer) boutique manufacturer.

 

[petitpal]

I recently bought a Pace RC45 stem - lovely thing and works really nicely; seems quite light as well. Took me a long time to find a 100mm silver one with zero rise, but it was well worth the wait.

 

[ibbz]

How about Azonic?

 

[secret_squirrel]

How about Azonic?

It's a US brand.

 

[ibbz]

How about Azonic?

It's a US brand.

Ah

And Planet X ?

 

[JeRkY]

Ah

And Planet X ?

Crap but functional, about as exciting as a feces brown nova 1.0.

Far east copies of other brands stuff.

 

[ibbz]

Ah

And Planet X ?

Crap but functional, about as exciting as a feces brown nova 1.0.

Far east copies of other brands stuff.

Made me choke with laughter!! My mate had a faecal brown Nova.

 

[NeilM]

What's interesting now is that bonty seem to have nicked the name judging by my current eBay searches.

X-Lite sold the brand and manufacturing rights a good few years ago to an American company. The family had decided to concentrate on the Muc-Off range of products.

I can't remember the name of the company that bought X-Lite, but there were big noises about new ranges of product. I think in the end hard economics has kicked in, as I simply don't think there is a volume market for the products anymore, as the brand has been out of the lime light for too long.

I like X-Lite bar ends, and the Zaskar I built in 94 has a good smattering of X-Lite (Titanium bars, bar ends and seatpost), Hope (bottom bracket and both hubs) and Middleburn (cranks, rings and bolts), I think I'd be hard presses to do the same retro build today, not without a lot of searching and paying through the nose.