22 5.0 Still Racing, Barely
Site Experience FeedbackJul 28, 2026
As a longtime racer, and supporter of Losi and TLR, I am beyond disappointed with Horizon Hobby’s handling of the TLR brand. What was once one of the most respected and influential names in competitive RC racing has been neglected to the point that it feels like Horizon Hobby is intentionally killing it. TLR earned its reputation by producing legitimate race vehicles, supporting racers, developing new platforms, and maintaining parts availability. Racers invested thousands of dollars into TLR vehicles, replacement parts, electronics, and equipment because we believed we were supporting a company that was equally committed to racing. Horizon Hobby has repaid that loyalty by discontinuing vehicles, allowing essential parts to disappear, providing little communication, and seemingly abandoning competitive 1/10-scale racing outside of RTR products. A race vehicle is worthless without replacement parts. Racers should not have to search obscure hobby shops, overseas retailers, auction sites, and used-parts groups just to find basic components for vehicles that are still being raced. We should not have to retire otherwise competitive cars because a differential, outdrive, suspension component, transmission part, or other essential item is no longer available. This is not normal product progression. It is a complete failure to support the customers who invested in the brand. The lack of communication makes the situation even worse. Horizon Hobby continues to benefit from the Losi and TLR names while providing racers with virtually no confidence that the platforms they purchase will be supported. Customers are left guessing which vehicles are discontinued, which parts will ever return, and whether TLR has any future at all. Silence is not a strategy, and an RTR vehicle with TLR graphics is not a replacement for a genuine racing program. Horizon Hobby did not build the TLR legacy. Racers, designers, engineers, team drivers, local tracks, hobby shops, and loyal customers built it over decades. TLR helped shape competitive RC racing and inspired racers at every level. Watching that legacy be slowly dismantled through neglect, poor parts support, and an apparent unwillingness to invest in new competition platforms is insulting to everyone who helped make the brand successful. The market still supports competitive 1/10-scale racing. Other manufacturers continue to release race kits, update platforms, supply replacement parts, support tracks, and listen to racers. Horizon Hobby’s retreat is not evidence that racing is dead. It is evidence that they have chosen not to compete. I am not asking for every discontinued vehicle to remain in production forever. I am asking for reasonable product support, dependable parts availability, and a clear commitment to the racers who made TLR valuable. If Horizon Hobby no longer intends to support competitive racing, then it should say so directly instead of allowing the brand to slowly disappear while loyal customers are left with unsupported equipment. Horizon Hobby is destroying decades of trust and brand loyalty. Once racers are forced to replace their TLR vehicles with another manufacturer’s products, many will not come back. You are not simply losing the sale of one replacement part or one new kit. You are pushing entire groups of racers, families, clubs, and local racing communities toward competing brands. TLR deserves better. Its racers deserve better. The employees, engineers, designers, and drivers who built its reputation deserve better. Horizon Hobby needs to either make a real commitment to rebuilding and supporting TLR or stop pretending that the brand remains important to the company. What is happening to TLR is not an unfortunate accident. It is the predictable result of Horizon Hobby’s decisions, lack of support, and failure to communicate. As a loyal customer who has proudly supported Losi and TLR, I am angry, disappointed, and rapidly losing any reason to support Horizon Hobbies.