SKiB

I am on the market for my first proper RC vehicle, i have my heart set on the Schumaker Menace 21. A good friend of mine has his heart set on the Nitro MT2. Can anybody with experience with either of these two vehicles please give me their opinion of these cars, and any suggestions on what/what not to get

cheers

yenko

mt2 seems to the most bang for your buck. i just got mine a couple of weeks ago.
easy breakin just follow the book. also check for loose screws on any car/truck you get.
locktite is nice for that.NOTE: mt2 has no reverse or electric start. but that didn't stop me, it's a nice ride and it's fast.
good luck...

rcblaze

The menace is really fast. My buddy has one. I'm not to impressed with the durability thou. It always breaks something. Either a dog bone a arm from jumping it just always something. It's a nice truck but IMO it's not durable enough and parts are expensive.

DKD

it your new to nitro rc i woudnt get a menace 21. becouse of the speed of it. when i was going to get my first nitro car i wanted a xtr-3e and the guy at my lhs told me no to becouse it was to fast for a beginner and that the parts are hard to get and over priced.

nitromacguyver

menace = insane fast but weak but that happens when you go 70mph

mt 2 = slower but more durable and cheaper

tjaf

Are you speaking of the HPI MT2 (and not the CEN)? Because it's equipped with a rotostart system, which is an electric starter. No reverse nor 2speed though. I'm going to get mine this week

paperclipracer

My Feedback: (3)

menace does not hardly break at all i read a review in rcdriver and it gave it top rateing. but its really up to the buyer, the mt2 is fun.

rcblaze

How does the saying go believe half of what you read, some of what you see and none of what you hear.

fastdeuce

I just got into this RC stuff and started with a Rustler (smashed & rebuilt it right away b'cuz it got away from me).... Didn't have the Rustya month before I bought a Savage 25 just to drive over everyone/everything...As far as my toys are concerned, money is not the driving factor... I just purchased a HPI MT2 over a Menace on the advise of the LHS... Said parts are harder to get.... For what its worth........

Unspoken

i think that 70+ miles an hour is just a LITTLE exsagurated.maybe 50 or 55,but 70?thats bull caca!

crazypyro013

HPI is carried almost everywhere, easy part availability

shumacher is carried by select places

if your gonna bash more then race go mt2 route
if your gonna race more so then bash go menace

if you want a .21 engine, new era models makes a 21 conversion for the mt2

SKiB

I read in other forums, the Menace 21 is ****, breaks a lot, a read in same forums that it's really durable, and sweet as

of what i've read, 50% is good, 50% is bad, I'd like to believe it's all good, but the only footage i have of the Menace 21 is it tumbling at speed, and a wheel breaking off.

cj100570

Go with whatever truck excites you the most. I can tell you 1st hand that the Menace is durable because I had one before I got on my current MT kick. A buddy of mine has the MT 2 and it too has proven to be a fast and reliable truck. If you plan to bash a little then the MT 2 is a better choice as it is set up more for rough terrain whereas the Menace is prmarily an on road truck with limited rough terrain capabilities. Use "The Force" and follow your heart.

Frost_

My Feedback: (1)

No, actually with a 3-spd tranny and a .21 in a [relatively] small 1/10th scale all-wheel-drive ST.... I have a vid of a stock menace clocked at just over 71mph by SP with a handheld laser unit. [found it on a filesharing srvc. so surely someone else here has seen it...]

SKiB

From what I understand, third gear is hard to get to, but WHEN you do, the truck is travelling pretty fast. I seen footage with viper speed loger, and it was dong about 73mph

mnsavage

The Menace is definitely capable of 60+ mph, it's been tested again and again.

The Menace is durable at "normal" speeds, but take any R/C vehicle and push it past 60mph and get air....it's going to break. Certain vehicles seem tougher than the Menace, but that's because they crash at MUCH lower speeds. Schumacher answered the call for MORE POWER and MORE SPEED. Should they have made it stronger and tougher and heavier? To each their own.

The MT2 is a decent truck. It does nothing great but does everything pretty well. Decent acceleration, traction, handling, durability, simplicity, etc. One HUGE advantage it has over the Menace is parts availability. Schumacher parts come from Shumacher. HPI parts come from everywhere.

Neither has great off-road capability because of their low ground clearance, but if you run on grass and relatively smooth earth, they'll treat you pretty well.

Grantothismo

Hey Skib - all I can tell you is that I love my MT2. Good truck with above average reliability. Needs more b***s, but that is about it. I heard that OS is coming out with an .18 for it, but HPI has a .18 if you get impatiencient. The weakest spot it the rear differencial. Hope this helps.

nitrobashinauz

yea i've got a hpi rush and i just chewed my back diff gears, and the mt2 shares the same diff, but its only like 10 bucks (aus) to buy it and get it here

mnsavage

Assuming the MT2 diff gears are the same as the MT gears, you can step up to a set of RS4 on-road gears that are stronger and still cheap at around $8/set.

SKiB

The HPI MT2 is being released in australia with a .18 as default engine

i will have the money for my vehicle next thursday, i think i'm gonna stick with the menace 21 though. i found out last monday that i'll need to get a transmitter for it though :S My mate is getting the MT2 with the .18 engine so we'll be all set

methane

rc car magazine had a review of the menace 21 this month and it's a decent truck but they even said it is insanely fast, 60mph+. not a good choice for a beginner. even if you don't hit anything, full speed in that thing + some jumps is going to result in some durability problems

which makes me ask anybody that has a menace, is it not durable only b/c of the insane speeds? if that's the case, that really isn't fair b/c if i could get a savage or lst or whatever going 60-70mph i'm sure it's "durability" would suffer too


and a hello to mnsavage from a fellow minnesotan, did you head over to fisk hobby farm a few weeks ago for their races? it was a good time

doesgo

Hey Methane! Yeah, I was at Fisk Hobby Farm (www.fiskhobbyfarm.com) on May 22nd and I'll be there again this Saturday. I ran my GS SUT in the Unlimited MT class and my RC10GT in the Gas Truck Sportsman class. I'll be running those same classes this weekend as well as tossing my GS Storm into the 1/8 Buggy Sportsman class. What do you run? Look for me Saturday if you'll be there, I'll have a red Chevy pickup that'll probably be parked across from the driver's stand.

There was actually a Menace at the the track on the 22nd, it was my friends truck. He was going to race it in the 4WD Gas Truck Sportsman class, but there weren't enough trucks to fill out that class so they cancelled it. I was bummed, I wanted to see how it ran the track! Skinny (from RC Car magazine) was talking to me and my friend about the Menace and comparing our experiences. My friend is starting to get some of Schumacher's aluminum parts to improve its durability. You can see the Menace in some of our videos at www.slapmafro.com.

It's a reasonably durable truck, but nothing special (durability-wise, that is). Amazing acceleration at ALL speeds! We radared it to 56mph a few weeks ago but he was still running rather rich. We were going to radar it again last weekend but as you know it was a washout.

I'm not sure if this post will come up as me being mnsavage or doesgo, but I'm both (I screwed up, what can I say?).

methane

hey, i won't make it this saturday but i'll probably be there for the next race. i'm not running anything at the moment b/c i took a break from the hobby and i'm just getting back into it. i'll be picking up an lst or revo--or maybe both later this summer.

good luck racing, hope i can see the menace in action next time i get over to FHF. once it leans out you should be able to get 60 easy.

oh and what's with this daily rain?? makes me want to move to california

sn0wrider

My Feedback: (1)

get the menace!!!its a beast

doesgo

LST or Revo....sounds like fun! The LST would be my choice, but both is even better! Looks like they'll both be pretty darn good racers. Skinny from R/C Car magazine said the Revo was the best-handling monster truck he's ever driven.

I'm not sure if the 4WD 1/10 Stadium Truck class will ever be run at Fisk Hobby Farm, but I'm hopeful. I think if we can get three out there they'll run it, four for sure. I've got an HPI Nitro MT I can run once I get an engine in it, so that's two of the four we'll need. I know the Menace will totally smoke my NMT, even after I put a big-block in it, but I'm just hoping it's TOO fast and he'll blow every corner.

74 and sunny today, that's perfect!