Ascender/SCX10 to Bomber???

[Browneye]

I need help and advice on potentially choosing a Axial RR10 Bomber. Rather than clutter up someone elses thread for either brand and type of RC car I thought I would start my own here...

I have a fleet of semi-scale rock crawlers - of both brands. Love them to death, giving the Vaterra Ascender a slight nod for performance and durability, and one to SCX10 for aftermarket support. Both are good, both are fun to drive, and I've been to a few comps and enjoy the entire hobby and aspect of them and what they are. I have a small fortune wrapped up in these things.

But I've been thinking about a RR10 Bomber, or a yeti, or wraith, I guess these are the 3 major ones of the crawler-basher offroader - a 'rock racer'? Something that crawls but goes fast too. Out of all of them the Bomber seems to get the most nods for being up to date and competent right out of the box. I would likely build from a kit so I can choose my electrics, and since I already have a nice 5-ch radio.

So tell me which one, or if I would even like one as a crawler on steroids. You know, 2.2 wheels, better clearance, approach, and departure angles, faster on a trail, etc. I'm not even sure I would like one, but they seem intriguing enough to drop coin for a kit and give it a shot. I would be primarily looking for a better performing rock crawler overall, another fun offroad RC car.

What can I expect verses a regular crawler like the SCX10 or Ascender?

And if it's the Bomber for sure, then what kind of power? Brushed or brushless? I can likely work out the specs either way.

So, whaddaya think???


My Ascender garage...

[Stray]

Thanks for the questions!

I own a wraith, a bomber, and a yeti tt.

I would forget the yeti as there are better options for that sort of vehicle.

The wraith is an amazing crawler, it eats rocks that my scx10 can only dream of. But its not so good on the go fast stuff. The bomber is not as good a crawler, but much better on flat ground due to the sway bar.

This being said, there are so many options for both that you can turn them Into what ever you want.

I would get the bomber and this is why
- trailing arms are cool
- better stock drive train
- easy 2 speed upgrade
- looks badass
- factory sway bar
- is more modern and has front battery.

You would be happy with both.

I would also like to note I love my yeti tt. It is soft, rolls easily, doesn't really crawl at all, is nose heavy, and is now discontinued. But it's just freaking cool, And it is different to anything else I had before. It has great scale items, and loves the dunes. I also think it drives more scale too...

These are just my opinions, I'm sure you will get other opinions saying do something else.

When it comes down to it, do this.

Decide on two, give one heads, one tails, and flip a coin. Don't actually look at what the coin lands on, just remember which side you wanted it to land on, and you have your choice!

Thanks for reading

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

[2mtech]

My personal mileage:

I had 8 crawlers already...SCX10's, Vaterra Ascender, MST CMX & CFX, Gmade Sawback and Komodo. Even screwed up and had a TF2 for about 10 minutes. Love them all, but the GF always told me while out crawling/trailing that it seemed like I got frustrated too easily and acted like I wanted something that would crawl anywhere or go fast when I wanted to. Enter the brushless Bomber kit.

I just described my experience with it so far. Goes literally anywhere it's pointed, with highly controllable slow motion and tractability, then with a blip instant wheel speed to overcome whatever it just encountered.

Then hit a straightaway, lay on the whiskey throttle and hang on...it goes faster than I can control it on 3S. Then slow back down and crawl the riprap like nothing else I own.

In short, I can't imagine a more adaptable all-purpose rig, unless you really need a scale fix or want to do an event where axle width would be an issue. I have a lot of static dust on most of my scalers....

And I pretty much answered it, but brushless power, YEAHuss!

[Stray]

It's hard not to love the Bomber.

RE: brushless set ups.

I have a MMX pro esc, and sensored 8th scale 42mm 2050kv motor. I also have the ssd 2speed. On low, it would pull my car if it had the traction. On high on 3s it does about 40kph which isn't real fast, but If I ever needed to prove a point I can run it on 6s.....

There is no issue with the big motor fitting into the bomber.

Some might say its overkill. Which it is. I wouldn't have it any other way...

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

[durok]

Or for something completely different...

HH Revolver 1800kv and a Mamba X for on-the-fly drag brake on and off, has ridiculous startup and low-speed control, and yet still is plenty fast for when you want it.

Run it on 3S or 4S, I'm not even having to change the gearing - running stock pinion, spur, and diff gears from the kit version.

You could run a Sidewinder SW4 to save money, it has the same level of low-speed control - just limited to 3S and no on-the-fly switching off the drag brake.

[1fox2go]

The wraith is a lot of fun. The wider axles and bigger tires make some obstacles gravy but flip side the wider track can make some things a little more difficult. I have mine set up to crawl/trail like my SCX10 and SCX10.2

The Bomber, havent built it yet, but in terms of upgrades in the kit it has pretty much every upgrade--way better than the wraith kit, similar to the scx10.2 kit.

I plan to have my Wraith a hardcore crawler/hill climber, The bomber to be a peppy trailer/crawler, and the SCX10.2 a mix between the two

All that said you can make a Bomber a hardcore crawler if youd like, just like anything else.

Id say if you want a Buggy look, which do you like better, wraith or bomber. Then decide kit vs rtr, but the kit bomber is a better value

[Browneye]

Good stuff guys. Seems you really like them. That's what I was hoping for, use it for everything and it's good at everything.

There has to be a reason the comp crawlers and rock racers, like hammers rigs (right in our own backyard) are these railed 4x4 buggy things.

I'll look at some photos and youtube vids, but I always prefer performance over looks, so if everybody says Bomber then that should be it.

I already have 3s batteries and a radio, so I would want electrics that use them. I even have an extra HW1080. Seems like everyone prefers sensored brushless for these though. I saw some are running a 550 brushed in a low turn, like 21 or 27T. Brushless in 2100 to 2800kv.

Keep it coming...

[smog]

I have a Bomber and a Wraith. They crawl well.

the Wraith is definitely a crawler, but looks great pounding over moderately rough ground. A whole lot better than my Ascender does. The Ascender looks better crawling.

So far my kids and I have enjoyed both the Wraith and Bomber in construction sites and quarries primarily. I find they are a blast in areas of varied terrain. I haven’t taken either on a trail hike, but would.

I think both are worth having. I really enjoy the feel of the sensored Bomber. I don’t have a bunch of drag on it, but I how love how the smooths starts and zippy top end just carry the rig through the paces. I first had the Mamba Monster in it, but it’s size made putting the rig back together a pain in tha azz. now I have an el cheapo Hobby King(like Burger King) that I bought for 15 bucks from URC years back. Both worked well for my use. I have a 10.5T motor on 3S.

My Wraith is brushed. I have the drag brake running harder. It’s a beast; a crawler that will come to bash.

[Browneye]

How does the Vaterra Twin Hammers rig compare?
So far I still like the Bomber the best - been looking at large format images and vids comparing Wraith to Bomber.

[soze]

Twin Hammers is a little smaller with 1.9" wheels/tires. I've got one ready to build, but I plan to get a bunch of Scorched Earth parts off of Shapeways for that. It doesn't have a lot of room for stuff, and battery fit/location can be an issue I think.

I'd go with the Bomber. I have one as well, but I haven't built it yet. The research I was doing before led me to believe the Bomber was the best balanced platform for what you are looking for though.

I like the GMADE GOM as well, but it certainly doesn't have the aftermarket support that the Bomber has, but I love it.

[Browneye]

What is a good motor speed with the 2-speed transmission to give a good low crawling speed?
I see Axial has a variety of brushed and brushless options - 2900Kv seems like a common option. Or 21 or 27T brushed.

Holmes has the castle esc with his 540 'revolver' motor? 1800kv? Sensorless though - for crawling I would think sensored, no?

[Browneye]

Originally Posted by soze

Twin Hammers is a little smaller with 1.9" wheels/tires. I've got one ready to build, but I plan to get a bunch of Scorched Earth parts off of Shapeways for that. It doesn't have a lot of room for stuff, and battery fit/location can be an issue I think.

I'd go with the Bomber. I have one as well, but I haven't built it yet. The research I was doing before led me to believe the Bomber was the best balanced platform for what you are looking for though.

I like the GMADE GOM as well, but it certainly doesn't have the aftermarket support that the Bomber has, but I love it.

Thanks! Did not realize the TH had 1.9 wheels - I'll keep my ascenders and scx10's for that.


For crawling comps, does the Bomber go in Class-3?



Are there other options for a 2.2 wheeled crawler? GOM is pretty cool - but yeah, aftermarket and hop-ups for Axial is a no-brainer.

[2mtech]

The Losi Rock Rey is also 2.2 and seems popular among a certain following. No personal experience or research to share there.

[JatoTheRipper]

Bomber or Rock Rey is where you should be looking.

I have a Bomber, but if I didn't have one I'd be getting the Rock Rey kit. It's, by most accounts, a better kit and a more durable vehicle. And the kit is only $250 right no! Wait for an eBay coupon and you can get it just over $200.

With that being said, the Bomber is fun and capable. It's a compromise. It crawls OK and is an OK go-fast rig. But I can't think of a better compromise vehicle. If you buy a Bomber (or Rock Rey) do yourself a favor and put good electronics in it. I suggest the Castle Mamba X and a Tekin ROC412, Team Brood, or Holmes motor. Make sure you have a 3-channel radio to use the Crawler/Rock Race mode on the Mamba X. It allows you to toggle go fast mode and crawler mode (drag brake and instant reverse).

BTW - DO NOT get the Bomber RTR. It's mostly plastic whereas the kit has tons of upgrade. It's Axial's best bang for the buck bar none.

[TheLetterJ]

Bomber kit sounds like just what you want. I've got a couple Wraith's, one of them only has the stock cage remaining of the original parts, and even that has been modified. I tried to set it up as a go-fast rig and couldn't get it to a point I was completely happy with it, so it went back to crawler duty. It does better than it should as a crawler. The Bomber can be set up to crawl just about as well as any Wraith, but the chassis layout is just plain better on the Bomber, and so long as you keep it on trailing arms, it will have the high speed advantage as well.

A good middle ground between Wraith and Bomber would be Twin Hammer length trailing arms on the Bomber. You'd get the shorter wheelbase advantage that the Wraith has, but you'd still have more rear wheel travel. That's likely the route I'd go if I had it to do over again.

I see the Rock Rey being suggested, but I'd never consider that (nor a Yeti... nor a Twin Hammers) if you truly want to do any slow/technical crawling. I'm not saying it can't be done, just that you'll end up making a ton of modifications, and sacrifices, for mediocre crawling performance. The Rock Rey takes the cake in this class if going fast is your primary concern, and I still have mixed feelings about the Yeti as a "rock racer", though it's pretty nice when setup as a trophy truck (not as good as a Baja Rey though!) To me, the Twin Hammers seems more like the worst of 2 worlds, instead of the best of 2 worlds. They're fun to bash around over rough terrain though.

I think a 550 sized sensored brushless around 3000-3500kv on 3s will give a good balance of go-fast, and still be capable of smooth/slow crawling, without the need for a 2 speed. MambaX is certainly the go-to ESC for this application, just toggle the drag brake off for go fast fun, and back on when you hit the rocks. Just be aware that even AR60's are not bullet proof if you start driving recklessly or running big power.

If you've got a 1080 on standby, a 21t 550 brushed motor will have no problems getting you around, but you might be underwhelmed on the big end (maybe not though?) Some might suggest adding a 2 speed to that setup, but I'd sooner suggest putting that money towards a sensored brushless instead.

[DukeMinnix]

Man, I love my bomber. Started out RTR with a few upgrades, quickly toasted the servo and motor. Upgraded all the links and trailing arms, as well as electronics. Once I figured out how to tune the mamba with the roc412, its been smooth sailing. If I had it to do over again, I'd have gotten a bomber chassis and skid and built from scratch. Ponied up for some good VP axle housings.

Once you figure out you can loosen the rearmost screws for the roof and remove the other two forward screws on each side and rotate it up and out of the way so you don't have to totally disassemble the skid, its not as tedious to work on.

It almost makes things too easy sometimes, but I've modified mine with a scale body and I'm dropping it down in height and going with XL size 1.9s to bring back the challenge of some areas I crawl.

[2mtech]

I'm surprised Castle doesn't just stamp MADE FOR BOMBERS on their Mamba X packaging with the toggleable rock race/crawl mode third wire function. Jato and TheLetterJ already covered that well.

You've already seen I'm running a 3300kv HH sensored motor on a Mamba X...don't need no stinkin' 2-speed!

All that I will emphatically say is regardless of power plant, you can NOT cheap out on a servo in a Bomber. Mine ate a DS3218 alive in no time just trailing. It has a 3Brothers G13 in it now running straight off the primary 3S battery, I'm hoping that continues to hold up.

[DukeMinnix]

Originally Posted by 2mtech

All that I will emphatically say is regardless of power plant, you can NOT cheap out on a servo in a Bomber. Mine ate a DS3218 alive in no time just trailing. It has a 3Brothers G13 in it now running straight off the primary 3S battery, I'm hoping that continues to hold up.

Amen. I even had a savox 1230 in mine for a while. Two weaknesses. Plastic mounting ears, and it had a hell of an issue centering and was jittery as hell. Mine currently sports a holmes and its loving life.

[2mtech]

Originally Posted by DukeMinnix

Amen. I even had a savox 1230 in mine for a while. Two weaknesses. Plastic mounting ears, and it had a hell of an issue centering and was jittery as hell. Mine currently sports a holmes and its loving life.

You mean like this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3MO-HI5ENE

Don't know why I suddenly can't embed YouTube vids...?

[Browneye]

Great info - thanks!

Kit on order. That didn't take long eh??

I might try a 550 brushed with the extra HW1080 I have. Gets it moving for $20. I can always upgrade the motor and controller very easily.

I'm surprised you guys are skipping the 2-spd trans. Seems like an easy way to get crawling and speed done well.

So stock it has the high speed gearing? HH keeps saying 'power up and gear down'. LOL Smaller spur gear? Faster motor - like a 21 or 27T?