If you like adrenaline, strategizing and spending fun quality time with friends and family – RC hobbies are perfect for you. These are fun activities that allow people to come together and enjoy driving and racing with high-performance radio-controlled vehicles. RC vehicles such as cars, bikes, trucks and others are much more than toys. They’re extremely popular as a hobby, but a lot of people also collect and invest in them to participate in different racing shows. They give you a fun and thrilling time but also an opportunity to earn easy cash prizes.
How Do RC Motorcycle Models Work?
RC motorcycles are popular RC vehicles that are seeing a huge demand in recent years. There is one question on everyone’s mind when they first see these vehicles – How do RC motorbikes stay upright? Some motorcycle scale models have little stands that help to keep them upright (similar to training wheels). However, other models have an auto-balance feature that keeps them upright by slightly moving the tires when the bike is standing still.
RC motorbike models are versatile and contain a lot of intricate details, making them look like exact replicas of the life-sized models. They also come with various paints that allow you to customize them according to your preferences. RC scale model motorbikes work on the same principles as normal motorcycles and RC cars. They’re able to stay upright with forward momentum, much like traditional bikes. It’s good to note that, while RC cars can go on any type of terrain, RC bikes can only go on smoother terrains (such as pavements). This is because bumps or rough areas in the road can easily cause them to turn over.
These scale bikes come in special model motorcycle kits. Building a model bike is much like building a model car. You need to put together the various steering, arm connection parts, spring, crash bar, tires and other parts that are marked with numbers to make your building process easier.
Nitro vs Electric RC Bikes
RC bikes can be powered either by batteries or nitro fuel. These two types have significant differences. The biggest difference is what makes them go. The electric model bike uses a motor that requires electricity (in the form of a battery pack). On the other hand, the nitro bike uses an engine that runs on methanol-based fuel. This fuel contains nitromethane. Nitro fuel is the equivalent of the gasoline that is used in a full-sized car or truck. Some lesser-known RC bikes even have gas-powered engines that use gasoline instead of nitro fuel. These are significantly larger and less used than the electric and nitro models.
Brushed vs Brushless Electric Motors
When it comes to electric motors, two types are used among RC hobby enthusiasts – brushed and brushless motors.
The brushed electric motor is the only one you can find in toy-grade and beginner RC bikes; however, it’s also used for other hobby-grade models. The name derives from the way this motor functions. These motors contain small contact brushes that allow them to spin. They can be either fixed or nonfixed. Fixed motors are nonadjustable and can’t be modified or tuned. On the other hand, nonfixed brushed motors have replaceable brushes and can be modified and tuned to some degree. They are easy to clean from dust and debris that tends to accumulate from use.
Brushless motors are becoming increasingly popular in the RC hobby world. These are considered premium compared to brushed motors. They give much more power and speed. These motors don’t contain contact brushes so they don’t require frequent cleaning. This also results in less friction and heat, which pose the biggest problems in motor performance. Brushless motors are mostly favoured for the speed they provide. They’re faster than brushed and nitro motors.
Nitro Engines
Nitro engines have a completely different construction from electric motors. They have carburettors, flywheels, air filters, pistons, clutches, glow plugs and crankshafts, resembling full-sized gasoline-powered vehicles. They also have a fuel system with a fuel tank and exhaust. The main part of a nitro engine that dissipates heat from the engine block is the head heatsink. You can regulate the temperature on these engines by turning the carburettors, which lessens or increases the amount of fuel that’s being used.
Types of Frames
The frame in RC bikes (also called chassis) can be made from either plastic or aluminium. Hobby-grade RC vehicles are made from high-quality premium plastic. The other components attached to the chassis are often made from carbon fibre, which reduces the overall weight of the vehicle.
RCs with nitro engines usually have a metal chassis made from anodized aluminium. This kind of frame is ideal because of its heat-reducing properties, as the nitro engine releases a lot of heat.
Are Electric RC Bikes Better Than Nitro RC Bikes?
That said, you’re probably wondering what type of RC is the ideal choice. The answer to this question partly depends on your own personal preference. However, a lot of hobbyists recommend the RC motorbike models with an electric motor. While nitro bikes require fuel, electric models conveniently run on a battery pack. Electric RCs also require fewer parts to build, which means that putting one together is easier than building a nitro RC. They’re more lightweight due to their light aluminium frames, while the nitro-powered RCs are significantly heavier.
Maintenance
Both nitro and electric RCs require regular maintenance to keep them in shape. This includes regular cleaning, checking the tires, replacing shocks and bearings, tightening loose screws and more. While a nitro engine needs to go through an engine break-in to avoid repairs down the road, an electric RC only needs to have its battery frequently charged. An electric RC is much easier to use and maintain, as you only need to make small brake and throttle linking adjustments. For a nitro RC, you need to go through some after-run maintenance, such as draining the fuel tank, cleaning the air filter, adding after-burn oil etc., while this isn’t necessary for an electric RC.
