ASK Cubby, Version- Your Weekly Questions, My Weakly Answers

“The Internet

For years I have been watching traffic on rc forums go down. I don’t think it is the fault of the websites themselves, I think it shows a lack of interest in the hobby as a whole. I have seen many people leave the hobby while very few have entered. People have left the hobby to pursue other things, and I blame it on Rtr’s and brushless cars. New cars do not keep a user involved, they have become throw away items. In years past you had to build your own car, then make modifications to it. Today the cars are so good that they rarely break and when they do, they are thrown away or forgotten about. I don’t have a question Cubby, I just needed a place to vent, I am growing tired of Rtr’s and the hobby shrinking.

Steve M.”

Cubby- Yo hey ya Steve, thanks for taking the time to send in an email.

Is the hobby getting smaller? Ya for sure, but just a few years ago when the economy was at its peak, rc was kicking ass too. We are talking about ’07ish here, when there were plenty of RTRs on the market, so I don’t think we can blame it on that. Since 07 sales have gone down and down, but then sales of pretty much everything else has too.

IMO, I don’t think ready to runs have killed the hobby, I think they have changed it. There are still plenty of kits available for those that choose to put more time into the hobby, while the ready to runs are there for the casual user. Some hardcore rc’ers can’t wrap their heads around the fact that a person shouldn’t spend 4-8 hours a day dreaming/working/driving an rc car, but the facts are that the majority of users are casual, meaning they buy a car and bust it out for only a couple hours a week.

Btw, those are casual users that don’t live on rc forums or FB groups like you might. For instance, when I bought my new (and pretty damn high-zoot if I must say so myself) bicycle, I searched the web to gather intel on it, but once I bought it I don’t live on a bike internet forum. In fact, I don’t visit bike forums at all. I use my bike every day, but I am a casual user, I have far too many other things going on in my life to be hanging out on bike forums. Now, I do continue to visit bike websites in search of hop-ups etc, but I spend a few minutes on them a day, not hours. That’s what the bulk of rc hobbyists are, casual users, so you should not be surprised when your neighbor get a new Kraton but doesn’t put in 12 hours a day over on RC Tech.

All in all, rc is on the upswing. Surface sales are doing better this year than last, then we have the behemoth of quads that are driving more and more people into local hobby shops. Hopefully 2014 was the slowest year that we’ll see in rc for a long time to come.

Lastly… keep on venting Steve, I like it.

“Shootout

Hi,

I just came across your shootout for Ruckus vs. Stampede vs. Granite. I couldn’t find a date for that post. Is that still how they stand today?

Thanks!
Jack C.”

Cubby- Heyyyyy now Jack, thanks for the email and be sure to send us your snail mail so we can get you a really cool BigSquidRC sticker pack.

The shootout that you are talking about is This One where we compared 3 different brushed 2wd monster trucks. Btw, that shootout was posted in September 2012.

Does the info in that shootout hold up today? Yes, or at least all three of the trucks in the shootout haven’t changed much since then. There have been some small changes here and there, but nothing huge. The Pede still loves to pop wheelies, the Granite still takes a good beating, and the Ruckus is still a blast to drive. Read what we had to say in the shootout then pull the trigger on one of your own.

Quit being a slacker and shoot me an email, thecubreportrc at Gmail dot com. If your letter hits our main page you’ll get a free sticker pack, or if I name it “Letter of the Month” you’ll receive one of our uber new t-shirts. Even if it doesn’t make the big time you at least get a chance to argue back and forth with me via email.

YOUR Cub Reporter