I've just had an email with the following attached:
"Dear Sir/ Madam
Re : Monsun Limited Trading as Sixth Element Wheels (“the Company”)
I regret to advise that the above named Company has ceased trading and is unable to pay its debt due to you or to other creditors. This means that warranty and crash replacement cover is no longer operative. No refunds are available.
As director(s) I/we have sought advice from a licensed insolvency practitioner with a view to having the Company wound up. It became clear early on in our meeting that the Company has insufficient assets to meet its liabilities and is insolvent within the meaning of the Insolvency Act 1986. In addition there are insufficient assets to meet the cost of winding up the Company, either voluntarily or compulsorily.
Given the above I am writing to all creditors of the Company notifying you of the fact that the Company has now ceased trading. While the Company has no assets with which to fund a liquidation we understand that for credit insurance purposes a creditor may wish to have the Company wound up. To this end any petition to windup the Company would not be opposed and we now invite creditors to take steps to wind-up the Company compulsorily.
In the event that no petition is received from a creditor within the relevant period / three months I will write to the Registrar of Companies, attaching a copy of this letter and a list of creditors to whom it was sent requesting that the Company be struck off.
I thank you for your past support.
Yours faithfully
G Stock
Director, Monsun Limited
Trading as Sixth Element Wheels"
Twitter and Instagram accounts are gone, website doesn't seem to be taking orders.
Yep. Me too.
though the website looks like you can still buy wheels…?
Hmm, that’s going to be an expensive replacement and rebuild if you break a rim now. Have to try and find another brand of carbon rim, plus possible spoke change or go alloy.
Tbf, already had my money’s worth from two cracked rims… both my clumsy fault.
I'd paid extra for the lifetime cover 😥
Were they more than just rebranded Chinese rims? If not, might just be a case of tracking down the right Farsports/Light Bicycle/whoever rim
Always a shame - it's a tough market and maybe they got their sums wrong. I wouldn't want to be offering a warranty on any rims, especially carbon.
I thought they were just Light Bicycle rims with big, ugly stickers on. Last time I looked prices seems high compared to other options.
Youve nailed it .Graham was simply putting stickers on the cheapest light bicycles carbon rims and sticking a huge mark on them
He was over 60% more expensive
They weren't the best either
davidmoyesismydad Free Member
Youve nailed it .Graham was simply putting stickers on the cheapest light bicycles carbon rims and sticking a huge mark on them
But he was also taking on all the risk for the customer, providing a warranty, being the UK face of the rims and cutting out the wait associated with ordering direct from China. Some people are comfortable taking those risks to get a deal and some people aren't.
Almost all carbon rims (or even products) are made in a factory in China or Taiwan, so how is this any different?
The only extra risk with dealing with Light Bicycle is the waiting time for a replacement part. What's light bicycle rim costing these days - £150? You could have spares and still be quids in. Edit: Been a while since I've looked at LB prices
The difference is that most wheel manufacturers will have at least some degree of design and test input (e.g. Hunt constantly bang this drum). Buying from the catalogue, buying in bulk for the price break, and whacking on a sizeable margin isn't such a great USP
What’s light bicycle rim costing these days – £150?
Looking on their website you're looking at £200-250 for a rim plus VAT and duty on top which makes it around £250-300 per rim.
Well it certainly wasn't because the wheels were too subtle for brand awareness.
I wonder if changing fashions to less-garish aesthetics haven't helped? But mostly the cozzy livs and evolving market I guess.
Hope buyers haven't been left out of pocket for ordered wheels.
Looking on their website you’re looking at £200-250 for a rim plus VAT and duty on top which makes it around £250-300 per rim.
Had a quick look. Normal AM/Enduro 29er rim is $180. Obviously depends on what spec he was bringing in
Pretty sure he offered regular and Pro rims, which aligned to LB products
And it's a very different proposition buying from LB now than it was when 6E started - back then it was a couple of web pages and email. Today they have a proper ecommerce site and they're no longer a cheap option.