popeyethewelder - 8-8-2006 at 11:26 AM
has anyone bought or used one of these buggies yet, I would like any info regarding quality, the chrome plating on it, how does it handle, are there
any faults with it etc etc
they are now being sold from Germany and so readily available to the Uk market and any info would be appreciated
Carl
popeyethewelder - 29-9-2006 at 11:04 AM
no one had a go in one yet????
chadvicki - 30-9-2006 at 01:05 AM
I have one. I am new to buggying and went for price rather than quality.
I went to the Fall Thang in El Mirage lake and was told of the downfalls of my buggy.
First the steering has no stopper to prevent it from going all the way around.
Second there are extremely dangerous foot pegs on it. One they are not fixed to the steering they are clamped on with allen bolts and second they have
sharp foot stoppers on the side.
Third the wheel axels are very thin. Ok for newbie use though I was told.
I question the seller of my buggy here in the states and he told me how wonderful they were and I believed him.
I was told that whoever made this buggy clearly has never buggied before.
Anyway that is what have to work with for now.
thanks Rockville,
Chad
popeyethewelder - 30-9-2006 at 02:49 AM
Thanks Chad...I had a sneaky feeling there would be some major faults with this buggy and you have just confirmed my suspisions
KYTE SLINGER - 30-9-2006 at 10:16 AM
popey
a 2nd generation out there with updates and yes the first 1 were a little undesirable for the season rider,upside for the newbie great price point
for a intro to buggys.......... I have yet to try the new gen but from the photos looks like they improved alot
The 1st gen had issues with the forks, not enough rake to the front ,after 20-25mph produce a speed wobble and the headset bearing was more like a
bicycle unlike a seal bearing invited lot and lots of debre from that of the wheel... the cog that stopped the wheel was under rated after a few
lock to lock turns sheared it off.... they must have a lot of trust in the welding from having it chromed I say after a few beach runs will show up in
pitting the thin chroming .......
i did how ever liked the fully adjust ability of the pegs, but the foot end caps looks like they can slice enough bread for a picnic......
the seat felt like it was well though out with heavy over lapping and dbl. stitching CG sat back some for my desire {freestyle} but the target here
is new riders and price point.
I'd like to se few more improvments like a power coated frame and sealed bearings ..they'll increese the price some but still have a great intro buggy
to the much needed market
popeyethewelder - 30-9-2006 at 12:04 PM
thanks for the info
acampbell - 30-9-2006 at 02:57 PM
I just got one on E-bay a few weeks ago and have a few miles on it. It's my first buggy, so I cannot compare yet to others.
As a former aircraft mechanic with some training welding and metals, I judged the quality of the weldiing and overall fabrication to be quite good.
The chrome plating appears pretty robust but more time will tell. The axle tube was reinforced with welded doubling plates where the bolt holes for
the side rails pierce the cross section. Everythign fit properly with no force.
The front steering fork does indeed have turn stops.
The instruction sheets that came with it were like third generation photocopies on hand torn sheets of flimsy paper. There was a hand written web
address offering an assembly video but the URL was invalid or I could not properly read the scrawl.
The hardware and tool kit that came with it was good - all bolts were pre-treated with locktite.
You have to really cinch down the bolts on the adjustable foot pegs pretty good to get them to stay put under stress and I guess they expect some to
fail, since they include spare bolts in the kit. But the adjustability of the foot pegs is really a good design detail.
The foot stoppers at the end of the foot pegs are indeed evil. They look like some kind of wheel cutters from the Ben-Hur chariot race, or some kind
of ninja throwing stars welded on the end. After one session with knicked shins I quickly wrapped them with many turns of plastic self bonding
electical tape.
During my second session with moderate winds, the left butt seam in the seat blew out with an eight inch tear. The fabric was good and the seam
allowances were proper so it was the thread that failed. I took pictures and e-mailed them to the US distributer and they replied quickly asking me
to send it in for a replacement. I told them the I had temprarily repaired it with a quick field repair (my wife and her sewing machine) and could
not afford the down time so I wanted one shipped first and I would exchange in the field. I even offered a deposit. Before they replied , I sat down
in the buggy the next day for the start of my next session and the right butt seam blew out the same way. I wrote a terse e-mail expressing my
disspointment and they responded right away assuring me that a new seat was being shippped that day.
There is little back support. There is a piece of 1/4 " plywood in a pocket in the backrest to keep it stiff, but the whole backrest flops over at
the base of the splint so it does not help much. Even the instructions state "So far, the best method for back support is to wrap the strap back and
forth...". After putting the seat on for the third time after the last repair, I found a new way to wrap the straps and it helped a bit more. If you
are into S&M and bondage you will no doubt have a better go at it.
You get what you pay for and I did not pay a lot ($305 with shipping) so I cannot #@%$#! too much, provided the replacement seat (in transit now I
presume) holds up. It's been a good buggy to learn on, and at speeds high enough to scare a novice it's been solid and stable.
I'm going out again tomorrow on the low tide. After a few more sessions and the installation of the new seat, I'll follow up with another assesement.
chadvicki - 30-9-2006 at 08:10 PM
The turn stops seemed to work on mine but then if you gave it a little more muscle it will keep going.
I doubt any buggies are as nice as the ones you have made for yourself. At least by the pictures and posts regarding your build.
You seem to be a master craftsman.
Chad
popeyethewelder - 30-9-2006 at 11:08 PM
Thanks for the reviews, anychance of some close up pics
popeyethewelder - 3-10-2006 at 01:30 PM
I hope you dont mind guys but I posted your reviews on Race kites thread, here is the link incase you should want to follow it any further or add to
any comments.
http://www.racekites.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8128&...
ps I am not associated with RK just simply putting like minded people with the same buggy together to share experiences
Carl
acampbell - 9-10-2006 at 01:18 PM
Hey I've got the Rockville buggy pictures but am feeling like a lug-head as I cannot figure out how to post them as attachments here.
The FAQ's mention an Upload button that I cannot find. I can use the browse button to locat the JPG's on my machine but nothing to actually upload
them.
Can anybody help?
popeyethewelder - 9-10-2006 at 02:14 PM
use a program like
http://www.flickr.com/
you can upload 200 for free, then get the ulr and post them on here....sorry that was brief I am just in a hurry..
Carl
acampbell - 9-10-2006 at 03:27 PM
Here is a link to some photos of the Rockville Buggy. Sorry it took a bit of time as I was away.
They did send me the repalcement seat...
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcNGrNq2aNmL...
Click "view pictures" to see all of the collection.
popeyethewelder - 11-10-2006 at 08:50 AM
thanks Angus.....they look the bizz dont they, end of the foot pegs look a bit deadly though