LOVE the looks...how's the performance?

[Nubster]

They don't seem that popular but that's only judging by the number of threads and level of activity in this section. Anyways...I'm just jumping back into the hobby or trying to at least...and I've been smitten by the looks of these rock buggies.

I've been offered on for sale...no details or price yet...but the offer has me now looking into them so I have some info to go on when deciding whether I want to pick it up and whether the price is fair or not. So just wondering...how's the performance out of the box and do they need a lot of upgrades or just a few "standard" ones to get things working well? Is there much aftermarket support or can parts from other platforms be used or easily modded to use?

Thanks!

[Nubster]

Well...looks like I'm picking one up regardless unless someone says they are absolute junk and I'm better off getting a Walmart crawler between now and Thursday. I figure it has to be better than the Walmart crawler my son got for Christmas from his granddad and I'm getting a 2fer deal so I'll also have an AX10 to rebuild and play with.

[redemon]

I hate this section has died.
I really want one also.
They look gnarly.

[Nubster]

Seems website wide really...this is just one of the worst sections. Maybe it's hobby wide? Or just the crawler aspect of the hobby. Kinda give me second thoughts on whether I want to get back into a dying hobby.

[bilinvic]

It's weird, this site doesn't have a big R1 following. I have a fully built R1 and it performs awesome, but the only real part left is the main chassis.

[C*H*U*D]

I loved the looks of the R1 the minute I saw it, but the portal axles scared me away. I wasn't sure how well they would hold up, and figured it was one more thing that could go wrong. Hopefully those fears are unfounded.

I would like to snag one someday though. Their lack of popularity doesn't bother me. Where is everyone buying these things now? I've found several sites that all say unavailable.

[BadWagon]

I had one and modded it pretty heavily. It crawled ok, but not great. I broke quite a few parts (mostly portal axle parts). It's fun to play around with, and looks cool. I ended up selling mine. It's a great first crawler but I always said it looks like a comp crawler and crawls like a scaler. Lol.

As far as good upgrades, steel driveshafts, derlin skid and bent links are a good place to start.

End of the day, it's fun, pretty durable and looks cool. You'll dig it.

[Wehan]

I had one, bearing were junk, hardware was junk, tires were junk, axle shafts were junk, diff gear and portal gears were junk. nice shocks though.

[BadWagon]

Originally Posted by Wehan

I had one, bearing were junk, hardware was junk, tires were junk, axle shafts were junk, diff gear and portal gears were junk. nice shocks though.

Yep that's about right! LOL

one thing you do need to upgrade is the battery mount. You'll want your batteries on the front axle. The zip ties they provide are crap (yes zip ties). I just used Velcro in the battery and mount as well as a Velcro strap. Obviously you'll have to run small batteries.

Hope this helps.

[Nubster]

Well...as cool as they look...I think I'm going to pass on the deal. I'm sure the use it would see here would not put much stress on it and things would be ok...I'll just keep my eye's open for something a little more tried and true. Thanks for all the insight.

[Nubster]

Originally Posted by C*H*U*D

Where is everyone buying these things now? I've found several sites that all say unavailable.

There's a handful of kits on ebay right now.