Bezgar is an up-and-coming RC car maker with a range of models to choose from. Its main attraction is price. Bezgar RC cars offer a lot of bang for the buck, especially the entry-level Bezgar TB141 we’ll look at in detail in this review.
While it can’t compete with much more powerful, and much more expensive, RC cars like the Traxxas Rustler XL-5, the Bezgar TB141 is one of the best remote control cars out there for beginners and younger children.
Bezgar TB141: What's in the box?
What you get in the Bezgar TB141’s box is generous, considering the price.
Aside from the car and controller, there’s a small screwdriver, two rechargeable 6V, 800mAh Nickel-Cadmium batteries and two charging cables. There are also some spare screws and a simple instruction manual. Two things are missing that you’ll need. The first is an actual charging plug, but most people should have quite a few of these around the house. An old phone charger is likely to work perfectly for this job although you can even use a laptop.
The second thing missing is the batteries for the controller. It takes three AA batteries so don’t forget to package it up with a pack of AAs if you’re giving it as a gift.
Bezgar TB141: Setup
Years ago I had to precariously fill a tiny tank with pungent fuel, patiently heat up starters before playing with a fast RC car and then having to make sure every tube and part was clean before storing away so that the engine didn’t seize.
Electric motors have changed all that and allow fun and cheap RC cars like the Bezcar TB141 to be played with (almost) straight out of the box and require almost no maintenance. Plug one of the two supplied battery packs into the bottom compartment of the RC car, add batteries (not supplied) to the controller, switch both devices on, and you’re off.
My car came with some charge in both batteries, but the manufacturer recommends you charge the batteries between four-six hours the first time. That means it’s worth getting it out of the box and charging both batteries overnight if this will be a gift and the lucky child will want to play with it immediately.
There are a few minor issues when setting up this RC car. The cross-head screwdriver provided with the Bezgar TB141 is small and cheap and doesn’t work well with the stiff screws on the bottom of the controller and the car itself. I almost stripped a few screws before moving to a better-sized screwdriver, but removing the controller’s battery cover still required so much force to unclip that I was worried of breaking it the first time. On the plus side, I haven’t had to change the batteries in the controller for well over six months.
The battery compartment on the TB141 itself is easier to open, but the battery fit is too snug mainly because there’s too much cabling. This means it takes a fair bit of fiddling to get the battery pack to fit flush with the bottom of the car so that the battery cover doesn’t bow outwards.
Bezgar TB141: Build quality and design
Overall build quality is good considering this RC car costs less than $45. There’s plenty of shiny metal on show, but it’s the tough bumpers, shocks and tires that make this one mean-looking machine that can take a beating.
One thing you should take care of is the exposed wheels. This is very common in buggy-style RC cars like the Bezgar TB141, but it means that a hard hit on a front wheel can cause it to snap. Play with it outdoors or in plenty of space, and that won’t be a problem, but start racing indoors, and that tight corner around the door frame might end in tears. Well, that happened when my 6-year-old was being a bit too exuberant with our first Bezgar TB141 indoors. A slightly wider front bumper would help.
That breakage was entirely my fault for allowing indoor play, but there’s more good news about this RC car. It’s surprisingly repairable, even if you can’t find the exact part. If you are a little handy, you can remove most parts of the TB141 using a small crosshead screwdriver. Some epoxy resin and a few hours to set and the Bezgar was back in business, although it pulls ot the right. Thankfully the steering trim on the bottom of the chassis mostly resolved this issue and now both my boys have an RC car to play with.
The designers have made the Bezgar TB141 look good and feel solid without adding too much weight. There are some flourishes like the fake spare tire and bar lights on the roof that light up. My kids think it looks cool and I do too. The red one we tested here glints nicely in the sun and the aluminum is easy to wipe clean, but you also have the choice of blue, green, pink and yellow.
The controller is where some corners have been cut to keep costs down. It feels very light and could be put together better. The wheel is a little rattly and just hard plastic with some ridges, there’s no rubber texture. This is probably too much to ask at this price but one thing that could be improved without cost is the size of the Bezgar TB141’s controller. It’s slightly too large for an RC car designed for kids, making it particularly hard for little fingers to push the trigger throttle for reverse.
It runs using a 2.4GHz signal which means once the car and controller are paired you should be able to play near other RC cars without interference. I have had two Bezgar TB141s running at the same time without problems so you can buy pairs of these for some racing action. It’s probably worth choosing different colours though so you know which is which.
I’ve seen some claims that the Bezgar TB141 is waterproof, but it is not. While the battery cover and ride height offer a little protection against water and very small puddles, it is not certified water-resistant, so you shouldn’t get it wet.
Bezgar TB141: Control and speed
The design of the controller could do with some improvement, but it still works well. The claimed 50m range matched our tests and the car responds quickly to commands, although there’s little nuance to cornering. Turn the wheel in either direction and the RC car tires fully lock, there’s no proportional steering. It’s the same for the gas. The trigger is just an on-off switch rather than an analogue throttle. It doesn’t matter if you press it softly or hard, the Bezgar 141 sticks the pedal to the metal and sets off at full speed. This makes it simple for beginners and children but perhaps too basic for anyone with even a little RC car experience.
Even though there’s not a lot you can do with the controls, it’s still fun to drive. It sprints off and by tapping on and off the throttle, you can corner with more control. That’s because at full speed the Bezgar TB141 comes with plenty of understeer. That means that at speed it can sometimes take corners very wide unless you’re on a very grippy surface like high-quality tarmac.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it off-road. On slightly gravelly or earthy surfaces you can drift into the corners, and with a tap of reverse you can get it to perform a very satisfying 180 and come right back at you.
The Bezgar TB141 is fast, especially compared to other cheap RC cars. The brushed motor offers plenty of power at this price, but ignore claims it can hit 25KPH. It’s closer to 12-18KPH, depending on the surface it’s being driven on. That is still plenty fast for a starter RC car.
Bezgar TB141: Performance
On-road
Even though the Bezgar TB141 looks like an off-road beast it’s firmly designed for harder, smoother surfaces. Its ground clearance is a little less than an inch at the front and ¾ of an inch at the back, and it is rear-wheel drive, rather than four-wheel drive. That means it’s perfectly designed for tarmac, concrete and surfaces with some texture.
On smoother surfaces like hardwood or polished stone floors the hard tires struggle to find grip making it difficult to control, another reason to ensure you only use the Bezgar TB141 outdoors.
Off-road
While the Bezgar is more suited to on-road fun it can handle a bit of the rough stuff. Small gravel and very low-cut grass are ok, but anything less than half an inch and the Bezgar TB141 gets stuck and difficult to control.
While the independent spring suspension on the front can handle some bumps, the stiff rear rigid axle suspension means it jumps and rattles about making it tough to keep in a straight line.
If you plan to use your RC car primarily off-road, it’s worth looking at a more expensive model with four-wheel drive, better suspension and higher ground clearance. That’s also the case if you want to get some air. The TB141 can perform jumps, but only just.
Bezgar TB141: Battery life
Many sellers claim the Bezgar TB141 RC car offers 20-30 minutes of total playtime, but bear in mind the car comes with two batteries. In reality expect between 10 and 12 minutes of constant play per battery pack, with performance seeing a major dip at around the 10-minute mark. That is still enough for a whole lot of fun. If it isn’t, you can buy extra packs for around $12 providing even more battery life for the Bezgar TB141. Remember to take a screwdriver with you if you’re taking them far as you’ll need one to change batteries.
One thing to make sure you do to conserve battery life is to turn the Bezgar TB141 off using the switch on the bottom of the car. The light bar on the roof of the car does not have an automatic switch-off timer which means it will empty the batteries if you forget to turn it off.
While it has two battery packs and two charging cables, it does not come with a charging plug. The cables are USB type A meaning you can charge them using most older phone chargers. If you don’t have a charger then something like this one from Amazon would work well.
The signal that the battery low is a red light on the charging cable. It stays on while it is charging and turns off when it has finished.
Should you buy the Bezgar TB141?
The Bezgar TB141 is a perfect starter RC car, especially for kids between five and ten. If you want a gift for someone who doesn’t know whether RC cars will become a hobby. It’s a lot of fun and my kids make a whole lot of new friends every time we take it to the park. It’s robust, not too expensive and can be repaired relatively easily so you probably won’t feel too precious about it being mishandled.
Having said that, if you, or the person you’re buying this for, is serious about RC cars then the Bezgar TB141 may be too basic. The Bezgar HM162 is twice the price but offers a whole lot more performance. It’s 4WD, boasts a much more powerful motor and higher speed and crucially comes with proportional steering and throttle meaning much more finesse in control.
