Shafty pro class

[ROWDY RACING]

I would like to see the sporty class be limited to only shaft-driven rigs with no dig, I think MOA rigs should not be allowed in the sporty class.

JMHO...

I agree, that's how we do it in our club.

 

[Manning]

It can be challenging enough to judge, score, and tally the classes we already have, I think adding one more into the mix would be too much.

I would like to see the sporty class be limited to only shaft-driven rigs with no dig, I think MOA rigs should not be allowed in the sporty class.

JMHO...

Another agreement....

2.2 pro with current rules
2.2 shafty no dig, name this whatever
1.9 current rules.

 

[JeremyH]

At least with the current 1.9 class, there's an entirely different terrain that can now be used to build courses. Obstacles that were just speed bumps for the 2.2's are useable for challenging 1.9 courses. I, personally, like the current classes as is.

I agree. Just like there is a different type of terrain from 2.2 and super, I like the difference between 1.9 and 2.2. If they were made too close to one another, I bet we'd see a decline in attendance of one of them...

Personally, I'd like to see a new company come out with a comp 1.9 based rig that fits within the existing rules...

 

[krawlfreak]

It can be challenging enough to judge, score, and tally the classes we already have, I think adding one more into the mix would be too much.

I would like to see the sporty class be limited to only shaft-driven rigs with no dig, I think MOA rigs should not be allowed in the sporty class.

More to add to the rumor mill, I heard Losi was coming out with a new 1.9, true or not, don't know. It would be nice to have more options for 1.9 rigs. I liked running a 1.9, it is what I think the sporty class should be, more of a spec class. For as much as I liked running the class, I hated wrenching on the rig. The parts are just too tiny for my fat fingers and what is 'hand-tight' on a 2.2 is breaking torque on a 1.9.

JMHO...

Another agreement....

2.2 pro with current rules
2.2 shafty no dig, name this whatever
1.9 current rules.

I am not proposing another class. Just dropping 1.9 for the 2.2 equivalent.

Why does it need to be a smaller class?

I fully understand the judging issues, but you need to think with some of the new formats like bonus gates between every regular gate, you could essentially run the same courses.

Not to mention 1.9 is anything but a spec class. I don't know who thinks a 1000 dollar mini is spec.

I agree, what could it hurt, it might even bring back some of the old club members who didn't choose make the MOA jump and didn't want to run in the Sportsman class.

Personally the 1.9 trucks doesn't intrest me at all.

I think it may entice new drivers more so than 1.9 and possibly re-interest others. From what I have seen 1.9 interest is down.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

I agree. Just like there is a different type of terrain from 2.2 and super, I like the difference between 1.9 and 2.2. If they were made too close to one another, I bet we'd see a decline in attendance of one of them...

Personally, I'd like to see a new company come out with a comp 1.9 based rig that fits within the existing rules...

You would be surprised at what two and a half inches can do to capabilities in many areas of life...

I would like to see another company step up too.

 

[EvilTwin v2]

We typically have at least 3/4 of the drivers at our local comps running 1.9's. We also usually have about 2/3 of our guys running Sportsman, but typically only 2 to 4 Supers.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

I am not proposing another class. Just dropping 1.9 for the 2.2 equivalent.

Why does it need to be a smaller class?
......

I think it may entice new drivers more so than 1.9 and possibly re-interest others. From what I have seen 1.9 interest is down.

I agree here as well on the attendance of a shafty or other substitute class that we can use 1/10th scale axles. Why not keep the 1.9 rims though? The only sticking point may be tires, but with the huge amount of custom tires I see at events already it isn't as big of a deal as the lack of a manufactured kit for the class.

Who knows, by the time the warehouses are empty of MRC kits (if in fact they have stopped being produced) we may have something else to keep the class rolling as is.

 

[Hoppa]

I would like to see a true sport class replace the piss ants.
My guess is 90 percent of us have enough parts lying around to build a sport rig.
Or perhaps adding a rear steer 2.2 class. :twisted:

 

[dpdsurf]

You know this for sure?

Nothing is ever for sure. 8) I just assumed this since they dumped their team and are unloading the Mini at rock bottom prices.

 

[JeremyH]

You would be surprised at what two and a half inches can do to capabilities in many areas of life...

Shhh....dont tell my wife....:ror:

My guess is 90 percent of us have enough parts lying around to build a sport rig.

Some of us already have sporty rigs....and yes, they are quite fun to drive.

Nothing is ever for sure. 8) I just assumed this since they dumped their team and are unloading the Mini at rock bottom prices.

Ahh....ok. Yeah, I have had that feeling as well, just never seen anything for certain.

 

[EvilTwin v2]

The rumor that I'd heard was that they were re-branding their product and that's the reason for the blow-out pricing on the MRC Pro. From what I understand, all kits will be sold under the Team Losi brand, while all RTR and BND vehicles will be sold under Losi.

I was also told that Losi/Team Losi was restructuring their entire sponsorship model and had made major changes accross the board, in racing as well as crawling.

This was just talk at the LHS, so I'm not 100% on the validity of it, but it kinda makes sense.

As for increases vendor support, enough of us stuck by Supers (even though there was far less interest in them than there is currently in 1.9) and showed the demand for them and eventually RC4wd released the Super Bully axles along with the Rockbull roller. If we can show enough interest, maybe we can get a company such as RC4wd to pick up on it and produce a suitable product.

 

[Stormin2u]

Our club is down on members from in the past, I would say 30-40% and many of the members that left were 2.2 shaft drivers who chose not to or couldn't afford MOA re-tooling. They hung in there for awhile running with the fast growing MOAs in the 2.2 class, but obviously didn't get the same satisfaction and stopped showing up, and many had been crawling since the beginning. I'd be willing to bet if there was a true 2.2 shaft class, many would be back.

Finding judges has always been the trick, but we used to run 30-40% more drivers at any given event so for us it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. I liked the bigger club it made competing more challenging. The people we have left are the original hardcores and some addicted new ones, they are fantastic members. But it would still be nice to have a bigger turn out and maybe see more new members like the old days.

We've have a very small 1.9 class and most of us don't even stay to watch. You have to admit watching a class your not interested in is a drag. Our Super class is invisible to most of us if they run at all. So for a club like the MNRCRC a true class featuring 2.2 Shafties might be the answer to us and other clubs as well. To refresh dwindling memberships with members who own shaft rigs that are no longer competing would be good for the hobby. Plus it's a good starter class, we never had a robust Sportsman interest, it was a more or less flop.

 

[EvilTwin v2]

Our club is down on members from in the past, I would say 30-40% and many of the members that left were 2.2 shaft drivers who chose not to or couldn't afford MOA re-tooling. They hung in there for awhile running with the fast growing MOAs in the 2.2 class, but obviously didn't get the same satisfaction and stopped showing up, and many had been crawling since the beginning. I'd be willing to bet if there was a true 2.2 shaft class, many would be back.

Finding judges has always been the trick, but we used to run 30-40% more drivers at any given event so for us it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. I liked the bigger club it made competing more challenging. The people we have left are the original hardcores and some addicted new ones, they are fantastic members. But it would still be nice to have a bigger turn out and maybe see more new members like the old days.

We've have a very small 1.9 class and most of us don't even stay to watch. You have to admit watching a class your not interested in is a drag. Our Super class is invisible to most of us if they run at all. So for a club like the MNRCRC a true class featuring 2.2 Shafties might be the answer to us and other clubs as well. To refresh dwindling memberships with members who own shaft rigs that are no longer competing would be good for the hobby. Plus it's a good starter class, we never had a robust Sportsman interest, it was a more or less flop.

If you think that having a 2.2 shafty class is going to bring back in everybody who left, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. We had the same thoughts when we started the Sportsman class. We had a couple people come back for 1 comp, but after a year of running it, none of the old guys who left the hobby have returned for good. Most have moved on to other things, and the couple who did try to come back found that the sport had left them behind, and they still weren't competitive, even against other shafties.

If you want to increase attendance in a particular class, as a club, you need to promote the class. Run the class with poor numbers first, before 2.2. Its just human nature that people will leave after their class is over. If they have to watch the class run before they run, then people will see that the drivers are having fun, and you might just pick up attendance in the class.

My suggestion if you want to try to have a 2.2 shafty class is, at the club level, to run them with the regular 2.2 class, but have a seperate trophy or series points for the 2.2 shafty drivers. I often hear people complain that shafties can't handle the breakovers or climbs of the 2.2's. I call BS on that. If I have time, I run my sportsman on as many of our 2.2 courses as possible (after the comp). Granted, I'm not on the clock), but, other than tight sections where it would be easier to negotiate with dig, I typically run my sportsman truck nearly as well as my berg. Just like any other class, a well setup truck with a good driver will do well.

What I've found about most of the people that complain that their shafties can't compete is that they are the same people that don't want to put the time and effort into making their trucks competitive. When those people tried running in sportsman, they were complaining just as loudly, but it was about the top guys' trucks being too high dollar/high tech, etc...

 

[Stormin2u]

Hey Evil Twin, thanks for your sharing your experience.

We really haven't had any crybaby issues mostly just losing members actually both shafty and MOA. Probably more Shafties drivers than MOAs. I hope I didn't sound like I was crying about it cuz I sure wasn't.

I do drive a Shafty but I can honestly say my rig has beaten every MOA in the club at one time or another and usually more than they'd like. I call it "Shafty pain" IMO there's nothing better than beating a decked out full race MOA probably every club as someone like that. I might have a bragging problem but I'm certanly not whining.

But I am interested in keeping our club healthy, it's a little scary when original hardcores and long timers stop coming. There are so many 2.2 shaft trucks out there that are just sitting on shelves, it looks like an easy opportunity.

We have a 1.9 class and some really enjoy it, they just don't do it for me.

I know this has been a contested subject from day one and always ends the same way, I've witnessed it many times. I'm not talking about anything to do with USRCCA I'm talking purely about the local club level. That's what I'm into, I've never been to a National Crawling event and I probably never will as much as I would like to meet the good people of RCC. I've spent over 30 years in RC competing so I've been there done that. But I am very interested in having a healthy clubn that's where I live. The National scene belongs to the masters Jason and Badger I stay out of any of that.

 

[EvilTwin v2]

Hey Evil Twin, thanks for your sharing your experience.

We really haven't had any crybaby issues mostly just losing members actually both shafty and MOA. Probably more Shafties drivers than MOAs. I hope I didn't sound like I was crying about it cuz I sure wasn't.

I do drive a Shafty but I can honestly say my rig has beaten every MOA in the club at one time or another and usually more than they'd like. I call it "Shafty pain" IMO there's nothing better than beating a decked out full race MOA probably every club as someone like that. I might have a bragging problem but I'm certanly not whining.

But I am interested in keeping our club healthy, it's a little scary when original hardcores and long timers stop coming. There are so many 2.2 shaft trucks out there that are just sitting on shelves, it looks like an easy opportunity.

We have a 1.9 class and some really enjoy it, they just don't do it for me.

I know this has been a contested subject from day one and always ends the same way, I've witnessed it many times. I'm not talking about anything to do with USRCCA I'm talking purely about the local club level. That's what I'm into, I've never been to a National Crawling event and I probably never will as much as I would like to meet the good people of RCC. I've spent over 30 years in RC competing so I've been there done that. But I am very interested in having a healthy clubn that's where I live. The National scene belongs to the masters Jason and Badger I stay out of any of that.

No worries. I hope you didn't take it that I was calling you a crybaby. Wasn't my intention.

After it's all said and done, it really comes down to people having fun. In our club, the mini's are probably the most fun class. It seems like they're pretty easy to trick out, and we've seen a couple guys that haven't been competing for very long (less than a year) really take off and do well with them.

Sportsman nets similiar results, but they're considerably more expensive to build. (you're back into the 400+ oz servos, super300's, etc...) It's a really fun class, though, and really builds your skills.

Whatever your club decides to do, just make sure that people are having fun, and the attendance will be there.

As for the big events, if you get the chance, they're definitely worth attending. Not only is it alot of fun running, it's impressive to see the level of camraderie that's present even at that level of competition. It's unequaled in any other segment of RC or any competitive motor sport that I've attended.

 

[Stormin2u]

Thanks again Evil Twin, I couldn't agree more about the fun factor especially for clubs. We are extremely fortunate as a club to have our comps in some fantastic locations with amazing rock formations, and thats a big plus for us. I'm sure part of our member retention issues are a direct effect of our lousy economy, hopefully that will improve as the economy claws it's way back.

 

[jojo303d]

I like having 2.2 shafty pro and moa pro together I drive a shafty and it gives me a goal to try and beat the moa's. it also has helped me be a better driver. I say leave it as it is"thumbsup"

 

[rock hard]

IMO the main reason 1.9 is so fun is cuz I can crawl nearly anywhere.
I can find challenges on rocks that my 2.2 just walks,and still crawl on most 2.2 lines

The class has grown in size in our are I know,when I started crawling 1.9 last yr,in our club there was 4 rg drivers.This yr there was 14 reg drivers.

There are more than enough kits and products to support the class as is for the next season.Hell since when do you need a kit,they make it easier yes,but wasnt people modding axles when this class started?

The reason for the size on the chassis/wheelbase is to accomodate different sized terrain,and its perfect as is.If I wanted to crawl a 2.2 sized truck with 1.9 wheels,I pull out the scaler:mrgreen:

 

[The Violator]

I love my 1.9. I am sure there are enough parts and kits floating around to keep everyone happy for a while. 2.2 shafty if it was more of a spec class would really be interesting. But otherwise its going to be a $2500 shafty with custom narrowed wraith axles, custom transfer cases, and more expensive parts than ever. A spec type entry level class where the driver makes the class, not the guy who spends 8 hours a day 5 days a week working on his crawlers.

 

[gary]

Shafty pro class=dig
Sportsman class=no dig

I understand cuz battling shaftys up against a well built moa is hard and almost impossible,dedicating a new class to shafty pros so they aren't pinned up against moaw would make it funner.

I like this idea. Anything to keep the hobby growing."thumbsup"