Hopefully this year's drive train will be better.

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by JVN

However, it is NOT okay for you to simply give up on solving the problem, and wait for a solution to be handed to you. There are MANY ways to re-gear the FRC kitbot, and change it's speed. For you to come here and say something along the like "there was no way i could aquire any without making them myself." is highly disappointing and frustrating to me.

It just seems like you gave up, and now you're going to sit and wait for a solution to fall into your lap.

This is not what FIRST is about. This is not what engineering is about, and this is the kind of thing that makes people think the Kitbot should NOT be provided in the kit.

Maybe you're supposed to "make them yourself".
Maybe you're supposed to want to improve the given drivetrain.
Maybe FIRST WANTS you to strive for something greater than what is provided; and maybe they WANT it to be a challenge.

Very well said. I couldn't agree more. In 2005 it was easier than EVER before to build a very competitive robot for the game. But we still need it to be even easier than that? No way. It is supposed to be difficult, it is supposed to be challenging, and you are supposed to go beyond just what the instructions tell you. Back in the day, we had no gearboxes, we had no frame, heck, we had no CIM motors. If utilizing the kit gearbox is a challenge for you, I think something is wrong. Go back even just a few years and see what the kit gave you, and then you'll see that you've really "got it made" now.