Why are so many leaving the hobby?
06-07-2006, 02:48 PM
#76
Originally Posted by gee-dub
Irony defined: People posting multiple times directly to santinuchi, chiding him for not using PM's to message someone directly.
ffib, nice to see you posting as always.
Back to the topic at hand. I believe RTR's have brought growth to the racing segment of our hobby. Most of the 'new' (last 3 years) racers that I know had some sort of RTR, ie. T-Maxx, prior to their current kit car.
I also believe cost is a significantly prohibiting factor limiting competitive attendence. The primary reason I see for this is the level of competition, even at a club events, has risen significantly. It's the nature of the beast though. For the most part, racers have shown that they do not want to support 'spec' classes with cost controls. Instead it becomes a case of the haves vs. have nots, with the nots frequently leaving the racing scene in frustration.
Ironically, it is the tracks that have stayed 'sportsman friendly' that seem to stick around the longest (population centers and frozen tundras disregarded).
ffib, nice to see you posting as always.
Back to the topic at hand. I believe RTR's have brought growth to the racing segment of our hobby. Most of the 'new' (last 3 years) racers that I know had some sort of RTR, ie. T-Maxx, prior to their current kit car.
I also believe cost is a significantly prohibiting factor limiting competitive attendence. The primary reason I see for this is the level of competition, even at a club events, has risen significantly. It's the nature of the beast though. For the most part, racers have shown that they do not want to support 'spec' classes with cost controls. Instead it becomes a case of the haves vs. have nots, with the nots frequently leaving the racing scene in frustration.
Ironically, it is the tracks that have stayed 'sportsman friendly' that seem to stick around the longest (population centers and frozen tundras disregarded).
Good to hear from you again! We have an advantage when this subject comes up, and it has many times over the years. Been there, done that? I think your evaluation is right on the money. The most popular classes here are 1/8th scale gas offroad, RTR Monster trucks and oddly enough, MiniZs.
1/8th scale is for the guys who dont mind spending alot of money and can afford it. The bad part about that is, the most popular track here is indoors. Hack, cough, no thank you. RTR M/Ts draw in the noobs and I have no problem with that. Same track though. Forget electric buggy. Track gets too tore up.
As far as sedan, we have one of the sweetest tracks around, but no racers. I cant explain why.
http://hometown.aol.com/GulfcoastRCt...strctrack.html
After my come back, I tried everything and have settled on the cheapest form of racing I can find, and its in the AC. Gets hot here.
http://www.hircr.com/
Later.
I wish I could come down to take some hot laps on it though.
06-07-2006, 02:55 PM
#79
Like above, and I had said it before. A newbie should not ran in any class but the Novice class at the club level until they achieve x number of laps, this goes for both off-road and on-road. A spec. car, a spec motor. They need to work on driving skills not money management. As much as I hate dirt, it is the right place for them to start, why, it is forgiving....
They need the support from the experts, and that is kinda of hard to do when you are on the same drivers stand in the same race, and the only time you see the poor newbie, is when the turn marshal is retrieving his car from the boards. Even if there is only two newbies on the track, so what. It does nothing for a newbie to get lapped 10 times in a race, other then want to crawl under a rock.
Now try to sell that to the track owner... Most (NOT ALL) will tell you, "I got to have 3 racers to make a class." Sorry going to call you on this one, BS!!!! That extra 10mins in a round for the extra class is will pay big time in the purchasing of parts and gives a greater chance of retaining the newbie so they can become an expert.
Does the novice class have a place at the national? NO WAY...
my two pennies.....
They need the support from the experts, and that is kinda of hard to do when you are on the same drivers stand in the same race, and the only time you see the poor newbie, is when the turn marshal is retrieving his car from the boards. Even if there is only two newbies on the track, so what. It does nothing for a newbie to get lapped 10 times in a race, other then want to crawl under a rock.
Now try to sell that to the track owner... Most (NOT ALL) will tell you, "I got to have 3 racers to make a class." Sorry going to call you on this one, BS!!!! That extra 10mins in a round for the extra class is will pay big time in the purchasing of parts and gives a greater chance of retaining the newbie so they can become an expert.
Does the novice class have a place at the national? NO WAY...
my two pennies.....
06-07-2006, 03:19 PM
#81
A few guy I know are selling up to buy a Plasma/LCD TV in time for the World Cup. 
06-07-2006, 03:54 PM
#82
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nice
Hey guys, guess what after all is said and done.
At least we know there are a quite a few racers left out there....
opinions may differ but we all love the racing whether we take a break and come back or stay for good....stock, 19 or mod....keep on racing and helping out the newbs....
you can never be too busy to help out the noobs..
and whatever ya do..don't throw your tires in the trash...hand them to a newb..trust me every little bit helps..
When i first started a small thing as a used set of tires made a big difference, I never knew what size to cut them down to.
At least we know there are a quite a few racers left out there....
opinions may differ but we all love the racing whether we take a break and come back or stay for good....stock, 19 or mod....keep on racing and helping out the newbs....
you can never be too busy to help out the noobs..
and whatever ya do..don't throw your tires in the trash...hand them to a newb..trust me every little bit helps..
When i first started a small thing as a used set of tires made a big difference, I never knew what size to cut them down to.
06-07-2006, 04:06 PM
#83
I think this is the wrong question. The bigger question is, why arent there new faces joining the hobby. And in my opinion it boils down to one thing....cost. Its becoming increasingly difficult for someone new to join our hobby and be competitive...even locally. I know that not every local scene is big enough to have a novice class to help this (not a big one around here), and I think thats what is the driving force behind low participation.
06-07-2006, 04:55 PM
#84
Which leads to the next question. Do you think RCing will die out some day or anytime soon?
06-07-2006, 05:02 PM
#85
Originally Posted by MarkieMark231
Which leads to the next question. Do you think RCing will die out some day or anytime soon?
It doesn't always seem like this when you see low turnout at races, but consider how fractured the customer base has become. How many different classes are there today compared to 15 years ago?
There are more people racing today, but the number of classes - relatively speaking - have grown more rapidly than the people racing.
06-07-2006, 05:05 PM
#86
IMHO I don't think so. I think the number of people will dwindle down, but there will be those who will still continue the hobby, and then it will come back again. It comes and goes.
One point I want to back up is the price to get into the hobby. Albeit there are entry level kits out there, but the price is still a little too steep for some. Its up to local racers, and hobby shops to support these kits more, and help entry level racers get the most out of it before they move on to the more expensive kits.
As far as electronics goes this, the most expensive part of electric racing, when I used to work at a hobby shop in my area, I told newcomers, work within your means, and the top of the line electronics won't win races for you, but I admit I told people to buy a quality charger that will last and a above average radio to grow with the new driver.
Just my two cents.
One point I want to back up is the price to get into the hobby. Albeit there are entry level kits out there, but the price is still a little too steep for some. Its up to local racers, and hobby shops to support these kits more, and help entry level racers get the most out of it before they move on to the more expensive kits.
As far as electronics goes this, the most expensive part of electric racing, when I used to work at a hobby shop in my area, I told newcomers, work within your means, and the top of the line electronics won't win races for you, but I admit I told people to buy a quality charger that will last and a above average radio to grow with the new driver.
Just my two cents.
06-07-2006, 05:38 PM
#87
Originally Posted by khyron
What this hobby needs more than anything is for more clubs to put the "stock" back in "stock" racing. Why oh why did we ever open up that endbell? That was like pandora's box man. Today, if you're going by ROAR rules, stock is basically just modified with a couple armature rules! There's nothing "stock" about it, it's about as "stock" as NASCAR.
06-07-2006, 06:01 PM
#89
Tech Adept
What do I do to help?.....
Whenever I talk to someone who is new, I make sure to explain to them that they don't need all the equipment to get started and to be competetive. I do try to help them spend their money wisely. I'll point them to the few items where it is in their best interest to buy the good stuff up front. Such as... Don't buy the cheap non-adjustable radio because you will very quickly need a better radio and they last a LONG time.
I also offer my setup information to ANY driver. I'll tell you exactly what I've done to my car, and I don't lie about it. I'll let you pick it up and look at it. (But, if you then go out and beat me, I expect you to tell me what you did to your car!)
The most important thing that I think I do to help our hobby...... I show up to race every weekend! I miss a few race days here and there, you can never completely avoid family commitments. But adding one more car to a class is something each of us can do. Just participating is helping more than you might imagine.
Whenever I talk to someone who is new, I make sure to explain to them that they don't need all the equipment to get started and to be competetive. I do try to help them spend their money wisely. I'll point them to the few items where it is in their best interest to buy the good stuff up front. Such as... Don't buy the cheap non-adjustable radio because you will very quickly need a better radio and they last a LONG time.
I also offer my setup information to ANY driver. I'll tell you exactly what I've done to my car, and I don't lie about it. I'll let you pick it up and look at it. (But, if you then go out and beat me, I expect you to tell me what you did to your car!)
The most important thing that I think I do to help our hobby...... I show up to race every weekend! I miss a few race days here and there, you can never completely avoid family commitments. But adding one more car to a class is something each of us can do. Just participating is helping more than you might imagine.
06-07-2006, 07:13 PM
#90
Originally Posted by jiml
Many good points here, but no one can really prove what effect any of these things have on the hobby.
Onroad "stock" class is a joke. If it was actually "stock"(or spec), I'd probably still race it.
Our local track (revrace.com) is AWESOME. They have a huge sign hanging on the track that says "EVERYBODY WELCOME". The owner won't turn anybody away...you have a car that's off-road capable, you can run it. They're friendly and helpful (one of the track guys helped me out big time last week) and it's never the case that you get an attitude from them. Signups never close, they'll give you a rain check if you don't race (shit happens...
)...you name it...there's not a more friendly place to go. They almost always have a beginner class for 1/10th, 1/8th and truggy.There's NOTHING worse than showing up to race and having to run with people that are several levels better than you. It's not fun for me or them and just makes for hard feelings on both sides.
Moral: They're standing-room only on Saturday nights for offroad...spectators along the fence, racers in the pits kids running around (not my favorite part...LOL)...you have to park a block away, it's crowded, dusty and loud...and gets more crowded every week.
Hats off to Dana (the owner)...he's a big-time onroad guy...but he actually gets it. He gets the fact that this stuff is supposed to be fun, and that not everybody is looking to make it a profession. They have pros out there for sure, but it's not an overly competitive environment that caters to only the pros.