[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by JesseK

Let's take a second and do some *wait for it* real engineering.

So Chris, you should be happy that your TETRIX motor smoked. It means you didn't do the engineering first -- and that fact will inevitably be a invaluable lesson at some point in your engineering career. It also means the sky isn't falling (whew).

If we're so concerned about motor (and wallet) longevity, the perfectly viable option is to not gear the thing for peak power. On the field, I'm sure we'd get 10 points every time we deployed; in the Elims, that's typically much better than a 50% chance the minibot nets either 30 points or 0 points (depending on how angry the motors are you keep running them so hot).

Don't worry, it wasn't my engineering..

I'm thinking along those lines - winning the minibot race isn't as important as being in it!

Direct driving two 4" wheels (not sure on one for each wheel or both mechanically linked to a lower "gearbox") seems simple, robust, lighter, and less likely to blow up Tetrix motors. Now to get the darn thing to come DOWN the pole...