Quote:
Originally Posted by Disley
Re: cells, just to illustrate my point.
I bought a 5200mAh/ 40C cell from Hong Kong for £30, including post in January. The price has risen recently to about £50. In the UK, BRCA approved cells of the same size are about £100. I fail to see why I should pay double.
Further, as I'm never going to win the Scottish Championship, but am there for the enjoyment and camaraderie (oh...and to beat Thomas and Jim ) is this cost be justified? I think not. |
Regarding your batteries specifically.
It's not just about cheap, it's about protecting investment during competition.
With the EB list:
If I get a list of batteries in January from the BRCA, this list is produced only once a year. In January, I can buy 2 batteries for competition, knowing they'll perform to similar capabilities as almost all the batteries on the list.
So I spend £200 to race the entire season. I know they'll be competitive for a dozen meetings at least, and will continue after that for years.
If we didn't have the EB list:
If I could order any battery, at any time, then as soon as I'd spent £200 in January, if a whizzy new battery appeared in February offering 20% more speed, I'd have to buy it to compete.
And so it goes on and on all year. That's the way it used to be, and we don't want to back to those bad old days.
Regards different levels of competition:
We need different levels so beginners aren't severely challenged with budget, tech skills and ability - they can get going and enjoy it.
But we also need to have Club, Regional, National and International Competitions, so as we get better, we can face and take on increasing challenges.
With these other competitions come the need to have tighter controls on budget, as they become more important. It's ok to have lesser restrictions on club racing for instance, as it's not important enough to have the best stuff, but you'll see now with each increase in competition, so does the benefit if you throw a chequebook at it.
If we leave Regionals open, it will not actually be cheaper, but more expensive. And the person that suffers most, is the person who has the talent, who could win, but can't keep up with the extra spend of the "chequebook racers"...
I may have just fully justified why you will hopefully be buying your batteries from the EB list in January.... (and wait for the 2011 list before buying).