NEW Track Cleaner VIDEO ADDED

[Cincyslots]

[Cincyslots]

[cgingras]

I had the chance to try it a few months ago (it's made by a Canadian company). It does what it's supposed to do but I don't think it's worth the money the manufacturer is asking for it. At the time I tried it, the SRP was around US$40. Glad to see it's now down to less than $30. It has more value at this price point but I still think it's too expensive. I told the manufacturer at that time that a price point of CA$20 (US$15) would be perfect. Still not there (and I understand that making this in lower volumes at that price point is probably very difficult). This is why I decided to not carry it at Slot Car Corner Canada.

A simple wipe of the track with a Swiffer before a race will yield the same result, probably in less time. That's what I've been doing on my track and it works fine. With a wider Swiffer, I can clean all lanes in one swipe, maybe two.

The Contour comes with a pack of cleaning pads but after they're gone, you'll have to cut some pads yourself, a rather time-consuming task if you want those pads to fit the Contour correctly.

Also, this thing works on smooth surfaces. If you have a somewhat abrasive surface, forget it. And I don't have a plastic track to try it but I suppose that the track joints could become a problem if they're not perfectly aligned every time.

I realize this is not a good product endorsement. But I'm telling it like I saw it, along with my racing buddies who also had the chance to see it at work on my track. Again, it does what it's supposed to do. For that price, just not sure it's a good deal.

I really hope that this product can find its niche. There's a need for track cleaning products that work well. Maybe it's a good first step towards that goal.

[Cincyslots]

[Abarth Mike]

Christian,

Any Idea how much it weighs?

[Cincyslots]

Since Christian hasn't replied, I will.

It's 50.3gms

Bruce

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Mike, you are waaay too sensitive. We don't have any Politically Correct nonsense here, and a negative review is as valuable as a positive review. In fact, "saying nothing" is detrimental to everyone, and would be a shameful (and possibly best described as chicken excrement in some cases) attitude to take. It would take any credence in our HRW opinions away, because if all you get is praise on this site, we serve no useful purpose as a community.

By the way, I didn't see anything that negative in the post. One guy thinks it costs too much (Fact- not opinion, everything costs too much these days, its a huge concern for all of us for the future of the hobby), and he thinks cleaning one lane at a time takes longer than he would like. How, exactly, is his experience reported here, in any way negative? Frankly, I stopped using a mobile vacuum towed by a Fly truck (that I worked very hard to perfect), because it took too long to clean my track one lane at a time, so I understand the report.

My best advice is, don't comment on "class" if you are too sensitive for what you have addressed here. You're liable to get a comment on that comment that would make you faint.

[chappy]

Just saw this thread. And have read with interest and watched the videos.
Everyone likely has a different method of cleaning their track and has had for years.
Be it plastic, or wood people have their own methods and have had for ages. There is nothing wrong in my mind having a healthy debate or just a this is what i do post.
Bruce has notified us of a new product which may appeal to some , and not to others.
So no harm no foul, but we can still disagree but be civil about it.
I am always interested in the pros and cons of anything new.
I have a file from 1966 of a track cleaner used back then, which also did the rails, it was interesting but again also had cons.
I note that Christian also on his own site is not shy about talking about the cons of some of his products. So i dont think it is anything more than the passing on of experience. This is the Slot Car News thread afterall so its great to hear different opinions on a new product.
Best wishes all
Bob

[carlosinseattle]

[Cincyslots]

I'm sure my best play is to keep my mouth shut but....as chappy stated, I'm just trying to get the word out. This is a guy that is new to making slot car products, as far as I know. Personally, I like it, to each their own. So, buy one don't buy one, let's get back to racing.

Bruce

[cgingras]

Hi guys. I'm back after a few days of not coming to HRW (crazy week at work!). Surprised to read some of the comments here.

I'd just like to add a few context bits to my initial comment about the Contour. Maybe it will help everyone to better understand.

First of all, sour grapes and revenge are just not in my DNA. Anyone who knows me, even just a bit, can attest to that.

Also, I still consider myself as a passionate slot car racer much more than a vendor. I wrote my initial comment as a slot car racer, not as a vendor (I should have made that clearer, that's probably the error I made). I like to think that forums like HRW need diverse opinions on all products, this is what it's all about.

The guy who makes the Contour is a customer of SCC Canada, and so are most of his slot racing buddies in the Calgary area. It would be completely stupid of me to write what I wrote just to get back at someone. I like to think that everyone who does business with me at SCC Canada is a friend and I like to think it's reciprocal. And friends tell each other everything, without holding back the more negative things. That's how friendships work.

When he sent me a Contour to try out a few months ago, he wanted to know what I thought of the product and if I wanted to carry it at SCC Canada. At the time, the MSRP was US$40, not US$28. And I told him that to me and to my friends who tried it, it was worth around CA$20-25, not more. None of my friends were willing to pay US$40 (around CA$53 these days) for the Contour, even if it does what it's meant to do on smooth track surfaces. Now, I know that getting the cost of manufacturing down that much is not easy, and probably not possible at that time. But at least, the MSRP is now US$28, which is a great improvement over the initial MSRP.

And then, I just stated that for me, on my track, it was faster to use the Swiffer than to use the Contour. Your mileage may vary and that's absolutely fine. The Swiffer also has an advantage that the Contour does not have... it also cleans the gutters, where all the dust accumulates. When a car comes out of the slot, it goes into the gutter, sometimes 4, 5 or 6 inches from the slot. Those gutters need to be cleaned also and the Contour doesn't reach them.

The videos shown use Carrera track, which is always the same width. Most wood tracks are not made this way and the distance between the slot and the wall is sometimes wider in turns, where most deslots occur. The tires pick up dust in the gutters, most of the time. The Contour doesn't go there.

In the end, I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my opinion on the product. I wanted to share my thoughts on the product, as I think we should all do here on HRW. Absolutely no wrong intentions and no bad vibes with anyone here. If Harry thinks my post should be removed, I have absolutely no problem with it.

Pros:
* It does what it's meant to do.
* Fast to clean a few lanes in a pinch.
* It works well on smooth track surfaces (plastic or wood).
* It requires very little time to set up.

Cons:
* Still a bit expensive.
* Doesn't clean the gutters on wider tracks or turns.
* Doesn't work on somewhat abrasive surfaces.
* Requires that you make your own pads after the provided ones are gone.

In the end, this product is not suitable for my needs.

But despite this very personal opinion, I hope this product sells well. We need more innovative products in this hobby (this is what we're always trying to do at SCC and SCC Canada).

Have a good day, my friends.

Christian

[goosenapper]

I received the cleaner today from Cincyslots, and I was impressed. Maybe I'm easy. Or maybe it's that this thing solves a problem I have. You see, my track is in my attic, and my slanted roof makes getting to my long back straight a bit of a game of Twister. As I'm not the world's most limber fellow, I rarely went and ran the swiffer back there. I was planning to build a dust-plow like this, but truthfully have enough projects that were started and not finished that it's just not worth it.

Set up is super easy. The most difficult part was applying the velcro to the TackPro, which wasn't a chore at all. It all ran smoothly until a Scaletric Sport R1 hairpin got in the way. The distance between the front and rear pins is not compatible with that track piece, so the rear has to pop out in order to make it around. That makes me wonder how well this thing will run with only the front pin, so I may hack the rear off at some point. It's either that or I grab it each lap before it reaches the hairpin and reposition it.

And the best thing about this TrackPro is that I now have a use for that super-resistant Boxster that has enough dust on it to pass as a 1:32 scale barn-find!

It picked up a lot of crap off my track, more than swiffering with my hand, and traction improved greatly. Clemente Biondetti approves.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Goose, I have only seen it here on this topic, but I wonder if you would be better served, if you decide to cut a pin, by cutting the front pin. Its been a while since I was around an R1, but I think that if you cut the rear you might simply re-create the wedging problem.

Has anyone tried using a magnet to push the pad down on the track? Or, for that matter, does it already have a magnet in it? Other than dust, the thing that gets on my track are screws from people's cars. Keeping a body loose is important, but sooner or later, a screw will just fall out, and usually it winds up in the slot, where someone's guide clobbers it.

[goosenapper]

[hitechsafetydisplays]

Hello. I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Nap Pepin. I own a company called HiTech Safety Displays Ltd. In Alberta Canada. We are the manufacturer of the TrackPro Contour, Slot Car Track Cleaning System. We appreciate the support most of you have shown on this forum. We'd like to take the opportunity to respond to some of these comments:

Pricing
We have brought this to the market at a price point that we vetted with a number of the dealers who were interested in the product before reaching out to others. The price point makes it marginal for us but we do understand that the retail price has to be what the market will bear. We are not able to offshore this and have molds made because there is simply not enough volume to afford the investment in order to lower the manufacturing costs.

Just Wipe the Track Yourself
“A simple wipe of the track with a Swiffer before a race will yield the same result, probably in less time. That's what I've been doing on my track and it works fine. With a wider Swiffer, I can clean all lanes in one swipe, maybe two.”

Many people find track cleaning difficult because of hard to reach places. Even if you can reach to all your track, the convenience of simply driving a slot car around or putting it in ghost mode is very appealing. Also, the slot car pushing the cleaner benefits from some tire conditioning in the process. Hand cleaning does not achieve this. The track cleaner can clean the track slot unless the track slot is too narrow. One more point, the wings that span and retract clean between fence posts, automatically. A simple wipe of the track may not yield the same result because the track cleaner is engineered with 40 points of concentrated pressure across the track lane and instantly cleans between fence posts due to the side wings. Most people are surprised at how well it works.

Cleaning Pads
“The Contour comes with a pack of cleaning pads but after they're gone, you'll have to cut some pads yourself, a rather time-consuming task if you want those pads to fit the Contour correctly.”

It was a business decision deemed to be customer focused to provide the customer with the ability to make his own pads at a very low cost. We provide an acrylic template and information on the exact Swiffer pads to buy. Customers can buy a box of Swiffer Dry X-Large pads for $7.00 and from that, they can make up to 256 cleaning pads. We can laser cut the pads fairly quickly but it is an expensive process. If customers want the ability to buy pre-cut pads, we can look at that. Our first review on Amazon, the writer stated it was a benefit that the customer was not stuck having to buy cleaning pads from the vendor.

Surface it Works On
“Also, this thing works on smooth surfaces. If you have a somewhat abrasive surface, forget it. And I don't have a plastic track to try it but I suppose that the track joints could become a problem if they're not perfectly aligned every time”

We designed this to work on smooth to moderately textured track. We state this in all ads, on the box, in the guide etc. You state it only works on smooth track but that is not true. There are some tracks that have moderate textures that still allow a Swiffer cloth to slide across. We know our product will not work on traditional Scalextric Track and Ninco. In fact we explicitly state that. Your statement about the track joints; we have seen no issues and heard no complaints about this as being an issue. If a customer is not sure about his track and how well this would work, they can take a cloth or paper towel and test wipe their track. If you are able to slide the cloth or paper towel without snagging and there is not a lot of resistance, it should work. If you buy one and it does not work on your track, we can either try to find you a solution or refund your money. We want everyone to be thrilled with the product.

SCC Customer
“The guy who makes the Contour is a customer of SCC Canada, and so are most of his slot racing buddies in the Calgary area. It would be completely stupid of me to write what I wrote just to get back at someone. I like to think that everyone who does business with me at SCC Canada is a friend and I like to think it's reciprocal. And friends tell each other everything, without holding back the more negative things. That's how friendships work.”

You must be mistaken. I am not one of your customers and I do not have racing buddies in Calgary. I don’t live in Calgary.

Gutter Cleaning
“The Swiffer also has an advantage that the Contour does not have... it also cleans the gutters, where all the dust accumulates. When a car comes out of the slot, it goes into the gutter, sometimes 4, 5 or 6 inches from the slot. Those gutters need to be cleaned also and the Contour doesn't reach them.”

The track cleaner effectively cleans the primary areas and the slot and between fences. Your cars will do less fish tailing. Even if they do fishtail onto the aprons and bring some particulates onto the track, it’s not like the performance is suddenly lost. If any dust is returned to the track, it tends to homogenize over the track because the tires redistribute the particulates. We haven’t seen any performance loss from what you describe. The convenience factor is significant. Remember that all you need to do is set the track cleaner on the track, run it for a few laps and you're done. I clean my track all the time because it is easy and I am obsessed with having perfect track conditions and clean tires for top performance.

SCCs Summary
“Pros:
* It does what it's meant to do.
* Fast to clean a few lanes in a pinch.
* It works well on smooth track surfaces (plastic or wood).
* It requires very little time to set up.

Cons:
* Still a bit expensive.
* Doesn't clean the gutters on wider tracks or turns.
* Doesn't work on somewhat abrasive surfaces.
* Requires that you make your own pads after the provided ones are gone.

In the end, this product is not suitable for my needs”

HiTech Safety Displays Summary
Pros
• Effectively cleans, slot car track rails and track slot
• Simple and fast. Simply place it on the track and push it with a slot car
• Helps condition driven tires of the pushing slot car
• Works on smooth to moderately textured track
• Automatically adjusts to varying track widths due to fences and different manufacturer’s track widths
• Comes with 10 cleaning cloths plus a cloth cutting template and material information so that customers can make their own cloths for pennies.
• Low cost (about 50% of a slot car)
• Buy it once and use it for decades
• Made in North America (Canada)

Cons
• Will not work on abrasive track such as traditional Scalextric and Ninco track
• Some lighter slot cars may not be able to push the cleaning module

I hope our comments help to clarify what our product is capable of. We spent hundreds of hours developing this product and are very proud of the results. In the couple of months that we have obtained some dealers, we have sold hundreds of units. In fact, we recently had to stop seeking new dealers until we could replenish stock. We have 7 dealers now, one of which is a German company who approached us. There are thousands of more potential dealers that we need to contact as long as we don’t oversell volumes we cannot deliver. If we can forecast higher volumes, maybe we can save some costs, somehow. Our retail packaging is too expensive. That’s a story in itself.

Regarding Scalextric Radius 1 and 2 curves: We have developed a replacement guide for people who need it. Please contact us and we will send you the part at no cost. We have contacted all of the US dealers to make them aware.

If anyone has any question or concerns, please contact us through the HiTech Safety Display website.

Thanks.

Nap Pepin