ElectrixRC Circuit Truck Hands On, Almost Review
So this weekend we (Bill aka Firesprink281) and I were at the local Hobby Town for some parking lot race/bashing fun. As we were walking in, Steve (aka Hobby Town Owner) mentioned that they just got in the new ElectrixRC Circuit trucks, and he had one on the counter. This is the new entry level truck from Horizon Hobby. Now since Horizon Hobby folks aren’t really fans of Big Squid RC, (something about we break too much stuff) it makes it a little tougher to get our hands on their products. So when we saw the new ElectrixRC truck on the counter, we knew this was our chance to check it out. I pointed out to Steve that I thought I saw some aliens in back messing around with the trains, and as he looked.. we headed out, truck in hand, to the parking lot.
We tossed in a normal NiMH pack and got to work. The first thing we noticed with the truck is that it’s extremely flexible. I remember CEN Racing had something very similar a few years back. The a-arms, suspension links, toe in connectors, everything was bendable. Now for super pro rc racing, this is obviously not what you look for in your RC, but for total newbie novice rc guy, spongy = less breakage.
Top speed around the lot with the 20T motor was about 17mph. Probably a respectable speed for someone who is gonna hit a few things while learning that driving towards you is completely different from driving away from you.
The truck itself looks ok, the body styles weren’t hideous, and the layout wasn’t bad. I think I would of liked to see body pins holding in the battery instead of the 1/2 turn knobs. The rims were nice and shiny, always something a newbie is looking for.
The stock tires were a little hard, and really geared for soft dirt. A tread that would be a little more forgiving on the pavement would of been nice because you know the newbie isn’t hitting the track first, he’s hitting his street in front of his house.
I still haven’t figured out why manufacturers can’t give us a little more motor protection for the wires. Seriously, does the plastic bumper have to end right where the wires attach to the motor can? I suppose this is where RPM usually comes in but we can’t rely on them to save every vehicle on the planet!
We jumped the thing a couple of times before Steve realized we were not under alien attack, and wanted his truck back (BTW Thanks Steve, you rock!) and it seemed to handle the jumps ok. I’m pretty sure we weren’t going to snap any of the bendy pieces. 🙂
So the price… $119? It does not make me gasp or anything. But it does make me think. I can buy a Evader DT at $159, or find a weekend online sale and get a Blitz or Slash for $180. To a kid coming into the hobby, that extra $40 – $70 is tough to earn, no doubt about it. I think if they could get these ‘intro vehicles’ in under the $100 range.. even $99.99 I’d feel a little better about it.
Overall, it’s not a bad truck. I give them credit for trying to find ways to bring more people into the hobby.
I do have to call out Horizon Hobby though. Nobody can take you seriously when the ‘review’ of your truck online is written buy a guy who works at Horizon Hobby. Sorry. Just can’t. Especially on two different websites under two different names. Word for Word. Come one guys.
Anyway, I hoped you liked our ‘almost review’ as we really didn’t get enough time to do a full review torture test.
If your in the Illinois area, head on over to the Hobby Town Orland Park shop. Don’t forget to tell them BSRC sent ya! Thanks again Steve!
