Originally Posted by
mercfocus
Personally, I would never buy a traxxas. They're like a really strange nitch between a hobby grade and toy grade but fanboys love them.
No, they're a strange niche between toy grade and race grade -- a strange niche called "hobby grade". Racers have forgotten what having a hobby is supposed to be about. If you race on a track --
at all, ever -- you are not a member of the largest RC demographic in the real world that exists outside enthusiast forums.
Originally Posted by
mercfocus
I've worked on a few for people and hated every minute of it. They're over-engineered, needlessly complicated.
See above. Hobbies are by definition "needlessly complicated" because hobbies don't need to exist in the first place. One thing Traxxas has in common with Tamiya is they both create mechanical designs that prioritize uniqueness over pure functionality. Tamiya is the best in the industry in that regard, but Traxxas is better at it than race-focused brands that just churn out the same flat-pan chassis with tiny changes in screw positioning every year.
Originally Posted by
mercfocus
As for those engines, what I've read more times than I can count, those engines throw rods. Traxxas owners have said there's nothing you can do to prevent it. It just happens.
This is a valid criticism. Traxxas changed the rod design a few years ago and the new design is weaker in ways that cause them to fail when overworked by enthusiastic drivers with beginner-level skill.
Originally Posted by
mercfocus
I know you are trying to decide between those two but I would like to suggest another brand that's well worth your money - Losi.
At least Losi is trying to please someone somewhere.
Traxxas is the largest standalone RC brand in the world by revenue, and one of very few RC brands known to people who've never had any interest in RC. I'm pretty sure they're pleasing a lot of people in a lot of places, just not you.
Traxxas isn't my favorite brand, I own a few but no more than the other brands I like. I've kept some and gotten rid of some.
Hateboys like you who say "I'll never buy Brand X" are no better than fanboys who say "I'll only buy Brand X."