Unpopular R/C Opinions

[KnowAir]

1) Well , if I had never bought that first RC Traxxas 4x4 VXL Stampede for my daughter , I wouldn't be here with you guys right now . After a couple Slashes and seeing what Arrma was , off they went . Still have an Xmaxx ( Arrma powered now LOL ) which without debate still to today is probably Traxxas best rc ever made . Took me a year of debating myself to get a Maxx , although some say the best ever , not for me , couldn't wait to get rid of it !!!! Because of my passion for SCT , got the UDR to offset my Mojave .

2) SCT , without doubt my favorite !!! Have 9 !!! Yes they do not handle well or fly good when jumping , but that's not the point with them . If you've read any of my comments or threads , my daughter and I race 2wd SCT indoor offroad carpet / turf . ( we have a 4wd also ) . I love the challenge of trying to dial in and drive a SCT fast and consistent . The class has been or now have died off with the buggies and stadium trucks . Most gave up easy on SCT's because of the ease of handling of buggies / stadium , but when you get a SCT to hang with / or pass those , they're like WTF ? LOL What most don't get in racing is the old saying " slower is faster ". Gotta say the racing aspect of it , 5-6 mains , running with 6-12 other SCT's , trying not to crash , avoid newbie drivers zig zagging all over the place , hitting your take off and landings , trying to be smooth but fast ,etc , whole different thing than bashing .

3) Crawlers , while I see them at my LHS on the crawler courses , I fully respect the time and effort and skill , I think it looks like a lot of fun , but not for me , I have to much going on in my life to venture into another spectrum of the hobby .

Wow , did I grow up around the corner from grihn in that same poor neighborhood ??? LOL While I can't really say I grew up poor , I really did not per say " have" . So now in life that I can " have" I keep very good care of all my stuff . So as he said about "send it " , while I do jump my bashers , I'm not out there to destroy them and intentionally bring them home broken . No concrete skate parks for me , but the nice grass fields , shut down golf course near me .
Also , as grihn mentioned about racing , as of recent , been having more fun going on practice days to run laps with a group of us that do SCT . Haven't touched my bashers since last November , .... really !! Other than half a battery pack the other night in the back yard with my Talion . Ughhh , the $$$ just sitting there .

There is no right or wrong , everybody has different flavors !!!

Funny how sct popularity grew some 15 to 20 years ago, and the buggy and stadium truck classes shrunk..and now it cycles back around..

 

[chris adams]

I never send mine, but I love to watch others do it. some folks have mad talent in the sending department. It's like watching BMX freestyle only with RC's

I've never owned a Traxxas, seen a few I wouldn't mind giving a try though. Really can't comment on them other than their corporate lawyers are a little trigger happy.

Short course trucks are a freakin' blast if you have the right terrain for them. Love my Mojave. Anything that makes me smile this much can't suck!

Never thought I would become a Crawler junkie but I did. I can't get enough. Just fun in a whole different way.

One thing I will say, RC's are fun whether you like to fly solo or with your posse. It's up to each individual to decide what they like and how they like to do it. There is no right or wrong way if your having fun.

The ones I don't understand are the folks who live vicariously through youtuber's and the "popular kids" and parrot everything they see, they are not really enjoying the hobby.

Get out and try different things, you never know what's going to tickle your fancy.

I tickled my fancy once.
I liked it.
Too much.

 

[TL01magic]

Funny how sct popularity grew some 15 to 20 years ago, and the buggy and stadium truck classes shrunk..and now it cycles back around..

omg yes, I "left" the hobby around same time sct was petering out (15 years ago). I think the Teckno sct and durango sct were still pretty new at the time.

recently back into hobby and thought it was funny that sct was pretty much dead, it kind of "exploded" when it took off. (i suspect because traxxas slash, thing is only model that seems to STILL be "popular" compared to the other SCTs)

I think the durango looked awesome, but if I recall they had a saddle pack set up. There's racing focused....and then there is RACING FOCUSED! saddle pack spoiled it for me but I imagine that was one of the most competitive SCTs.

 

[KnowAir]

omg yes, I "left" the hobby around same time sct was petering out (15 years ago). I think the Teckno sct and durango sct were still pretty new at the time.

recently back into hobby and thought it was funny that sct was pretty much dead, it kind of "exploded" when it took off. (i suspect because traxxas slash, thing is only model that seems to STILL be "popular" compared to the other SCTs)

I think the durango looked awesome, but if I recall they had a saddle pack set up. There's racing focused....and then there is RACING FOCUSED! saddle pack spoiled it for me but I imagine that was one of the most competitive SCTs.

How ironic!!..the sct largely responsible for the sct boom (slash) was so uncompetitive

 

[Jchammbone]

How ironic!!..the sct largely responsible for the sct boom (slash) was so uncompetitive

What I found odd or ironic is that losi came out with the "heavy metal" body for the XX-4 well before the slash ever existed.

 

[pjmofperk]

1- And that's exactly how I feel every time I do it

I can get behind the rest of what you said though.

Especially the thrill of racing. Even just screwing around casually with some jumps and soccer cones with some buddies can be an absolute blast.

Wish I had a real track closer. When I was a kid my first hobby style rc was an xmod from radio shack. I mowed lawns for money and bought 10 rolls of ductape and some pvc pipe and made a 1/28 touring car track in the basement. Racing friends was some of the best times in rc I've had period.

Edit: I'll add one
The 6s line is more beginner friendly than the 3s line. In fact the 3s and 4s line would be better off as 2s vehicles if anything. Yes the cost of entry is higher for 6s but that's it.

No slipper to contend with, no wheels falling out because of shoddily designed drive shafts. No U joints to pop out. No plastic spurs to shatter the first time you tumble without something extra securing your motor in place because the stock plate is made out of tin foil. No shocks exploding all over the road because the rod ends are simply GLUED in. Btw This can all take place on your first 3s run.

Where as a 6s..oh no I have to put 1 washer next to a gear that takes 4-6 screws to get into oh no.

Can't even say the power is too much when a 6s can run a single 3s pack at 50% power with the rtr radios they come with.

If it wasn't for this awesome forum and my nature to obsessively research things before I go in to it, a 3s arrma would have greatly soured my experience with the hobby.

I gotta say, my first rc is the Granite 3s. I beat the snot out of it and it comes back for more. It’s also the rc that I first learned to fix and upgrade. It’s still my only rc and I love it.

 

[SrC]

1) Traxxas sucks. Not an unpopular opinion around here, but they're the best selling brand so definitely not held by a majority in the hobby as a whole. Don't think I need to go into why I think this with the crowd here, lol.

2) Short course trucks suck. They handle poorly on the ground and are the worst jumping platform of the off-road vehicles. Minimal air control and it's hard to get a good launch and landing even with a perfect approach because they have the aerodynamics of a kite. Scale realism is the only thing they have going for them over a buggy, truggy or MT.

3) Crawlers are boring. They're in the same class of activities as fishing and golf: Popular for reasons I have tried to understand but can't (Well, fishing only to an extent, it has cultural/evolutionary ties). This is the most subjective one so I won't try to rationalize it, just my preference.

What are yours?

>Traxxas spends so much $$ on marketing their stuff at the vendor level. Enticing LHS's, etc to push them HARD. Perhaps making them the better seller volume wise. IDK. And the more you see them out there...others will jump aboard. They are overpriced IMHO for what you get. Always have been. They are one company, not part of any conglomerate ( think HH etc) and have a very protectionist attitude. Full time patent atty's on staff etc. A different business model then the rest of the RC brands. Not a fan at all. And I own a TRX-4 FWIW.

>SC trucks were deigned for a 1/10 scale track. Period. Born from A 1/8 Buggy platform dimension wise strictly for the Track. Taking much skill to drive them. Bump and grind driving on a track is fun with Closed wheeled bodies.
Just Not for bashing, jumping and running through ungroomed muddy dirty terrain. Many will never understand that. Like stated above, the negatives of SCT's for bashing are actually the benefits for Track running. It has become much less popular as a Pro level Class at the track in recent years. Only at the Club level if that. SCT's look nice, so many will buy them (closed wheeled, more to scale etc., only to realize they are not best for bashing. I have one.
Been there. Doesn't get much use. My 1/7 Mojave is in a league all by itself however. Fits the bill for me as a SCT body goes. Just still not meant as a hard basher IMHO.

>Got an Axial Crawler and hated it in the beginning. Took me over a year to actually get into it. But once I did, it clearly is fun. I mostly Hike with all three of mine now. It is clearly not for everyone. Especially those who are new to FAST RC rigs and like to bash.
But Crawlers have their place in RC. It has also peaked in interest IMHO. But is going no where. Here to stay. If you are mechanically into Scale trucks and all, a crawler may appeal to you more. They drive and are designed to scale more so than any other RC model out there.
Crawlers are relaxing for me and hiking is great excercise. They can run for miles on one single small pack. They are hard to break from driver error. But everyone has their own RC interests.

What I found odd or ironic is that losi came out with the "heavy metal" body for the XX-4 well before the slash ever existed.

Traxxasss copied very much out there. Just don't copy their stuff. They will crush you like a fly.

 

[Howard]

Synchronicity's comment was just to get people talking and it worked. Fun and sometimes humorous discussion.