[Matt Adams]

Originally Posted by Rickertsen2

That said i agree with previous posts, which state that the benefits of shifting should be carefully weighed against its disadvantages. As hard as it may be, decisions should be made not on emotion, but rather objective analysis and common sense. One thing is see all to often is something which is done merely because it is cool.

Absolutely correct. However, I think the past two years have really demanded a hearty drive train. See below.

Originally Posted by Rickertsen2

>1 motor per side
If weight permits and current is not an issue, i see no reason not to use multiple motors on each side. There are 2 advantages i see in using multiple motors. First and most obvious, you get more power to work with. Depending on how your drivetrain is designed this can translate into more speed or greater acceleration and pushing power.

To clarify, if you are referring to the part of my previous post where I brought up using multiple motors (which you very well may not be), I'd just like to clarify that I believe that multiple motors on a shifting transmission is unnecessary. However, I whole heartedly believe that it's very practical and essentially required to have multiple pairs of motors if you do not have a way to change your gear ratios.

I would fight to the tooth (with numbers of course!) that you can not have a robot that is both competitively fast and competitively strong using only one pair of drill motors or the chips without a mulit-ratio transmission.

Perhaps that'd be a post for later.