Stick or Wheel?

[loaba 17]

So which is your preferred means of input control? Stick or wheel?

For me, I'm a surface guy and I have zero aspirations of ever flying any RC. So for that reason the modern wheel and trigger controller works well for me. How 'bout you?

[waterbok 1282]

Nintendo style push the button.

And these dont fly either.

But for all the other usual suspects I prefer the wheeled pistol but I also like the occasional vintage stick radio.

Even tried two different ride by no wire Wlan and mobil App RXs but those reacted so slow, send it all back.

 

[Wooders28 4921]

Sticks only for me.

Tried this modern fangled wheel thing, and it's just wrong.

[Terz1 751]

Has to be stick, all day long. I've got one rc that is wheel out of the 7 I've got. Wheel just doesn't seem right. I have no trouble controlling it but would swap it for a stick controller in a heart beat. 

A vote survey thing at the top would have been great to see some numbers. I wonder if when you got into rc makes a difference. I got into it in the late 80's and pretty much everything was stick then. These days I'd say the majority seem to be wheel though.

[mongoose1983 3357]

A two stick radio is all I'll ever need!

I have some pistol & earlier wheel type transmitters in my collection but when it comes to actually RUN some RC car, whether it's vintage or new, I know I always go with a two-sticker, preferably of the Futaba brand

[Jonathon Gillham 4698]

Wheel all the way! Way back i liked sticks but when i started racing in the 90s wheel was the only way.

 

I have a stick controller for my son, he finds it much easier as he has little hands.

[loaba 17]

Yup, should have done a poll!

I think this is a very heated a topic, as wheels have already been labeled as "wrong". Heh :-)

I bet there are two factors at play here, not least of which is whenever it was that you entered the hobby. Once upon a time it was all stick(s), all the time. Also, I think folks on the other side of the pond probably tend to like stick controllers over the wheeled variety. But, again, having some hard polling (so dirty) data would have been useful.

I've used both but definitely get better results with the wheel.

• American
• less than 10yrs in the hobby

 

[Wooders28 4921]

I just cannot get to grips with a wheel! It's like trying to shoot a gun with my left hand, just nope 😯

• UK

• 30+ years in the hobby

• Cars , boats (hovercraft at one point) and helicopters (broken helicopters I might add 🙄) 

[Palfertronic 74]

Sticks all the way for me!

I have 1 wheel Tx,, it came with a Mad Bull I bought off Fleabay, it just feels wrong....I reckon my 2 year old Grandson could outdrive me with this!

But then i have been driving cars, and flying fixed wing aircraft with stick radios since 1979...

*UK

[Supercoolnothing 721]

Sticks all the way for me, I can use a wheel but sticks just feel more natural to me. 

[Dangerseeker 162]

stick is the control device of choice for me, the pistol/trigger/wheel things do not work for me, i have to think while controlling thus its not intuitive.

[njmlondon 579]

Sticks only for me. Tried a wheel but felt all wrong and it was not helped by the fact I am left handed either. All wheels are for right-handers as far as I can see.

I also like some weight and a quality feel to my radios so use a Futaba 3gr - don't use any of the clever features but just like the look and feel.

30+ years in the hobby and UK... there seems to be a trend here!

[M 800STD 590]

Stick, period. 

...and yes I have/do use wheel.

[Prescient 673]

I like the wheel, I have owned and used both; but after over 30 years of driving Tamiya cars here in the UK a good wheel works for me. 

 

[loaba 17]

On 2/16/2017 at 3:38 PM, Dangerseeker said:

stick is the control device of choice for me, the pistol/trigger/wheel things do not work for me, i have to think while controlling thus its not intuitive.

A buddy uses a stick for air and surface vehicles and I got a chance to try out his rig. The feel was definitely not "natural". As I recall, he had steering on the left and throttle on the right, which is opposite of the usual wheel arraignment. That certainly might have been part of the problem.

Anyway, I probably could get used to a stick setup, but thing is, with the wheel, there was never any kind of "getting used to it" process. However, too each his own. People use what they like. :-)

[Catchy 24]

Always thought I was stick only, but after giving up on them in favour for a cheap wheel 2.4ghz found out acts actually quite natural once i got used to it.. Wheel gets my vote. 

20yrs on/off chasing hobby.

UK 

[Gruntfuggly 571]

No wheel, only stick.

[TurnipJF 10277]

I use sticks, simply because that is what my uncle used back in the day, so I thought it was the done thing.

 

However now that I race relatively regularly, I see a lot of really fast drivers use wheel-and-trigger radios. But then there are some stick users up there on the podium too, so I don't think it matters.

 

However I also have a mate who drives a car virtually identical to mine, apart from that he uses a wheel-and-trigger radio, and he is always finishing ahead of me. Maybe the controller does have a role to play? (Although I suspect it might be more to do with him having been in the hobby for 2 decades longer than me...)

 

[GregM 1109]

I like wheel type transmitters, although I've been raised with sticks.

What I don't like are wheels that feel flimsy, like those that are often found on cheaper OEM transmitters. They make my skin crawl. The good old Acoms Technisport II 2.4G (not to be confused with the Acoms Hayabusa) is my favorite so far. I'll edit in a pic later on.

But I would also like to get my hands on a Sanwa 2.4G wheel transmitter someday. I just wish the receivers would be slightly more affordable.

 

EDIT: Photo added.

[drcarlos 57]

Had a MK1 Acoms Technisport in the 80's, got some right weird looks back then as I was the only one with a wheel controller and there were hardly any in the UK at the time. So 30 years as a wheel man means that I won't go back now.

Carl.

[InsaneJim69 1587]

I don't mind either tbh. But if I had to pick, I'd pick sticks. Its just what I am more used to using, and I love the feel and comfort of my Spektrum DX6i.

James