2017 .... its coming and we need growth

[WHITE-TRASH]

Am I the only one that can function and find people to run with sans club? Maybe it's s generational thing to feel the need to belong?

 

[clod booster]

Doesn't solve the problem that the comp scene is pretty small.

I like the very simple idea of a novice and pro division with nothing topping people from going straight to pro if they want, and run what you brung is a great introduction for people.

 

[CM9000]

to bring the comp scene back to "small" towns.. there is only one way. RWYB class that way the scalers and shaftys and modified run the same courses all in one shot.

to grow the comp scene (not including the scale comps) the word needs to be pushed harder.. ie. all the internet craze facebook, instagram, more youtube videos, snapchat, and so on.

we cant just make it grow on this forum alone... it needs to go out on other media for it to grow. simple. but I hate all the medias except youtube.

just ask farmer how the comp scene is in Michigan nowadays. its a damn ghost town. ohio.. uh its scale or touring cars.

types of rc's has irritably become "regional"

guys get my point?

 

[fyrstormer]

If you want to make competition more appealing to novice and low-income RCers, take the focus away from individual performance. Put everyone in teams of three, and you get a large number of extra points for each truck that crosses the finish line -- even if it's riding on a trailer being towed by a teammate's truck. A team that brings all three trucks across the finish line should outscore one guy who clears all the hard gates without help but leaves his teammates behind. You can't just pick up a real rock crawler that's disabled and drop it on the ground back at the trailhead, after all. Plus, if people compete in teams, they can split the cost of expensive upgrades between them. One person has a dig kit to help with steep descents, another person has a winch to help with steep ascents, another person has a trailer to carry spare parts or tow straps to pull a broken-down truck, etc.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

If you want to make competition more appealing to novice and low-income RCers, take the focus away from individual performance. Put everyone in teams of three, and you get a large number of extra points for each truck that crosses the finish line -- even if it's riding on a trailer being towed by a teammate's truck. A team that brings all three trucks across the finish line should outscore one guy who clears all the hard gates without help but leaves his teammates behind. You can't just pick up a real rock crawler that's disabled and drop it on the ground back at the trailhead, after all. Plus, if people compete in teams, they can split the cost of expensive upgrades between them. One person has a dig kit to help with steep descents, another person has a winch to help with steep ascents, another person has a trailer to carry spare parts or tow straps to pull a broken-down truck, etc.

What in the name of all that is scale nerd? :lmao:

 

[Solitaire]

It's a time issue for our club. We run Class 1, 2, 3 on separate weekends to our Shafty and Pro rigs due to the length of time it takes to run 5 classes on any Sunday. Not everyone can find the time to comp every weekend (or just about) if any of the Scalers wanted to try a comp rig.

I like the loaner idea and it has worked somewhat for us on Pro/Shafty weekends. I also like the stock-ish class for newcomers, but we'd need a few more competitors to make it interesting. Having one or two newcomers with their almost stock trucks running the same courses as the veterans can make for a very frustrating day. Plus, what is stock-ish anymore in the Shafty class with the AX10 and the Deadbolt gone?

RWYB is OK if you're only running newcomers. It could get mundane quickly for the veterans.

BTW, G10 chassis', not allowing cut n' shuts and a 5lb minimum won't reduce the price of a shafty very much.

 

[cboggs]

^^Bob nailed it for us up here. We have our comp crawlers one day a month plus two scale clubs running stuff and two U4 races going on every month. There just isn't enough time to do it all and most people will pick the newest thing out to go and play with. Hopefully the RTR Bully 2 brings out some new people to play.

 

[tapped-out]

Agreed about not enough time to run all in same day...
if we did run RWYB class same day I would set comp style courses but separate from our pro courses... I'm all for new drivers but at same time don't want my comp experience to get diminished.
Right now during the summer months we don't comp crawl (off season) so this is why we are running the scale comp/RWYB class but I personally don't run my pro rig on these courses.. it wouldn't be challenging enough.. but if a guy wanted to I'd say go for it enjoy..
I build the courses with a 1.9 pro rig in mind..

If the guys running this summer want to continue this class competition starting in October means I'll get to crawl 2x a month... that's terrible lol..

 

[Dezertdirt]

Very interesting,but I'm almost sure that I've heard this conversation before. Although Robbob has some good ideas, and so do the rest of you. Does anyone have an in with axial, losi,rc4wd or any other company that might make shafty kit in the near future? Comp classes will continue to be slow growing until there is something shiny,new and relatively easy to put together with easy to find upgrades. The bully2 kit and dlux kit are a good start. But, there aren't many upgrade parts for the bully2, things like lighter tubes, gearboxes,battery mounts, electronic mounts. yes I realize that there is one company that makes a battery mount for the b2. The two biggest things are we need more manufacturer support, and the cost make a capable rig needs to come down.

sidenote: run what you brung, and split novie/ pro classes are an excellent idea.

 

[Robbob]

BTW, G10 chassis', not allowing cut n' shuts and a 5lb minimum won't reduce the price of a shafty very much.

My thinking is its the mindset that some people may see as 'to win I have to have carbon fiber, glued together tires and every light weight thing they make'

Take away the 150$ custom tires and some may see it as 150$ more they could spend on axle parts or transmissions. The mind set they wont win unless they have them.

The weight minimum may lower it a little when you look at things like links. You buy 4 lowers in Vp and its over $30 in Ti to go on the cheaper side. A driver could buy Traxxas stainless for 10$ off ebay. Between uppers and lowers they could be looking at a $40+ savings just on links. ;-)

Group it together with other stuff and you could drop a truck price 100$ ....

Agree G10 vs CF may not save as much, that area depends on vendor pricing too. I know if I switched the un-Stuck to G10 I wouldn't see a price drop. Theres more time and dollars wrapped up in the skids and hardware then there is cf material. Again this is just to help save them money and maybe even a vendor getting a sale they might have lost because of CF pricing.

In my mind we also have to think big picture, 2 years - 3 years - 4 years down the road. That dad who buys his kid a crawler and shows up to compete. Yes skill will beat the rookie but the father may see it as he needs to buy what now?

I think sometimes we forget about the younger crowd we could be cultivating and think too many times its adults with jobs and credit cards driving these things.

The RWYB sounds good to get those backyard guys out and meeting club members, seeing what its all about. If its working for your club that's great.

 

[C*H*U*D]

2.2S is named 2.2 Shafty. I felt the same way about the sportsman name, it has no bearing on the actual class. And so it was changed.

I did know that, but many people here use 2.2s and Sporty interchangeably. That was the distinction I was making.

If only there was a way to figure out why G6 and U4RC are so popular now. Hrmmm....8)

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

If only there was a way to figure out why G6 and U4RC are so popular now. Hrmmm....8)

Because they're basically semi controlled bashing? :lol:

 

[Curcal]

Because they're basically semi controlled bashing? :lol:

with kits and RTR support, which makes it easy to get into.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

with kits and RTR support, which makes it easy to get into.

Well yea, that too. :lol:



I still think my "formula toyota" idea would work well. It's just a body and tire swap away from a reality.

 

[Solitaire]

...In my mind we also have to think big picture, 2 years - 3 years - 4 years down the road. That dad who buys his kid a crawler and shows up to compete. Yes skill will beat the rookie but the father may see it as he needs to buy what now?

I think sometimes we forget about the younger crowd we could be cultivating and think too many times its adults with jobs and credit cards driving these things...

We have several fathers/sons in our club, but all are running Scale. None of these have filtered over to Pro/Shafty yet. I think it's an uphill battle to get Dad to build a $1000+ comp rig for his son as most of the sons are 6-12 years old. But, it could happen at some point.

We certainly encourage participation by the younger generation.

I like what you're doing here, Robbob. Talking up the class is certainly going to help it grow. Since you're into fabricating for the masses, maybe come up with some ARTR packages that won't break the bank. Something like Erik is doing with the MOA's.

The most expensive components in a shafty are the widened axles and associated steering pieces. That could be a good start on something less expensive for the builds. If somebody comes up with a method to widen the new SCX10 II axles and supply alum steering parts, that would be a treat.

 

[Robbob]

I like what you're doing here, Robbob. Talking up the class is certainly going to help it grow. Since you're into fabricating for the masses, maybe come up with some ARTR packages that won't break the bank. Something like Erik is doing with the MOA's.

The most expensive components in a shafty are the widened axles and associated steering pieces. That could be a good start on something less expensive for the builds. If somebody comes up with a method to widen the new SCX10 II axles and supply alum steering parts, that would be a treat.

That's my hope ...... if we can start thinking and talking now then maybe we can all give some good ideas to other clubs and big events of things to try.

2.2S is a great gateway class if we could just tweak it a bit to attract more new drivers. Its grown into looking like a pro level class which isn't a bad thing but if we could attract those who think of it that way and give them all an even level of back to basics that could be great.

Certainly don't want to water it down and hurt the existing drivers or limit them, that's why I think a separation of the two could help. It would still be driver choice what he wants to run but it would give that choice to them and not be creating more classes or work for event hosts.

 

[Curcal]

Why would we widen scx10ii axles when youve got the ar60s plenty wide enough and are able to run over/under. Are they a little too wide yes, but thats actually good for a new driver. Plus there pretty cheap and dont need much modding to make work well.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

Why would we widen scx10ii axles when youve got the ar60s plenty wide enough and are able to run over/under. Are they a little too wide yes, but thats actually good for a new driver. Plus there pretty cheap and dont need much modding to make work well.

Super simple to narrow and don't require any beef type tubes so the price is nice and cheap without the added parts.


I'm starting to wonder about maybe figuring out a chassis for the scx10II or ascender. I'd imagine the link mounts on most current chassis would work out but of course the skid would need to have the correct pattern for the rigs trans and needed clearance for it built into the chassis.

The scx10II rtr would be simple since it has the regular scx trans so something like the unstuck would work fine.

I'm running an unstuck on ar60's and contrary to what I've heard it works just as well as any of the much more expensive chassis on the market. :mrgreen:

 

[C*H*U*D]

Because they're basically semi controlled bashing? :lol:

with kits and RTR support, which makes it easy to get into.

I was thinking more along the lines that they actually "look" like trucks in the real world.

I think about what it would take to get me to start buggy racing. I know (think?) buggies are very popular, but one look at big pin tires and itty-bitty winged bodies and the first word I think of is *YAWN*. There's no way I'm interested in tiny airplanes that just happen to run on the ground. Now, compare that to the short course trucks and it's a different story for me. I really like the looks and if I had the money, I'd be doing it.

This has been talked about before and many have taken offense to the "RC Robotics" title that I've used before. But why is scale so popular? Because of the amazing performance? No, it's because people can relate to them as a truck and not a robot. I see buggies as fast robots...the quick way around a track for sure, but if I can't recognize it as a vehicle, I have no interest.

The reason I said earlier to look through the old picture archives back when comp was so popular, is because they still looked like trucks. Interest in scale continues to grow while comp seems stagnant or shrinking in many places.

Now think back to the controversies around Class 3 when the 3 class system was first introduced. Class 3 started looking and performing a LOT like the old comp trucks. That tells me people are interested in high performing trucks that still resemble a real truck. And I'm not talking about scale as in zip tying a bunch of toy doo-dads to your vehicle either.

Keep ignoring the scale appeal of comp trucks and we'll be having this same discussion next year. And the year after that....

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

Keep ignoring the scale appeal of comp trucks and we'll be having this same discussion next year. And the year after that....

I agree with your whole post but most of all the part I quoted.

I know MOA can do amazing things that is just a fact. But I could not care less about them other than to reap the rewards of better and stronger parts from what crosses over. RC robotics indeed.

Dlux likes to call my crawler a scaler because I run a ford truck body on it. I like my drivelines and I like my rig to resemble something in real life. I'm 100% sure I'm not alone in feeling that way.