[Tropi]

Looking at Jon, Slot City's useful track list, it seems that there is a very fair selection of wider radius curves provided.
Good on Scalextric and thanks Jon.

The Lotus testing (well done!) seems to bear out what I recall of previous tests, that added weight is definitely helpful and there might be a clear pointer here that Scalextric could consider producing some reasonably precise weights specifically for these bikes. If the improvement is as marked as people are saying, then it wouldn't surprise me to find that they had these waiting in the wings already. On the other hand - there is always another hand isn't there - extra weight is likely to increase tyre wear from running on the slot.

I am just wondering how much of a problem it would be for the guide position to be redesigned ever so slightly off center, enough to keep the tyres out of the slot? It wouldn't take much.

 

[Tropi]

Moped makes one particularly pertinent point there.

Out of curiosity, I dug out my digital caliper and carried out slot width checks (that is the GAP) on Sport and Carrera track.
Sport varied from 2.5 - 2.8mm
Carrera showed 3.1 - 3.2mm
Carrera slot width is inherently more consistent due to the moulded plastic sidewalls/liners on the inside of their slot, but I'll come back to that shortly.

Depending on which measurements are chosen, the actual GAP difference between the two makes varies from 0.3mm to 0.7mm (between 10% and 30% of the Sport figure in round numbers) and these variances, regardless of percentage quoted, are bound to make a difference to the tyre running on it.
But it's more complicated than that.

Sport RAILS are approx 4.4mm wide, totalling around 8.8mm for the pair.
Carrera RAILS are approx 4.2mm wide, totalling around 8.4mm for the pair.
Hard to measure accurately due to the shape of the top face and the bed angles, but the difference here is very small. Not to say it might not be significant though . . .

However, the real complication is brought in by those moulded plastic slot liners in the Carrera track, which total around another 3.4mm width of something that certainly isn't flat track surface! Those liner top edges are downset, slightly lower than the metal rails, making the tyre/surface contact situation even more complicated! While those liners are little, if any, problem for cars and do carry several very definite advantages, they are hell for bikes, with their single tyres running more or less over them all the time, slithering about over greatly more variable surface on Carrera track than on Sport.

So, regardless of debate as to the actual numbers used for comparison, it would seem very clear that the bikes must be at a significant disadvantage on Carrera track compared with Sport.

Having said that, I am absolutely 100% for testing them on ALL common makes of track in the interest of the wider slot buying public. They NEED to know.
I congratulate Lotus on his dedication to the quest and looking forward to further episodes with great interest.

Not like me to forecast review findings, but I would realistically anticipate similar observations on Ninco track, due to its similarity to Carrera in also incorporating slot liners.
But Ninco is a little different in other ways, as we shall probably see.

 

[Tropi]

QUOTE It would be a world first for anybody who did, so a bit of eternal fame would be in order for that person.

Tut tut - not been keeping up to date with SF!

THIS was posted on one of our other boards in the last few days.
A bit of a heap!
But it has been done and I doubt this was the first or only example.

 

[Tropi]

I'd agree, but there's no accounting for how collectors might take to them.
Collectors are . . . odd
They can distort normal slot markets.