Speed?

[Matt Reiland]

Keep in mind that traction is just as important as speed, having a robot geared for 3 ft/sec with stock wheel chair wheels isn't going to let you win a pushing match against decent tank treads or a custom wheel set even though the motor is geared for power. My opinion is you have to balance the speed you want to go with a certain amount of traction(the exact balance is unknown) With too much speed AND traction breakers /motor failure is likely. To little traction will result in wheelspin that doesn't help much either. Too much traction on a power machine can cause a stall or excess wear on drivetrain componenets also

Remember to balance the two. I still think this year teams with wheelchair wheels (not the pneumatic ones but the stock ones) are going to be at a disadvantage for traction with 1 or more goals. Push/pull the goals is easy but driving around with a goal is MUCH more difficult if you haven't already found out.