[thatprogrammer]

1. West Coast Drive, particularly those with octagonal or hexagonal bumpers. Simple, easy to repair, and very upgradable.

2. A drive train should be, first and foremost, reliable. If the drivetrain breaks, it is USELESS. In addition to reliability, the drive train should support the robot that is using it to drive. A robot like the Cheesy Poofs this year benefited from a very fast and maneuverable drive train, and wouldn't have been as capable if it had the drive train of say, 610. On the other hand, a defensive robot, like my team's, benefits heavily from the ability to push. Shifters make it more possible to have the best of both worlds, but what you focus on more should be based on your robot's design.

Note: This post is not intended to discredit complex swerve or H drives, but to state that they're not always that beneficial in terms of robot performance. The experience gained by creating one of these drives, and the skill required *and gained by* to create a drive like this is incredible, and can teach students a LOT about design. My team, and several others, have found a simple drive train works best, but teams like 16 have been very successful with swerves. Don't let other teams discourage you from building a complex drive train if you feel that the experience will help your students, but recognize the difficulty in creating a drive train like this.