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Wheels are by far easier, especially now with the pre-fab gearboxes. Tank treads are not always as advantageous as they may seem. I've been on a team that used them before, it worked, it worked at a moderate speed, but it ate power like nothing else.
In a situation of a steep grade or changing terrain, a well distributed force can also act somewhat as a suspension. 2 years ago, most of the treaded robots were designed to go over the 2 x 6" platform under the bar. This was advantageous because even when the bot was begining to balance it's weight on that beam, it still had lateral force against the beam.
My personal belief for this game is that wheels are more effective than treads, a 14º grade is not too steep where treads are required and there are no obstacles to climb over.
The most power can be gained from wheels while the most traction can be gained from treads. A high-traction system will mostly only need in place when fighting for king of the hill.
The big difference between wheels and treads, the Friction does not change but Traction does. Friction doesn't care about surface area, as per nominal equations. Traction however increases as more points of a friction surface are engaged.
The big downside that I see against it for this type of competition is the forces that go into it. I'm no engineer but this is what I assume from what i've seen..
in black, surfaces that contact the ground/belt
in grey, round surface that interacts with ground/belt
in red, my opinion of how motor power is distributed.
Also note the number of moving parts. More moving parts = higher chance for failure.
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