make vs. buy wheels

[Jon Jack]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Nitrile seems to wear the best by far, although offering reduced friction. The natural rubber seems to be commonly used, but can wear very fast. I've seen very few teams use the black SBR roughtop, but it seems to be closer to the natural rubber in performance and wear.

We used the 'Wedge Top' belting in 2006 and it seemed to wear out pretty quick. I think in total we were forced to re-tread our wheels at least once a competition. Also, we've noticed that it dries out after 6-8 months which will end up reducing your traction.

We have used the black 'Rough Top' the past two years. It seems to hold up much better than the 'Wedge Top' does. Both years we were able to put about 15 hours of drive time, or roughly 415 matches, before the tread had to be changed on our practice robots. I don't recommend letting your tread get to this point in competition. We change ours about once every competition.

Also, the 'Rough Top' doesn't seem to dry out like the 'Wedge Top' does. Our 2007 competition robot has had the same tread on for the last 10+ months and it feels that same as when we cut it.