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Originally Posted by CraigHickman
ARGH! I hate to be a bit aggravated in my response, but NO NO NO! If you don't have a rookie team start experimenting now with a newer system, how will they ever get to it?! Why are we discouraging innovation and trying new things?! Isn't that counter to EVERYTHING FIRST is about?!
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(insert standard inspiring and changing the culture retort here)
For the first season, I find nothing wrong with going the safe route. Get going in the right direction, and you can start optimizing in the off-season once you know what the heck you're doing. (Show of hands, how many people didn't know what they were doing until they were through their first season?)
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Besides, #25 chain is more than strong enough, provided it's done correctly! Here's what I mean by correctly, so I'll have a post to link people to every time this nonsense comes up: It needs to have the sprockets perfectly co-planar. The chain needs to be properly tensioned (not too tight, not too loose). That's ALL! I've used #25 for 4 years now and NEVER had a failure, and that's for both arms AND drivetrains!
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From experiences, teams don't always have the means of making everything perfectly coplanar. Tensioning with the kit frame isn't always a cakewalk, either.
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I apologize for the outburst, but I HATE the myth that #25 is "too weak" or "too hard" for FIRST use. So please, OP, whatever you build, save yourself the 5ish pounds, and use #25!
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To each their own--I've seen teams do great things with #25, but I think our capabilities are better suited to #35. I'll agree to disagree.