Slo-V Flyer

Access put it right, every hobby has the people who are "hardcore" and then there are others like me who are the other in-betweeners, not quite helpless children like what some of the "kitters" portray most of us RTR newbs as.

I started with an RTR - a Traxxas Rustler. I couldn't justify spending $300 for a 2wd truck that went 18 mph. To me at the time it was ridiculous to have to spend that kind of money for such little performance. Of course I quickly learnt the reasons why things cost what they did. It was a cheap $175 fix for my r/c craving that I had for 15 years.

But even though I bought an RTR, I was not a n00b who had to take the truck over to the LHS to get anything fixed. I upgraded to ball bearings, I repaired my own damage, I even opened up the transmission when needed and repaired the diff and stuff. I upgraded to a better ESC, and motor and went along. I bought an RTR Bandit for my brother soon after I got my Rustler RTR. We wrenched and upgraded them with no issues.

I will admit that I researched purely by accident what the hobby level r/c stuff was, what was popular, and all that good stuff informed people do, and we see here on the forums as people post for opinions on getting their first r/c. I knew what an ESC was and what the turns in a motor meant and gearing and all that good stuff. I also understand not everyone is a geek like me and have seen people bring their r/c car in the LHS to get simple things fixed for $25. BUT that keeps the money coming into the hobby so the "kitters" still have their kits and r/c accessories available.

Now personally after 7 years, I am still too lazy to build up a kit, so I prefer ebay rollers, or RTRs when I can justify it ($500 for a Summit!?!? Damn I'm just too hopeless) and upgrade as I need. I have 5-6 different r/c cars and trucks all in various stages of repair, upgrade, brushless, brushed, lipo etc. Hell I even have 4-5 different airplanes in various states of... states. I started with *gasp* an RTF!!! A PARK FLYER Bwahahahah! And I bought ARF kits (I DO NOT have the patience or skill to scratch build from sticks and covering!) and crashed them with brushless outrunners and lipos and 1 that even survived and remains flyable.

I guess my point is... give us lowly RTR people a break, and have some faith. If the only thing for hobby level R/C was kits, I guarantee you the hobby would be no where near as innovative and you'd still be paying up your wazoo for everything you enjoy. For those of you who "feel strongly" I feel bad for you. You cannot see past your elitist or whatever view it is about only being a kitter.

If I had patience I WOULD by kits and save money by using my own electronics that I have acquired after 6-7 years. RTRs come with usually inferior parts or the kits come with better upgrades so the cost justifies that. I think both can co-exist without having to put down each other.

So why can't we all just get along?

jermpool

My first kit took me bout 8 hours to build. When I started the only RTRs available were entry level. Losi and AE didn't have any RTRs. I would love to see more kits available. I do understand that RTRs have helped a lot of kids get into the hobby that weren't able to build a kit, and thats good. But at the same time you learn so much about your car and how everything works when you have to assemble it. I guess we have Traxxas and thier Tmaxx to thank for this one. It seems like that is what started it all.

I just wanted to see if I was the only one that is tired of EVERY new car/truck being released as a RTR.

And by the way I realy didnt think so many people would get upset over this topic. I just stated my opinion and asked for others. A simple yes I think they are bad for the hobby or No I think they are good for the hobby would have been good enough.

Access

How are these disadvantageous? Basically what you are saying is that the mechanically inept or the lacking in knowledge subsidize the hobby and the local hobby shops, etc. for everyone else. It's just like those who buy a vehicle only to get bored of it and sell it on E-bay. If no one is willing to ever 'take the hit' and buy a vehicle new, there'd be no vehicles sold on e-bay and so on.

A lot of hobbies the value of the 'three-monther' or 'six-monther' (someone who gets into the hobby, buys a bunch of stuff new, eventually gets bored, and then gets out, sells his stuff to other hobbyists) is overlooked or berated. But in fact these guys inject more money and add more value to the hobby than any other segment.

They support the manufacturers when they buy their gear new. They support the local hobby shop when paying for repairs. And when the get bored and sell their stuff, they help create a viable secondary market that keeps prices down.

rufus2000

RTR's helps manufacturers sell more, which translates in lower priced kits.
Personally, I'm not the builder kind of guy and prefer to spend the 8-10 hours building time on something else.
If its a quality RTR i don´t mind getting it, just a quick check and it's ready to go. And if the thing breaks no prob, I'll tear it apart later, that's what manuals are for.
A lot of the kit guys do appreciate the build time as something that's part of the hobby, which is nice but not necesarily for everyone. I guess it's safe to say that all of us are in it for the racing, else we'd be all into building static models :P

skrilla

I personally don't blame the RTRfor people's inability to repair their own vehicle. The main problem is that not everyone is mechanically inclined. Some people are just not good at it and that's the way it is, be it genetic or whatever.

I started with a kit, late 80's kyosho ultima. My brother started with an RTR, traxxas nitro. Both of use can wrench on any RC vehicle effortlessly.Starting with a kit didn't make me any better at or more comfortable with repairing RC cars. It's just in my blood to be comfortable doing my own work on everything, my house, my real cars, my RC cars, etc.

johndavis

i think kits and rtr have their place.  i started with a rtr  have tore it down all the way and put it back together many times just cleaning it.   i learned something everytime i took it apart and put it back together.   my next rc will be a kit so i cam build it the way i like it.  my next rc will probally be a mugen  truggy  . most of the rc truggy's where i race at are losi's   so i like to be different.    another thing i want to do  is make my own parts, i got a lathe   need a small milling machine.  have made some parts.          

Sigma.40

My Feedback: (1)

I learned about R/C by fixing my RTR's. I would have never started if I had to build the car first since I don't know anyone else in my area who is into it.

Slo-V Flyer

+1 EXACTLY. I rambled a bit much in my post, but this is basically how I feel. I don't race, and I don't have time to build a model when I really just want to RUN IT, if I want to build something, I'll buy a 1/24 die-cast car kit or a Gundam mech thing. The fact that I eventually buy and paint bodies for some of my r/c trucks alone is a miracle, and that with 2 or 3 colors.

SyCo_VeNoM

man that description fits my brother perfectly
Xmas time comes around he calls me up to assemble all his kids toys cause he can't get past step 1. It got to the point they don't even bother asking him anymore and come straight to me.

Hell he has issues putting oil in his car even...

He wanted to buy a nitro for him and my nephew to race me. I made them sit and look at the maintenance(nothing major just ARO and checking the diffs cause one was acting up) 10 seconds in he was like ok I don't want one anymore and left. I didn't even get the glow plug off...

DaveG55

Well, you are entitled to your own opinion...
BUT
In my opinion that kind of attitude is classic head-in-the-sand thinking!
This hobby was static, if not dieing, for 30 years. Only a very limited number of people knew about it and fewer still could afford it. The people in the hobby were widely thought of as arrogant, elitist and stuck-up. Then RTR's started to come into existance. And you know what? They not only saved the hobby, their popularity made the hobby far more mainstream. And with that came compitition among manufacturers. That popularity and compitition has made rc's far more affordable, durable (yes, more durable), faster and brought the best technology to the hobby.
So, if you think that more people in the hobby, better vehicles, lower prices, and better equipment is bad and worth fighting over then I feel sorry for you.

johndavis

one argument has been forgot

which is more important  speed or driving experience?

DaveG55

Sometimes speed is more important than experience, sometimes experience is more important than speed - it is a very situational thing.

But I really don't see how either speed or driving experience are relivant to wether RTR's are good or bad for the hobby?

rcslsafut

i couldn't agree more "rtr's = more sale's = lower price's !!!!!
as far as personal opinion i would prefer a kit any day!!!
thats part of the allure of this hobby to me is wrenching ,i am a gear head , cant help it !!!
if it was not relatively inexpensive , i would have probably not got into it. so rtr's have made leap's and bound's for OUR hobby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just like some others have posted i would like to see more kits myself.

johndavis

dave i was just pointing out  everything else has been argued about  except that.


 if you have the fastest car and caint handle it  the speed does no good. where i race at consistantsy is the key     a fast lap then a lap when you are on your lid does not help.    but i do agree a kit is the best way to go.     my next one is going to be a kit.       i do have a rtr  and it has taught me a lot.  i know the weaknesses of my rtr.                         im going to try to get a mugen truggy kit is what im looking at.