Hello everyone! We’re already halfway through the year—have you been making the most of your time off and getting out there to play?
I’m Tanaka, the company representative. Since the start of the year, I’ve been making sure to take time off—even if I had to force it—and getting in as much winter snow time as I could.
This season had less snow than usual, but we’re lucky here in central Japan to have easy access to the Oku-Mino area, where many ski resorts have snowmaking machines. I made the most of that advantage, and with a little luck, happened to be there on a day when we got a huge dump of snow. I was able to enjoy some great powder, so I really have the snow gods to thank.
At the start of the season, I got my first alpine snowboard and gave it a try a few times. But I reached my limits physically and mentally, so I eventually gave up and switched back to a freestyle carving board. Thanks to skills I’d picked up years ago, I was able to get back to a decent technical level, so I was satisfied and returned to the type of basic skiing I’m good at for the spring season. In total, I made it to the mountains about ten times. I didn’t get to make my planned final run of the season at Tenjindaira, but all in all, I’m grateful to the snow gods for a thoroughly satisfying season.
I’m still a little disappointed about missing out on Tenjindaira, though, so I’m quietly hoping to make it to the summer skiing at Norikura Kogen, which starts in July, this year. If you’re interested, DM me on Instagram and I’ll send you the schedule. Why not come enjoy some summer skiing together?
How about RC? It’s been gaining momentum again lately!
Enough about my winter adventures—let’s change gears. I’m Tanaka, and I’m always thinking about ways to have fun all year round. I’ve noticed that RC, which you could call another one of my hobbies, has been gradually picking up steam in the cycling world lately, too. In this blog, I’d like to share how I enjoy RC.
I currently own seven RC cars. (One is a recently purchased crawler that’s still sitting in its box.) I want to respect Tamiya’s design philosophy, so I keep customizations to a minimum and enjoy building and driving my cars in a mostly stock, classic configuration. When I was younger, I loved heavily modifying everything, tinkering endlessly with the suspension, motor, and even the chassis. But after changing careers and joining the cycling industry, I had the chance to work with all kinds of complete bikes and basic components. That gave me a better understanding of how important it is to know a product’s basic performance, so in recent years I’ve tended to build my RC cars close to Tamiya’s original design, just as they were intended.
Tamiya chassis are easy for just about anyone to work with. I think anyone, regardless of age or gender, can put one together if they take the time to read the instructions rather than skipping over them. There are plenty of optional parts, both from Tamiya and third-party manufacturers, so customizing your car to the specs you want can be part of the fun.
Here in Nagoya, we’re lucky to have Rakusei Model, a world-class hobby shop. If you’re nearby and curious, I highly recommend stopping by Rakusei Model. The staff are friendly and welcoming, and happy to answer any questions. This is especially true for beginners: visiting a specialist shop and experiencing the staff’s deep love of RC is, I think, an important part of any hobby—not just RC or cycling. It’s something worth keeping in mind.
From here on, I’ll share a somewhat subjective opinion, but there’s one thing I think you should keep in mind when building a Tamiya RC car. This is for those who want to build a unique car from a kit, rather than buying a ready-to-run model: you may want to use a third-party receiver and radio transmitter (controller). One drawback(?) of Tamiya receivers is that they aren’t sold separately, so each receiver has to be paired with its own transmitter. As you get more into RC, this can become a real headache—you end up with more and more transmitters. I recommend setting things up so you can operate multiple cars with a single transmitter. I currently own two Futaba transmitters, configured to control five RC cars. I’ve set up just one car with Tamiya’s transmitter and receiver, so that first-timers can use it and join in anytime.
What kind of car do you have?
Now, let’s get to the main topic. Since you’ve taken the time to read this blog as cycling enthusiasts, I’d like to introduce an easy entry point to the Six Wheel Life we recommend: how to carry an RC car on your bike. I hope a few simple photos will help us figure it out together.
The Tamiya-style 1/10-scale buggy & TT-02
For transporting the classic Tamiya-style 1/10-scale 2WD and 4WD buggies that many people start out with, such as the Grasshopper and Hotshot, or the TT series—which comes in a huge variety of models and could be considered the archetypal Tamiya bathtub chassis—you can place the car directly on a SimWorks Burrito Rack or on one of the rear rack supports now offered by many manufacturers, and secure it with the straps I mentioned earlier. I hope that gives you some ideas. Adding a front rack such as the Jack The Bike Rack should also make it easy to carry your transmitter, batteries, and other gear.
Another option is to mount a Wald 1372 Large Basket directly on your bike and secure the car with a Cargo Net or X-Strap made by Blue Lug, so it won’t fly out if your bike hits a bump. It’s a quick and easy solution, but you’ll need to carry your transmitter and other gear in a bag, such as a backpack or a messenger bag. How you want to handle that is up to you.
Blitzer Beetle, crawlers, and other larger, specialized chassis
Next, there’s the Blitzer Beetle, which has recently become popular among my friends. It has a purpose-built chassis, and is too large to fit in a Wald 1372 Large Basket like the one mentioned above. For a car this size, a cargo bike fitted with a cargo fork made by CRUST BIKES, like this cargo-hauling bike, comes in really handy. The same setup should also work for larger models such as the crawler I mentioned earlier and the new GF-02 Squash Van, which went on sale late last year.
And for my top pick for an RC-hauling bike, I can’t recommend cargo bikes enough. They’re becoming a go-to choice for getting around town in cities across Europe and the US, and you can carry course-building gear and lights for nighttime use along with your RC cars. They’re also more than capable of carrying several RC cars at once, making them an excellent option all around.
The M chassis I love so much
Now, my personal favorite type of chassis: the M series. Its biggest strength is its short wheelbase, since the lineup is mainly made up of classic and compact cars. The easiest way to carry one is to put a Wald 1372 Large Basket on a SimWorks Half Moon Front Rack, then secure the car with a Cargo Net or X-Strap made by Blue Lug, so it won’t bounce out if your bike hits a bump.
Because I love my M chassis so much, I’ve added an OUTER SHELL ADVENTURE Rack Bag for extra security, and I load it up with the car and everything else I need before heading out.
One more thing: the M series includes a wide range of models with different motor positions, so anyone can enjoy the differences in how the cars handle. I think they’re great models that offer plenty of driving fun for everyone, from beginners to experts. For reference, I’ve listed the M-series models below. I hope you’ll take a look. (I’m just really hoping to get more M-series fans out there!)
FF
M-01 (wheelbase: S, M, L)
M-03(R) (wheelbase: S, M, L)
M-05(Pro, Ra) (wheelbase: S, M, L)
M-07 (wheelbase: M, L)
MB-01 (wheelbase: S, M, L) (FF)
MR
M-02 (wheelbase: S, M, L)
M-04 (wheelbase: M, L)
MB-01 (wheelbase: S, M, L) (MR)
RR
M-06(Pro) (wheelbase: S, M, L)
4WD
MF-01 X
One of the M series’ biggest attractions is its lineup of enthusiast-oriented models, which really lets you appreciate Tamiya’s renowned craftsmanship. Why not make an M-series car part of your household? I own FF, MR, and RR models, and I’m hoping to add the 4WD MF rally car soon.
Bonus: TamTech Gear
Lastly, I’d like to touch briefly on TamTech as a bit of a wildcard.
The TamTech I came across when I was a university student pulled me into the world of RC. Back then, TamTech was 1/24 scale, which meant you could do the dreamlike thing of putting a plastic model body on an RC car. (Later, the Tactec F, a formula-sized model, was released; I believe that one was 1/16 scale.) Because the chassis was so small, you had to install Tamiya’s all-in-one receiver, speed controller, and servo unit. But I was even more excited by the fun of making the body, and I feel like I was spraying paint with my airbrush day and night.
The small TamTech is no longer in production. Tamiya now sells 1/16-to-1/12-scale buggies under the TamTech Gear name. RC cars of this size are easy to transport: you can put one directly in a WALD 137-series small basket, one of the most popular basket choices for bikes, or strap it to the top of a front or rear rack. It’s incredibly easy to carry, and simply adding one to your setup could open up a whole new world of fun. TamTech Gear is mostly sold as ready-to-run models these days, but why not show some cycling spirit and build one from a chassis kit together with your kids? (Unfortunately, TamTech Gear chassis kits are no longer available; the lineup now consists only of the XB series, which comes as a fully assembled car. I’m sorry for sharing incorrect information.)
One more note: using an OUTER SHELL ADVENTURE Stem Caddy as a tool bag, like on the bike in this photo, is a great idea for your #SixWheelLife setup. I highly recommend giving it a try.
Thank you so much for sticking with me through this long look at RC, which began with snow-season news. Over the next three seasons, I’ll be getting out to enjoy RC at the park at night, and I’ll also be making trips to the nearby Kakegawa Circuit. If you’re interested, feel free to reach out to me, Tanaka, via DM. And if you’re enjoying #SixWheelLife with a setup like this (there still aren’t many posts, so let’s change that by posting about RC and bikes!), please share your ideas and photos. Let’s get even more fun-loving folks hooked and pull them together into the deep end!
I look forward to seeing you out and about at all kinds of fun spots. See you then!
