Why I "DON'T go to comps anymore!!"....open to anyone

[Charlie-III]

OK, so we have a:

"Why I don't go to comps".....not looking for comp guy replies.... for people that don't go to comps & why......no "comp guys" to reply.

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/gener...-veterans.html for people that do go to comps & why....... open to everyone.

New class to encourage newbs.. for suggestions to help bring in more comp people.

Soooo.......to make a "Full set", we now have this thread (based on a suggestion in one of the above threads by badhoopty....you get credit----good or bad.....).

So, based on other replies, we have (at a minimum):

-Cost of upgrades is too much
-No longer fun
-Cost of travel is too much
-Too much "testosterone" making it not fun
-Lack of local interest, thus comps are much smaller
-Too much heckling which leads to "no fun"
-Not enough time for prep, travel & comps
-No support for newer guys

[vipxj]

I DONT do comps cause there aint any in NZ.

[Cheatin]

I quit when all the guys showed up without their shafts. And that was after dig took away having to think ahead to save reverses, kinda' like playing chess.

[sixshooterstang]

I DONT go to comps anymore cuz we at KCRC dont have anything for the chilly winter

[Trubble]

I still would be, if weren't for THIS.

Overtime at work runs Jan. 2 through (usually) October, makes it real difficult to break away to attend summertime get together/trail runs. So I really enjoyed the winter series.
Gone now, space we had was given to the "extreme jump trucks". Whatever, saves me two hours of drive time (each way). Just kinda blows I don't get to hang out with guys I really enjoyed being around.

[The Violator]

Without a RTR comp crawler this hobby was destined to flounder and die. And now without a production comp crawler it is for all practical purposes dead. If a new guy gets past the idea of needing to find a parts list and assemble a crawler, the lack of support is enough to ensure its demise. Now people keep saying the small vendors keep it alive, and they do. They do for the people who know where to look, who to contact, and what to buy. By the time it is all said and done, they went ahead and bought a RTR slash 4x4 ( I bet Traxxas sold more slash 4x4's this weekend than Axial sold Xr-10's all year) and are bitching on the traxxas forum that it will not really go 60 mph like it says on the box.

Scale is blowing up. Why? RTR. And Axial is supporting it. I keep hearing comp crawling is not dead. It is. Now there are a few that still enjoy it, and will keep showing up as long as there are event. But as far as growing, that is not going to happen without some manufacturer support. I know the track at SDRC has 100 guys show up on a Wednesday night. We cannot muster 100 guys with 6 months notice. It is a niche I am happy to participate in, but the fact is it peaked.

[boosted4lyf]

Damn Ted, that was pretty thought out post. When I got back into the rc thing this yr I went comp. as I was a little burned on scale. With 3 rigs now, I've been loosely tossing around the idea of selling off and going scale. Because, as you said "all signs are pointing in that direction". Who knows. Thanks for getting my gears turning again

See ya in March motherf'r

[Olle P]

Originally Posted by The Violator

Without a RTR comp crawler ...

This seems like a contradiction in terms, sort of.

There ARE several RTR "comp crawlers" on the market: Losi Night Crawler as well as a bunch of AX-10 Scorpion knock-offs are all (AFAIK) comp legal out of the box.

None of them are good enough to win a major comp though, unless upgraded.

An out-of-box competitive RTR comp crawler is very unlikely to ever emerge, at least not in serial production. The reason for this is the constant evolution of the sport turning any design outdated in a year or two.

What could be provided, possibly by one or more vendors, are "boxed" sets containing all the (off the shelf) parts required to build a competitive crawler.
Parts of the content could easily be changed over time to keep the edge.
By selling it all as one package the price could probably be at some discount compared to buying the parts individually. It would still cost quite a bit though, but at least even a newbie would know that the parts fit and work together.

[boosted4lyf]

Originally Posted by Olle P

This seems like a contradiction in terms, sort of.

There ARE several RTR "comp crawlers" on the market: Losi Night Crawler as well as a bunch of AX-10 Scorpion knock-offs are all (AFAIK) comp legal out of the box.

None of them are good enough to win a major comp though, unless upgraded.

An out-of-box competitive RTR comp crawler is very unlikely to ever emerge, at least not in serial production. The reason for this is the constant evolution of the sport turning any design outdated in a year or two.

What could be provided, possibly by one or more vendors, are "boxed" sets containing all the (off the shelf) parts required to build a competitive crawler.
Parts of the content could easily be changed over time to keep the edge.
By selling it all as one package the price could probably be at some discount compared to buying the parts individually. It would still cost quite a bit though, but at least even a newbie would know that the parts fit and work together.

I believe CKRC tried this and their prices were rediculous. Especially with the "quality" crap they were offering. A decent, truly " comp ready" rig would easily run upwards of 1200$ minimum

[Olle P]

Originally Posted by boosted4lyf

... A decent, truly "comp ready" rig would easily run upwards of 1200$ minimum

Even a 2.2s shafty?
Assuming all parts don't have to be top notch quality WRT durability, but at least good enough to survive a year and deliver competition level performance whil functional. Like using an MG995 servo that's strong enough but isn't expected to survive the rig.

[SINister]

So why don't we build our own rtr crawlers for neebies to get into the sport?

Not necessarily a kit for someone to buy but a build thread that someone could follow and build up a decent truck that would be competitive but reasonably priced. Instead of weeding through hundreds of build threads trying to figure out what they need and don't need they could go to one place and get a realistic idea of what it's going to take to compete.

[badhoopty]

i go to scale comps, but our club has a history of a few ex-members who just could not get along, and nothing will kill the fun for anyone more than that kind of bullshit drama. it forces the rest of the members to either pick a side or try to stay neutral, and in the end will kill the fun and the club if its not resolved.

[crawlhog]

Used to go quite a bit,and it was a great bunch of guys to comp with. I just didnt get along with 1 member because of his cheating ways so it was easier to just leave.

Over the summer me and a couple others started a new group and it was more of a GTG thing. It started with 3 of us and is now up to 13 members three of which are girls and several newbs to the hobby.

I miss hanging with the comp guys, but am really enjoying the GTG atmosphere and it dosen't put pressure on the newbs to have the latest & greatest gear, and everyone gets along great.

[concretejungle]

I don't comp because i don't need to justify the size of my..... rig.

On a more serious note, it's for several reasons, first, i don't know of any local comps. The last thing i want to do is drive hours and hours to see how my rig stacks up against others. Secondly, i like to crawl in my spare time. By that i mean my crawler is usually in the trunk of my car during work or in the cruiser during camping trips. I do real estate so often while i'm waiting on clients to show up or at a new property, there can be awesome places to crawl, so i just pop the crawler out and burn a battery pack. Got my fix.

When i'm taking my truck on expedition trips and camping trips, i take the crawler with me just in case we find some killer spots. Sometimes it never comes out the whole trip, but usually it does a time or two.

Lastly, is the support issue. Without this board, i seriously would have no clue about options and tuning. My local RC shop, while great, when i walk in with my crawler you would think i just walked in with a space rock or something. Most of them just stare at it wondering what it is, think it's cool, realize it's probably way over their head and then they continue on with their slash.

[Jakerz]

You can't get an RTR rc anything that will compete at the highest level of its type... That's competitions for you, save the comps for the real hobby people and the RTR stuff for people who want an expensive toy IMO. If someone new really wants to look at the comp side of this hobby, they are more than capable of using the search and getting the info they need off this site.

Jake

[concretejungle]

Originally Posted by Jakerz

You can't get an RTR rc anything that will compete at the highest level of its type... That's competitions for you, save the comps for the real hobby people and the RTR stuff for people who want an expensive toy IMO. If someone new really wants to look at the comp side of this hobby, they are more than capable of using the search and getting the info they need off this site.

Jake

And i think that attitude is a large part of the problem.

[Jakerz]

lol I may have sounded a little harsh >< sorry! I have no problem helping new people into the hobby, but that have to realize it is a hobby, not a toy

Jake

[rik]

boo hoo hoo. thats all im reading. i think people need to get back to the roots. remember our roots?? i do. and somehow, someway, our sport was born. why? because a few people looked at a clod and/or a txt and said, "pfft, watch what i can turn this muthafugga into". thus our sport was born. but then, pti and axial, and then losi. came along and offered RTR's. this, my fellow members of RCC, made people soft. made them get comfortable, for a short period of time, with the ability to go to their local hobby shop and get a rig, and for the most part, compete. but, there are still those people who will take said RTR, and say "pfft, watch what i can turn this muthafugga into". well guess what, its gonna happen, and is already happening imo, to the scale world. sure you can go out and buy a scx10 off the shelf and go out and comp. hell, you can even have some of the best times of the day, beating the scale/scratch builders. but guess what? you aint gonna place above them? why? scale points. which, are geared to make everyone who comps, not a better driver, but a better builder. which leads us back to out roots. see how this cycle goes?

EVERYONE can build. EVERYONE. sure some have the advantage of having more tools than others. But EVERYONE can do it. its not the manufactures fault, or the builders fault, or the rules committee's fault for you not going to comps. its YOUR fault.

now nut up, and go build some shit! and get out and comp!

edit, i'n not aiming this post at guys that have no where to comp anymore. or the lost interest fellas. hey if ya lose interest, ya lose interest. and if your club is no longer, maybe try and start a new one. ya never know till ya try. but ya gotta try, for our sports sake.

[Colby]

I dont go to COMPS meaning pro comps anymore because that has pretty much died in ATL due to A: Nobody wants to drive B: People out of state complain about where our comps are.......................... C: Scale is so much more fun... family aspect that used to be at the comps are now at the scale events. Its not up tight, and there isnt a new part out that EVERYONE must have on their rig every 5 minutes and the only way to get said part is to absolutely swing on someones nuts..


I pretty much said this in the other thread. Im not bitching, im not boo-hooing, im telling it like it is. If you think Im bitching, come see for yourself. Oh, you cant. because the comps are gone

[rik]

Originally Posted by Colby

I pretty much said this in the other thread. Im not bitching, im not boo-hooing, im telling it like it is. If you think Im bitching, come see for yourself. Oh, you cant. because the comps are gone

maybe they are dead by you, but not up here. and yea, you are bitching. all i read was "i dont go to pro comps cuz it's up tight. i need the latest and greatest parts to compete. yada yada yada.. thats complete crap. i comped with a bone stock xr and a lightly modded mrc pro. and did well. but its not about winning. its about PROMOTING THE SPORT AND GETTING OTHERS INTERESTED IN IT. but most just want a win and if they dont, they get all pissy. (not saying this specifically applies to yourself)

as for the whole PRO COMP crap. guess what bud? the two clubs that i comp with have quite a few PRO drivers. and NOT ONE of them are up tight. so, that leaves me at the point i was making. you dont go to comps because of YOU. i only know of one person that has the ability to comp literally in their backyard. but on the flip side of the coin, that same person will make a 2+ hour drive, one way, to attend other comps.

also, if you read the whole fawking post, i said, "i'n not aiming this post at guys that have no where to comp anymore. or the lost interest fellas. hey if ya lose interest, ya lose interest. and if your club is no longer, maybe try and start a new one. ya never know till ya try. but ya gotta try, for our sports sake."

so if its dead by you, why not try and give it a re-birth. but, hey, its easier to just give up and quit something than to try and keep it alive. or revive it if its dead.

sorry if i seem to take the whoel "death of the comp scene" to heart, but i do. i do everything i can to attend comps, knowing that 9 times out of 10 i will lose. i do everything i can to promote this hobby. it is i great hobby and should be enjoyed by all. anyone who says, you need the latest and greatest is full of crap. they dont, they are just trying to "keep up with the jones'". rather, jealousy i guess. the rig dont make the driver, the driver makes the rig. i've seen pro drivers breeze thru courses with a shafty that i couldnt even clear the 1st gate with my xr. is it their fault? no. is it my rigs fault? no. its my fault. practice, practice, practice.