Axial ridgecrest review.

[project_mayhem]

I've owned my axial ridgecrest for a month now, and here is my review.

What I've liked so far is that it's fun to drive. It's wild, and does pretty good in sand, mud, and over some small jumps. I've had fun bashing it.

Here's what I don't like about the ridgecrest. Let's just say I haven't had problems with the ESC, reciever, transmission, differentials, and the shocks. The transmitter is garbage. It will stick left every now and again, and it's inferiorating. The fasteners on this thing are absolutely terrible. I've replaced all the ones that I had replacements for. They fell out, stripped out, you name it. The servo is junk. It's weakness is tolerable, but after less than a month, the nylon bushing has a lot of slop in it. The motor is just about cooked. I had to reduce the gearing from a 20t to a 18t to keep the heat down.

Overall, I'm disappointed with the ridgecrest as a RTR. I have to replace the radio, servo, and the motor. This is BS in a RTR kit. I could have gotten a wraith kit or scx10 kit for the same or less with most of the upgraded parts I want, and just buy all the electronics I have to replace anyways.

My conclusion is to not buy a ridgecrest. It's poorly built, and the electronics are junk. I just don't think you should have to upgrade fasteners and all the RTR components out of the box.

I'm going to buy an affordable servo, get a traxxas reciever to use with my slash transmitter, and just get a new motor when this one fails. Might as well make it useable since I'm stuck with it.

[TrailDevastator]

buy a real transmitter and replace the stock screws with m3 thread. the motors are cheap thats a given. replace it and do a water break in before you run it.

[mulepic]

The next thing you'll do is twist the driveshaft. They are pathetic. My son just twisted it running on carpet. I totally forgot about the mod to put the dowel in the shaft. When I looked at the shaft, I noticed the wall thickness is so thin that a light will shine through it. The old axial shafts were much thicker. This is Axial MO; release junk so you have to replace all the parts w/ quality ones.

[stricker76]

You'll break shit ALOT quicker on carpet than out on the rocks. Ripsaws have loads of traction on carpet! Lol

[chevotafun]

Originally Posted by stricker76

You'll break shit ALOT quicker on carpet than out on the rocks. Ripsaws have loads of traction on carpet! Lol

Yup i agree.

And think of it this way they could add all that beefy stuff and charge u $600 or more instead of $330.
But at 330 u get to build it the way u want it.
But i have beat the crap out of mine for a month now and have not had a single issue with it. i Have even ran to comps with it as well.
i added c-hubs, knuckles steering and a servo and she is good to go
do Acouple simple mods and the things is a beast.
Also anyone have a XR10? u have to add a g note to that well or least 4 or 5 hun after buying it.
oh and the old Ax10 u had to throw money at it as well.
Anyone see the trend here.

[Juicebag31]

Originally Posted by chevotafun

Yup i agree.

And think of it this way they could add all that beefy stuff and charge u $600 or more instead of $330.
But at 330 u get to build it the way u want it.
But i have beat the crap out of mine for a month now and have not had a single issue with it. i Have even ran to comps with it as well.
i added c-hubs, knuckles steering and a servo and she is good to go
do Acouple simple mods and the things is a beast.
Also anyone have a XR10? u have to add a g note to that well or least 4 or 5 hun after buying it.
oh and the old Ax10 u had to throw money at it as well.
Anyone see the trend here.

Yeah, The trend is Axial gets you coming and going.

[project_mayhem]

My point is that most people buy a RTR because they don't want to replace everything. They want a transmitter that does the job even if it's not the best. They don't want to have to replace all the fasteners in a brand new truck. The servo should last atleast 20h of use. It would be silly to think it should be as good as a comp rig, or take extreme bashing, but screws shouldn't fall out of the c hubs from driving around. This is what I got from my slash. Traxxas got it right, why not axial.

For me, I planned to buy this rig, and every month add some mods to it to increase it's toughness and drivability. I'm not exactly happy that I need to put $150 in it after 5h of use.

[TrailDevastator]

Welcome to rc. Gotta pay to play.

[project_mayhem]

Originally Posted by chevotafun

Yup i agree.

And think of it this way they could add all that beefy stuff and charge u $600 or more instead of $330.
But at 330 u get to build it the way u want it.
But i have beat the crap out of mine for a month now and have not had a single issue with it. i Have even ran to comps with it as well.
i added c-hubs, knuckles steering and a servo and she is good to go
do Acouple simple mods and the things is a beast.
Also anyone have a XR10? u have to add a g note to that well or least 4 or 5 hun after buying it.
oh and the old Ax10 u had to throw money at it as well.
Anyone see the trend here.

We expect if you want a beefy version that you need to add money. I just think axial should upgrade the screws so they don't fall out. I've had no chassis issues since replacing screws with m3 screws. I think the radio could work a little better though. Glitch free isn't much to ask for.

[Devil Inc]

Quick and easy fix for the servo, do the bearing mod. Plain and simple, buy a $4.00 replacement gear set for a Traxxas 2075 and use the bearings that come in it. Takes care of the slop. Behold the art of this hobby, modding your truck to your liking. Probably wouldn't have hurt Axial's bottom-line to include the servo with bearings, but they felt it was sufficient to use a servo with bushings.

As for driving on carpet, that's just being dumb, like driving straight into a brick wall. How did you expect something to not happen. There is NO differential action in these trucks.

As with any RTR, take the time to go through everything, nuts and bolts, gear mesh, etc. What's not to say the person assembling that was having an off day, after all we're just human.

I've read plenty of "BAD" reviews on various vehicles, and most of the time it's the operator being careless. Just my opinion...

[C*H*U*D]

Originally Posted by project_mayhem

My point is that most people buy a RTR because they don't want to replace everything.

I totally agree with you. Even though I do enjoy my Ridgecrest, it took some time and money. This is my first RTR from Axial...I've always bought components from scratch and built from there. I didn't want to wait for the kit, and planned on a lot of changes anyway, but most people aren't thinking along those same lines when they grab that new box off the shelf.

If a kit comes out, I would definitely steer people in that direction, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from buying the RTR. I would give them a heads up on what to expect though, and a realistic price expectation of what will be needed to make it more reliable.

Sorry to hear about your transmitter problems. I've only had problems with the motor and servo...I still use the same radio with it and so far so good.

[demonoid369]

Originally Posted by project_mayhem

I've owned my axial ridgecrest for a month now, and here is my review.

What I've liked so far is that it's fun to drive. It's wild, and does pretty good in sand, mud, and over some small jumps. I've had fun bashing it.

Here's what I don't like about the ridgecrest. Let's just say I haven't had problems with the ESC, reciever, transmission, differentials, and the shocks. The transmitter is garbage. It will stick left every now and again, and it's inferiorating. The fasteners on this thing are absolutely terrible. I've replaced all the ones that I had replacements for. They fell out, stripped out, you name it. The servo is junk. It's weakness is tolerable, but after less than a month, the nylon bushing has a lot of slop in it. The motor is just about cooked. I had to reduce the gearing from a 20t to a 18t to keep the heat down.

Overall, I'm disappointed with the ridgecrest as a RTR. I have to replace the radio, servo, and the motor. This is BS in a RTR kit. I could have gotten a wraith kit or scx10 kit for the same or less with most of the upgraded parts I want, and just buy all the electronics I have to replace anyways.

My conclusion is to not buy a ridgecrest. It's poorly built, and the electronics are junk. I just don't think you should have to upgrade fasteners and all the RTR components out of the box.

I'm going to buy an affordable servo, get a traxxas reciever to use with my slash transmitter, and just get a new motor when this one fails. Might as well make it useable since I'm stuck with it.

using the search function on here would have save you some time and money

Originally Posted by TrailDevastator

buy a real transmitter and replace the stock screws with m3 thread. the motors are cheap thats a given. replace it and do a water break in before you run it.

dont put in water, thats been proven and showed here on this forum a lot

Originally Posted by mulepic

The next thing you'll do is twist the driveshaft. They are pathetic. My son just twisted it running on carpet. I totally forgot about the mod to put the dowel in the shaft. When I looked at the shaft, I noticed the wall thickness is so thin that a light will shine through it. The old axial shafts were much thicker. This is Axial MO; release junk so you have to replace all the parts w/ quality ones.

you ran it on carpet, what did you expect? lol



heres some advice, this is a rtr thats low on price, the upgraded stuff including m3 screws would have made it way more expensive than it is now. a little searching, reading, and on your part initiative, will allow you to have a rig for cheap that will run well. nothing is perfect or built like a tank unless you want to pay higher prices

[demonoid369]

Originally Posted by Devil Inc

Quick and easy fix for the servo, do the bearing mod. Plain and simple, buy a $4.00 replacement gear set for a Traxxas 2075 and use the bearings that come in it. Takes care of the slop. Behold the art of this hobby, modding your truck to your liking. Probably wouldn't have hurt Axial's bottom-line to include the servo with bearings, but they felt it was sufficient to use a servo with bushings.

As for driving on carpet, that's just being dumb, like driving straight into a brick wall. How did you expect something to not happen. There is NO differential action in these trucks.

As with any RTR, take the time to go through everything, nuts and bolts, gear mesh, etc. What's not to say the person assembling that was having an off day, after all we're just human.

I've read plenty of "BAD" reviews on various vehicles, and most of the time it's the operator being careless. Just my opinion...

totally agree with this, the person that buys an actual hobby grade rc should have the initiative to look over it and just make sure,

[Meatwad]

Its all hobby grade rc, you'll eventually break something. I've had good and bad experiences from just about every make.. axial, associated, hpi, losi, traxxas and etc.

Learn the platform and its idiosyncrasies, done. Or get a star, post it for sale in the classifieds and someone will surely buy it

[Honchoforever1]

^^ yeah sell it I need the axles^^

[ik632]

The way I look at the Axial crawler is like my parents Harley's. Great bikes out of the box but you need to replace a lot of stuff to get them to be reliable (now haters don't get mad, I'm just making an example - I love the bikes but don't own one myself).

The RTR Ridgecrest and Wraith are the same.

One thing I've really noticed is that driving style changes a lot. If you drive the truck like an SC truck you will break it. It's to be driven like a scale crawler for the most part with some fast on the flat stuff.

Anyway, there have been a lot of folks with the same complaints as you lately and it's really the hobby and how the hobby works. You buy something to get you going and then upgrade as you go. If you wanted the best of the best, you'd get a kit and build it the first time with the parts you want.

[SwampDawg]

Originally Posted by ik632

The way I look at the Axial crawler is like my parents Harley's. Great bikes out of the box but you need to replace a lot of stuff to get them to be reliable (now haters don't get mad, I'm just making an example - I love the bikes but don't own one myself).

The RTR Ridgecrest and Wraith are the same.

One thing I've really noticed is that driving style changes a lot. If you drive the truck like an SC truck you will break it. It's to be driven like a scale crawler for the most part with some fast on the flat stuff.

Anyway, there have been a lot of folks with the same complaints as you lately and it's really the hobby and how the hobby works. You buy something to get you going and then upgrade as you go. If you wanted the best of the best, you'd get a kit and build it the first time with the parts you want.

^^cant argue with this statement!!
reason i chose the Wraith KIT, so i can build it to my drive-style!

+1

[TrailDevastator]

A water break in on the motor. My trucks waterproof

[Draggermirage]

Originally Posted by ik632

Anyway, there have been a lot of folks with the same complaints as you lately and it's really the hobby and how the hobby works. You buy something to get you going and then upgrade as you go. If you wanted the best of the best, you'd get a kit and build it the first time with the parts you want.

Somewhat along these same lines. Not pointed at you or anyone in particular either.

Try doing what we do with our hobby grade rigs with something you buy at Target or Wal-Mart. $50 (or more) a time for a complete car that won't do much of anything, is easily broken and non repairable is a FAR steeper price to pay than a few repairs or upgrades for something that will damn near climb a sheer rock face and can be driven hard for years.

Yes, it's expensive to initially get into a rig setup, but at least you can keep it longer than the first broken part.

Marcus

[XJkid93]

I've had an ax10 rtr, wraith rtr, And xr10 with all stock stuff....what people don't realize is with every rtr OR kit build you usually end up breaking stuff, and like another member said they could add all the aluminum sweet stuff but then all the prices will be sky high and most people wouldn't be into this hobby. This is an entry level rtr crawler/rock racer, you can't expect it to be bullet proof and be able to hang with a built xr10.