Do we have to buy lipos now and stock up on components?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
RC-Dude

RC-Dude

Very Active Member
Messages
1,582
Reaction score
3,275
Some might say this is political.

Well, it's not.

Lipo prices have gone up. Some take months to be back in stock. Then they are sold out in hours and then more months to wait. What would happen if trade with China is reduced massively due to political / Cov-19 infos etc. Would we be able to buy any rc lipos with the C-rates we need if for some reason trade with China comes to a massive halt.

Right now many lipos are just not available. Does anybody know if lipos can and are beeing produced (with decent C-rates needed for RC) that are not totally dependant on production in China? I've had the same question with Arrma parts. Some parts were just not available in the last two years.

Are you guys stocking up on parts like differential components, lipos, suspension arms? Or have you done so in the last two years when components were available again?
 
Had to wait long for 6s 6000mAh lipos with high C-rates. Like to buy the same ones so I do not have to adust the CG (center of gravity) on rc aeroplanes with every lipo. Actually bought a couple 6s 5200mAh because the others I wanted have not been available for months. Perhaps different here in Europe. UK has empty racks in shops pretty often it seems.

4s backflips - were gone for months.

Right now rc stuff is pretty much well available. But a lot of weird stuff is happening in the world.
 
Last edited:
Yes Germany. Wondering if things here are different. Most big RC companies are seem to cater for the USA market first. CNHL lipos 6s 5000 - 8000 just about everything sold out for months. Used to buy SLS. Now is at 5000 mAH 6s 40C contant / 80C burst at 122 EUR. Just too much to go bash that in a jumping Kraton.

Traxxas XRT at 1200 EUR in most shops = 1272 US-Dollar.

Some to make sense to plane ahead for some stuff if the big companies cater to the USA market first.
 
Last edited:
RC-Dude said:
Some might say this is political.

Well, it's not.

Lipo prices have gone up. Some take months to be back in stock. Then they are sold out in hours and then more months to wait. What would happen if trade with China is reduced massively due to political / Cov-19 infos etc. Would we be able to buy any rc lipos with the C-rates we need if for some reason trade with China comes to a massive halt.

Right now many lipos are just not available. Does anybody know if lipos can and are beeing produced (with decent C-rates needed for RC) that are not totally dependant on production in China? I've had the same question with Arrma parts. Some parts were just not available in the last two years.

Are you guys stocking up on parts like differential components, lipos, suspension arms? Or have you done so in the last two years when components were available again?
Click to expand...
As far as I know, all lipos are in one form or another dependent on China. If memory serves, China is the country that takes all the raw materials and manufactures whatever that stuff is that goes inside of the cells (some sort of foam I think?). Now that I think about it, that step in the process might be in Japan actually. The process of making lipos is very much an international cooperative with raw materials coming out of Africa and elsewhere. If I'm not mistaken, SMC orders their cells in China, made to their specifications but the final assembly of the packs takes place in the US.

I haven't been stocking up on anything. I don't have much in the way of spare parts because it's nigh on impossible to predict what will break. I can see it making sense for bashers who know that component X is prone to breakage to stock up on those parts, but I don't have that issue with my Infraction. I buy replacements/upgrades as needed.
gotnitro said:
@Diem Turner

Are you experiencing the same?

IMO if they don’t get their sh!T together, lipos are the last thing we will be needing.
Click to expand...
I haven't really noticed anything if I'm honest. Online shops have been stocked pretty well from my observations. I did notice that CNHL had really low stocks for an unusually long time the last month or three but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary.
 
I 'stocked up' on vape gear when I got in the hobby when the fed was trying to ban it in 2015 ish. I have 10 or 15 years' worth of 100mg/ml nicotine and at least a grand in unused vape tanks and mods that are now worth pennies on the dollar. I still vape and use that nicotine to make my own juice but I just buy premade coils for newer tanks I bought recently, instead of using my gear to make my own coils, and all that old junk sits in a tub.

From now on I will buy only what I need, unless it's hard goods like ammo, gold, silver, etc. ;)
 
dure16 said:
And I buy a lot of stuff I don’t need 🤣
Click to expand...
I love just browsing through Jenny's RC for interesting parts that aren't popular seller's so are cheap. Wow - huge bag of misc Mojave suspension pivots, battery trays, servo mounts, and side skirts for $3.50! How can I pass that up when it's very possible I could get a Mojave someday.
 
Senton_Prime said:
The only thing anyone is gonna notice over here in the greatest United States of America in the world is INFLATION!! 🤣
Click to expand...
Is inflation in the US high compared to other countries? I thought I read it was relatively low in recent studies.

It still hurts either way though 🤣
 
Last edited:
Lets be real. Many are stocking up on goods you need for normal life. But those who do don't talk about it. It opens too many avenues for ridicule. If others know you'll be the first address people come to. Those who mocked will be the first to come. Who needs that?

I have a neighbour who goes shopping for food daily for her family. Just enough for the day. Really need blinders to live like that. I remember about two years ago we could not get yeast for weeks. Pretty annoying when you bake your own bread. Asian sauces and noodles same thing - racks were empty.

It's like a can of worms has been opened and a Tsunami of truth is coming with the new leadership in your house. If I were a truck driver driving hazardous goods or train driver I'd be really alert and check my brakes every time I get into that cabin. Seriously those accumulations of the same thing happening at the same time? Sad thing is if someone said this two years ago he was a freak. Now more and more realize some things are totally off. There is absolutely no reason to have shortages of any kind right now. And that weather thing - it's like storms can be created at demand when a distraction is needed. That storm in december in the USA - the warnings actually came even before the weather patterns were pointing to the severity of it?!? Had a special interest in weather for over 30 years so that kind of really weird. Seems to me many distractions are needed in the next few months. Sadly enough oil spills would work too. Another virus too. I am sure we will see some economies totally failing this year and governments collapsing within 24 hours. Like the writing is on the wall. Not a single week without open atomic threats. Also seems like very few people get this. When the wall fell here in Berlin in 1989 very few saw it coming. Most were surprised and off-guard when it happened. It's not even political, just observing what is happening in this world. We are in for some big falls and changes this year. The transition is going to be rough for many. Not sure why but at the doctor in the waiting room I don't need a mask anymore. Unbelievable. Fact is that either it's absolutely necessary to wear it or it never was. If it wasn't - why did we have to? Not beeing able to go for walks in the countryside two years ago?? That's not political, just observing.

Some of my neighbours are consultants. They just talk positively about a problem and miraculously they solved the problem. Not realizing nothing changed by sweet talking or ignoring the underlying problem "away". Way of life for them.

It's no secret that oil tankers often wait for days and weeks before a port until the price is right to unload. Seems like that is happening in a lot of industries now. Would not be amazed if whistleblowers start talking. Ships waiting for days to be unloaded. Outside ports that used to function flawlessly at bigger volume?

So yes I have replaced some older lipos. Summer is too short to not have the lipos you need. And those backflips I am ordering too. Just makes sense to be able to bash when you want to. Get that extra charger that has been in the shopping cart for a while...
 
Last edited:
Old Thread: Hello . There have been no replies in this thread for 90 days.
Content in this thread may no longer be relevant.
Perhaps it would be better to start a new thread instead.

Similar threads

Goldendrakester
have decided on making a ground up mojo, what electronics should I do?
Replies
8
Views
152
SirCrashALot
S
garymathisjr83@gmail
Timing on stock set up.
Replies
10
Views
1K
KnowAir
KnowAir
sumguy75
Anywhere to buy cheaper fans?
Replies
13
Views
314
Johnny b
Johnny b
Mikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeal
Where do Canadians buy their lipos?
2
Replies
24
Views
1K
Surchaufeur
Surchaufeur
JimmyGuitar
Is every AvC not functioning properly, or do I just have the worst luck ever?
Replies
16
Views
338
Dan B.
Dan B.
Back
Top