*Cyclona* Bit Char-G, Opinions?

[epengr]

Hi all,

This is my first post. I just learned of these sweet little toys two days ago and I am dying to get my hands on one...

A local store has some *Cyclona* Bit Char-G's in a flyer to go on sale tuesday (Dec 10th) for $25 Canadian (~$15 US).
(Why does such a flyer, exposing me to this wonderful new world have to appear the day before final exams start?)

These are a Tomy rip-off, right?

Are they decent? How do they stack up to Tomy/other clones?

Thanks for your time!

[Pojo]

Cyclona Clones are crap compared to everything except these horrible yellow ones I found in Richmond...and who wants to impress people by saying they have a pink and blue Flygoon covered in crappy decals like "MOM" "BOOM" "WHAM" and "VROOM!".

[epengr]

Hmmm...

But for the price, are they a reasonable student-priced way to break into the hobby, or will I be nothing but disapointed?

[MicRoMaN]

It will probably be ok but not as good as the MS/bit char-g's and may not have good speed or good steering. Im not sure what you should do though...

[epengr]

Well,

I think I would have to order a real one from the US, so I'd be looking at what? ~$30US at best, plus shipping to Canada (~$10) plus duty, taxes etc, etc....

Were tlaking $65-$$75 CAN for the real thing, versus $25....

I could get 2-3 Cyclona's a race them for the proce of one Tomy....

And I know I will just HAVE to mod the heck outa them, which I'd feel a lot better doing to a $25 car than a $75 car.....

Decisions, decisions......

Has anyone here actually driven a Cyclona?

[hogjowlz]

i have one. it came in a round bullet case. all i did was put in a rare earth magnet and lube it up with graphite. it is 57mhz and gets really good range. the stock motor is fairly quick. i own 4 cars from 4 different brands. one being a zipzap and it is definatly the best.

it goes straight. turns well after magnet replacment and has 5-10 minute runtime.

[MicRoMaN]

Hmmm.....sounds like a good car. Luckily i dont have to order my microsizers i get them at my LHS

[epengr]

Originally posted by hogjowlz
i own 4 cars from 4 different brands. one being a zipzap and it is definatly the best.

it goes straight. turns well after magnet replacment and has 5-10 minute runtime.

Sorry, by "it" in the above statment did you mean your Cyclona or your ZipZap?

Radioshack in Canada *just* released "MINI CHARGED TURBO RACERS " which I think are much like ZipZaps, though they don't know if there will be accesories availble, or even if they are compatible......

[Pojo]

Ok man I guess i need to give you a big tutorial on bits, and bit buying. Any pros like payaso, tiny, or any of the other likely suspects can correct me if I'm wrong. I'll start with the basics:

There are 3 kinds of official bits, the Tomy BitChar-G, Tomy CompactChar-G, and the Hobbico Microsizer. Everything else is a clone, even Radioshack Zip Zaps! All of the offical bits are pretty much exactly the same, except for frequencies, and special edition stuff, which the Microsizer end has not received yet.

Each of the bits listed above has all of the bodies mentioned on the Hobbico Microsizers website, www.microsizers.com , minus the silver Toyota bB body, which is a United States exclusive.

Tomy BitChar-Gs have 4 available frequencies, or "bands", 27mhz, 35mhz, 45mhz, and 57mhz. It doesn't matter which you choose, they are all pretty much the same. Mods can be made to your car and controller to increase the range of your car. Tomy CompactChar-Gs and BitChar-Gs have some special edition car sets, most of which are derived from Japanese hit cartoons or games. You can view these sets either at the official Tomy website, www.tomy.co.jp , or a place where you can buy them, www.toyeast.com .

Tomy CompactChar-Gs have all of the same frequencies as BitChar-Gs, except that the "CCG", the Australian version of the BitChar-G, has another available band, 40mhz.

Hobbico Microsizers are the North American version of Tomy's BitChar-Gs. As mentioned before, they have all the same bodies and hop-ups, etc. that Tomy has, except for a couple of differences. Hobbico only offers 2.2 (the stock Microsizer engine) engines, and 2.6 engines. Some say that these engines are faster than the Tomy versions. The other difference is due to North American regulations. The only 2 frequencies available for Microsizers are 27mhz, and 59mhz (not a typo, just a north american band).

Clones tend to make fantastic beginner cars, as they tend to be cheap, yet they are still upgradeble. The only real cons with clones is a lack of quality, and frequent compatibility issues with Tomy and Hobbico products. Clones also have a habit of breaking down easily. Most people will agree with me when I say that int he long run, choosing a Hobbico or Tomy product is much more worthy of your time and money. I guarantee that an official bit will last much longer than a clone. However, because of their cheap prices, clones make excellent guinea pigs. Go wild!

As for advice on what you should buy, If you have a low budget, then go ahead, buy some clones, and have a party with your friends! Just make sure they are all different frequencies, and are no more than $20cdn. If you are looking at bits as a serious hobby, which your simple interest may turn into, then consider turning your wallet to www.toyeast.com . They have excellent prices, and you can get a special edition Tomy Skyline for about $53cdn shipped!

Anyways, maybe tiny or anyone else can use this post as a guide of somesort...who knows!

The bottom line when getting involved with these things is :


HAVE FUN!!!

[Pojo]

Oh by the way, welcome to the forums!

[VERTiG0]

I bought a Cyclona to tide me over until my Skyline GT-R set arrives.

Anyway, the thing is pretty ***damn good for a clone, compared to my friend's real Bit Char-G.

He has a Tomy 2.2 motor in his, and my clone is faster.

However, his likes to steer nice and straight all the time, while mine likes to go off the hook and sometimes won't steer left at all (this is after cleaning the magnet of all gunk and adjusting the pin at the bottom).

The electronics and mechanicals are 100% identical, down to a tee, but it is put together slightly shoddier.

For $15 CDN, I should've bought a bunch more than just one.

They're AMAZING for the price.

[JBit]

Now THIS is a nasty Clone!


BLEH.

[epengr]

Thanks Pojo,

That cleared up a few rough spots that my two days of web research between studying for finals had not managed to do yet!

Sometimes it is easier to just ask someone who has been around a while.....

There seems to be a large number of Canadians floating around the board? Or did the only two just happen to reply to my message?

Hey, Vertigo. Where did you get Cyclonas for $15 in Canada?

For that matter can anyone suggest where to get them in Canada at all?

Thanks!

[TemjinNeo78]

Originally posted by VERTiG0
I bought a Cyclona to tide me over until my Skyline GT-R set arrives.

Anyway, the thing is pretty ***damn good for a clone, compared to my friend's real Bit Char-G.

He has a Tomy 2.2 motor in his, and my clone is faster.

Clones have a lot more torque with their stock motors, but a tomy 2.2 isnt all that fast either, And clone companies dont come with any hop-ups. If your friend puts a 2.6 in his car his will def. be faster, or even be even with urs. But most of the clones you cant use tomy motors in them, because they are just made for their own. So while your friend is upgrading his car(which isnt really hard to do anymore) you will still have a stock motor and such. And since clones have a bigger motor area, perhaps u can use zip zap motors. Now i am just telling you from my experience.

[VERTiG0]

I got my clone at Giant Tiger in Cambridge, Ontario.

They're on sale until Christmas, good luck getting one though. Sold out everywhere. I got lucky.

Anyway, I can fit his real Tomy motors into my clone with no problems. The engines are identical. The engine compartment is the exact same size. The heatsink is 100% identical.

The clone is 99% identical to a real Bit Char-G.