[AdamC]

I'd like to pose a question for all the fellow mechies out there. In terms of drive trains, is it worth it to go through the extra weight of shifters, or is it better to just stick with a solid gear ratio that finds a balance between power and speed. We tried shifters last year, and made a pretty solid and lightweight shifting tank drive. However, we found that in low gear, while the robot was technically putting out nearly 12 times more torque than in high gear, the wheels could not gain enough purchase on the carpet and thus put out about the same amount of force as high gear.
If anybody has experienced similar problems, please share. Our prototype is running on a fixed ratio, and runs pretty well, so it seems that a fixed ratio is better than a shifter.