[BBray_T1296]

Originally Posted by Infinity2718

Just my opinion, but for the short duration of FRC matches, the low gears on 3 CIM gearboxes have way too high of reduction for robot movement

I certainly disagree with that. I find shifting to a low gear (<7fps) to be a very valuable asset, in more situations than just precise movement.

While our 5fps was definitely too slow to play the whole match in, there were numerous times (especially in the defense heavy game) that you just needed to knuckle down and bulldoze your way through a pileup. Our robot used 3" Colson wheels, had the bumpers at the lowest point, and had a center of gravity roughly 5" from the floor. We could push nearly everyone, and many tank robots saw themselves skidding sideways by us. We did not have a traction problem at that torque either, and our used wheels had little measurable diameter difference to new ones, to the naked eye.

Also, on the topic of generic shifting; Being able to change gears gives you the ability to have a high upper stage (like 16+). Many people had 18fps upper stages or more. If you had a single speed gearbox, I think most people would agree (game dependent, but for 2014 in this) that having only a 18fps gear would not have been a good idea. But certainly most people who had 18fps high gear shifters would agree that it was a great gear knowing you could summon the torque when you needed it.