[IndySam]

We have done gear drives in the past and will also be doing it this year. We love the reliability. We haven't had a single failure with these drives.

Yes it's expensive, building up an inventory of gears and bearings over time has significantly reduced that cost for us but initial cost is high. The Vexpro AI gears are extremely durable and usable year after year.

Lubrication is no more of a problem than any other gearbox. A tiny bit of grease before every comp is all we have ever done.

Heavy? Maybe, maybe not. #35 chain is heavy, #25 and belts would be lighter but we haven't had any troubles with weight and what ever extra weight there may be is right where you want it.

Yes, gear spacing is critical. Some form of CNC machining should be used. We have a great sponsor in Waterjet Cutting of Indiana.

Like anything new, I would recommend off season testing for something you are trying for the first time but if you have confident CAD skills and a way of machining it, go for it.