[Tristan Lall]

Though I haven't tried this specifically, you could always get most of the benefits of both systems by using a dead axle, and a live, quick-change hub. That would permit you to remove the wheel from the hub, but keep the chains attached. It seems easy enough to do with a couple of dowel pins for transmitting torque, rather than the usual bolted-together wheels and hubs, or single-piece wheel-and-hub units; you just need a way to constrain the components axially.

Incidentally, Woburn robots have typically used dead axles, but that was often because it was more convenient to use cheap bearings/bushings in the frame, and better bushings/bearings (or even oiled wood bores!) on the shafting.