Interesting this thread came up, while I was dusting off my RC BIKE collection. Wow they are so cool even to just look at. I've been racing since mid 70s.RC club of San Francisco with Jerobi .049 gas cars. Since then I've dabbled in all forms of RC on /off road racing and some boats stuff. Never got to compete with bikes YET. I tried to promote OFF ROAD like[ J Mac RC Bike Action], Even tried to promote a OFF ROAD event a couple times on my own property. Seems like every one was waiting for some new wiz bang rc bike that never happened. I think that what should of happened is we should have picked one bike make, got them dialed in, and all raced them like the boys in Hong Kong. This would have attracted some attention, esp. among the manufacturers. If you're having fun, other people will want to be involved. Anyway, it's good to read all these posts and hear from everyone again, and get people thinking about rc bikes again. What about us Cali guys all get together and do something to set an example? How about a mini z moto? They're cheap, easy to drive, everyone seems to have one and we can even run them indoors. How about something like a Stubby Phillips memorial race? What do you think? Thanks Rich T.

As far as bikes go, at any location, track or parking lot, there has to be a small group of people running them to make it fun. They have to support each other and allow newcomers to enter the group and get up to speed. If this happens it will be good and it will grow. If you want to approach a track then approach them with a group of people that will participate regularly. Its a value proposition for the track owner/operator. If you have a group of people willing to go often and consistently then he can see the benefit in revenue and attraction. If they post videos of bikes running at the track and the track is promoted clearly they will be more appreciative and supportive of bikes running there. One or two bikes IS a nuisance to regular car operations so I agree with the track unless its an OPEN PRACTICE then there should be no problem.

Parking lots are were had the most fun I think. We would drop corner dots and just run around all night. We tested whatever and ran whatever and had a ball. The cops would come by and check on us and watch and that was about it. We never got in trouble. We didn't run nitro because of the noise at night but during the day we did. So we respected that and had no problems. We would find interesting lots to run that had elevation changes or islands and we made tracks from that.
So if you want to run bikes or cars you should be able to run them with no problems if you look for the right place and speak to the right people.

I have a bunch of GPV R&D parts and my last prototype that incorporates a gyro in the rear wheel. Ive been wanting to build two bikes at max spec with Ti hardware and full options plus some one off parts. I get as far as looking in the box and pawing through it before I just put it down... lol

I have no interest in running in a carpark.
I am not joking when I say I am probably the slowest guy in the world who regularly goes racing, but track limits, competition and camaraderie is what I love about RC bike.

My views on 1/8th bikes are mixed. I think they are a recipe for disillusionment and as such are probably going to be some peoples only ever bikes! Especially if they are run on less than smooth areas, eg un-swept car park. Ditto putting the most powerful engine you can find in. ps. I have 2 Venoms, a Hobbyking 390, and 3 ish Kyoshos! under the right conditions and with a bit of knowledge they are as fun as.

I think people need to lose their fear of being slower or looking silly, most of us will not always, (ever for me), run with the fast guys on a track. But as Chris says if you can get a group together, tracks will try to accommodate you, it just makes business sense. Our club tracks are a little different and some car guys resent giving up track time. You really need enough to run bikes with bikes. I have always felt welcome by RC bikers, even sharing the track with the top drivers in the world.

I also find the 1/5th scale car guys are much better at not punting bikes into the scenery.

Pedro.... You could be ME....

Me too. And I have kind of prove to be slow.
Last Worlds I took part in (Lostallo2011)
An Italian came smiling over to my table after our last heat:
he had done even worse than me e.i.
I'm second last in the worlds!

Originally Posted by Chris Nicastro

As far as bikes go, at any location, track or parking lot, there has to be a small group of people running them to make it fun. They have to support each other and allow newcomers to enter the group and get up to speed. If this happens it will be good and it will grow. If you want to approach a track then approach them with a group of people that will participate regularly. Its a value proposition for the track owner/operator. If you have a group of people willing to go often and consistently then he can see the benefit in revenue and attraction. If they post videos of bikes running at the track and the track is promoted clearly they will be more appreciative and supportive of bikes running there. One or two bikes IS a nuisance to regular car operations so I agree with the track unless its an OPEN PRACTICE then there should be no problem.

Parking lots are were had the most fun I think. We would drop corner dots and just run around all night. We tested whatever and ran whatever and had a ball. The cops would come by and check on us and watch and that was about it. We never got in trouble. We didn't run nitro because of the noise at night but during the day we did. So we respected that and had no problems. We would find interesting lots to run that had elevation changes or islands and we made tracks from that.
So if you want to run bikes or cars you should be able to run them with no problems if you look for the right place and speak to the right people.

I have a bunch of GPV R&D parts and my last prototype that incorporates a gyro in the rear wheel. Ive been wanting to build two bikes at max spec with Ti hardware and full options plus some one off parts. I get as far as looking in the box and pawing through it before I just put it down... lol

Come on Chris get back into it mate 👍🏻

Christmas morning and I still got out with the bikes new tarmac at my local Morrison’s

Come to think of it: what I really would like for X-mass, a 1/4th scale or larger onroad racing bike with a .21 engine....

Originally Posted by Pedro51

I have no interest in running in a carpark.
I am not joking when I say I am probably the slowest guy in the world who regularly goes racing, but track limits, competition and camaraderie is what I love about RC bike.

My views on 1/8th bikes are mixed. I think they are a recipe for disillusionment and as such are probably going to be some peoples only ever bikes! Especially if they are run on less than smooth areas, eg un-swept car park. Ditto putting the most powerful engine you can find in. ps. I have 2 Venoms, a Hobbyking 390, and 3 ish Kyoshos! under the right conditions and with a bit of knowledge they are as fun as.

I think people need to lose their fear of being slower or looking silly, most of us will not always, (ever for me), run with the fast guys on a track. But as Chris says if you can get a group together, tracks will try to accommodate you, it just makes business sense. Our club tracks are a little different and some car guys resent giving up track time. You really need enough to run bikes with bikes. I have always felt welcome by RC bikers, even sharing the track with the top drivers in the world.

I also find the 1/5th scale car guys are much better at not punting bikes into the scenery.

Come on Pete, You beat me at nationals.
I enjoyed every minute of it though.
My only aim is to be faster at the end of the race meeting than I start, which luckily I have been this year.
Merry Xmas anyway.

Eden

Younger people are not interested in RC bikes. It is a hobby old guys.

Manufacturers cannot sell enough bikes to make a go of it, or they get their designs stolen, or they don't seem interested in selling what they do make (looking at you Nuova Faor).

Retailers can't make enough margin to make it worthwhile.

Bikes were always a niche of the total RC industry and with the industry shrinking rapidly the niche is getting microscopic. Drones are a unicorn with the rest of the industry dying.

I really don't have time to run 2 Wheel Hobbies but I keep it going since I have a bunch of old stock that people still want on occasion. I rarely get in new items because I am tired of stocking new bikes and all the parts just to have the company stop selling them a short time later. Not many hobby grade bikes out there anyway.

I agree that sadly the bike market is pretty dead at the moment. Its golden days may have already come and gone. I hope thats not the case... but Im not holding my breath. As far as The RC hobby industry as a whole it seems like there is a general decline overall. But there is still a good number of people young and old having a blast with RC. The RC scale truck / crawler scene seems to be doing pretty good at the moment. Thats been my main intrest for the past 10 years or so. Local fun run events near my area seem to draw anywhere from 50 to 100+ drivers multiple times every year. The local RC car tracks are all packed every week. The local RC flying fields are pretty hoppin on the weekends... you have to wait about an hour between flights so everyone gets a turn. As for me. Im a RC lifer in almost all areas of the hobby. Im even getting prepared to jump into the business full time soon. If I can make it sucessful I might even try to help bring a bike to market in a few years. I really do miss the bike scene. I still have a handfull of my old DRP bikes. And Ive been 3D printing SB5 clones for my self here and there. I check back here from time to time to see if anything is happening. It might be time for me to dust off a few of my old bikes and go hit a parkinglot this weekend.

Mike,
How is it that you never mentioned / showed pics of the 3D printed SB5? For Shame!

Wow! great thread going here, and some interesting opinions out there. It's a real shame that some people believe RC bikes are dead or in serious decline. Over here in Australia it seems we have a polar opposite.

Just on 2 years ago I started Holeshot Hobbies a specialist RC Bike store here in OZ. Online and by appointment to begin with. The motivation to start the business was to build and grow an RC Bike scene here as I love bikes and RC. After spending many nights watching youtube videos of european racing and rediscovering the RC bikes had still kicked on long after my first 1:5 back in 1988. The old G-Con Honda VTR with stick controls was my first and only RC bike until about 2013, why? I didn't even know they existed still, maybe i was hiding under a rock or maybe they just need a little more exposure, support and promotion over here. I had no idea about any of the politics that have displaced the community for some time now. I'm positive this will eventually change.

I got myself well up to speed over the past 5 years on this awesome hobby, spending countless hours researching and reading up on everything i had missed. I was determined that given some exposure and support there could be an opportunity to introduce new classes and new blood into the hobby / sport.

Over here there was 0 Bike racing going on in any class or scale. I had been actively racing 1:10 offroad buggies and trucks and having a ball enjoying it with my young son. Starting the business meant i had to give up my racing for the moment and 1. build my skills with bike so that i could show people how awesome they are and also to help teach people and get them up to speed as easily as possible. 2 was to get the store up and running. All of this while still managing my primary work as a contractor in the construction industry and being a Dad to 2 beautiful young children and always trying to be a good husband for the wife..lol. Not easy to say the least, but my love for the bikes and this hobby was all the motivation i needed.

2 years on we just had our biggest year in terms of new users, resurrected some old pilots and we had bikes running at 4 major 1:5 scale car events and we even had the 1:8 bikes running at a local annual event one of the 1:10 clubs here run. The final event of the year was 1:5 Nationals in SA. We had 9 bikes entered and running, our biggest turnout yet.

We all had a great time, and for 2019 have secured a place for the bikes at all the major 1:5 scale events. From a club level we have about 6 constant racers who make all the club days and we try and get to the track for practice at least once a week. Personally i have found that peoples time is precious these days and even when they'd like to get into something else its not always possible.

We have had at least 4-6 people come and start and then drop off due to no other reason than time commitments. Fun is never an issue when it comes to bikes. I have not had a club refuse us time, provided we have had some numbers usually between 4-6 our clubs are always happy to accommodate the bikes and we always get feedback about how awesome they look getting around.

I could go on and on here about some of the points made in the thread. I'll save it all for another post. Finally a shout out to Pedro51 your not the slowest guy on the track mate, I have enjoyed watching you progress and grow in confidence with your bike each event we participated in together. Look forward to seeing you make some more steps in Feb 2019.

Happy New Year to you all! Looking forward to continued growth and plenty of racing in 2019!!

Cheers

Dave

Originally Posted by steve bisco

Come on Chris get back into it mate 👍🏻

I know right!
A new bike would be cool, could base it on the GPV and some designs that never came out. What I'm not a fan of and its one of the problems with the hobby now is 3D printing. Someone will copy your design and produce it in their garage and that basically takes away the value of your product. People think its easy, cheap, more convenient, whatever... and that dilutes the product and the market. Its not competition or flattery its just a nuisance to the hobby. If your going to make your own bike then make it and don't copy something just to show off. Have an original idea for once! If your making option aftermarket part then make original parts that work.
Nothing you can do about it and it becomes a war that drives the price down to a point it makes no sense to continue. Then the flip side is people complain that the product was discontinued or the price is too high or whatever they want to complain about.

In my current situation if I started to make bikes out of my garage it would be difficult to do it right and get the market going again just to have some idiot copy the bike and rip it off. Then I'd be guilty of discontinuing a bike and adding to the problem rather than fixing it! You have to be well funded to keep ahead of copy cats and lead the market so it doesn't hurt you. You have to keep ahead of them all the time and that cost you time and money.

You know whats harder to make is the tires/inserts and its a consumable product which makes it a profit center. That and bodies, batteries and some parts is where the money is at. The kits don't make you a lot of money in fact you could break even just to sell them. Make a solid bike platform people will support and it just runs but has a lot of tunability so you will find grip anywhere. The tires and inserts have to be spot on or its not worth the effort.
Put it all together and it can be a successful product line with legs for years if nobody messes with it.

Look at the Kyosho HOR, how long has it been running? We call those products an evergreen because its solid and established. They don't bother to even upgrade it, evolve it, release version 2.0, nothing! Maybe they make a new set of molds to keep making them, thats it! Option part companies have come and gone but they didn't really mess with the bike they just tried to make it better than a plastic model RC kit.
That was the whole reason behind designing the GPV. So I could offer the next 1/8 bike that works and can be raced more competitively. It's compatible with the HOR, some basic parts, but its a new bike from the ground up. If I had it to do again it would be the Pro version only and then a 1/5 scale version.

Lot of sense in what you are saying, Chris!

As stupid as it sounds, you'd be better off selling 3D printers, and I say that with a sad smile….

Too bad the GV-1 never evolved into a 1/5th bike, I'm sure it would have had a lot of potential.