we’re having a bit of heated discussion regarding which bumper style to go with:
Or maybe you have a different idea?
Each idea has it’s pros and cons, and I have my own opinion on which is best, but i’d like to hear from others in order to get a fresh perspective on the discussion…
Thanks!
-Leav
Actually it’s like 1937’s idea. We used it last year and it was really great- less then 1 sec. to switch color.
We have used removable bumper covers for a couple years now and love them. The less time you spend changing bumper colors the more time you have to fix things that need to be fixed or improve things that need improving. Plus if you have two sets of covers your actual bumpers can be display bumpers with your teams colors.
I wonder if anyone has actually bothered to add up the amount of time they spend at a regional swapping their bumper sets.
The setup my team uses is similar to this but with snaps instead of velcro, it just stays on better. We only had to take them off when they were in the way of something we had to fix, and even that was easy because they were secured with quick release pins.
The removable covers look horrible fall off and most of the inspectors and refs seem to dislike them from what I’ve been hearing the last few years.
The flipable covers work well as a convenience but are difficult and time consuming to make. They also are dificult to properly secure and can look sloppy. We used them in 2010 and 2011 but gave up in 2012 because they took too long to make and weren’t worth the effort.
I say go 2 complete rigid sets. In the long run you’ll be happier.
We love reversible bumpers. True, they take longer to make, but they’re a great example for the students of how a little extra effort upfront can save a lot of effort down the road. It’s also a nice, contained engineering problem for them to reproduce them and make sure they look good each year.
Personally, I’d love to see the bumper rules expanded to allow bumpers to be reused from one year to the next… then investing on a set of nice reversible bumpers would give you something great for several years in a row!
Our team also uses reversible bumpers. They look great and are a breeze to switch out between matches. The only tip I could throw out to those contemplating using these is with corners, take your time to make sure that the fabric looks good and isn’t wrinkled and bulky. Personal pet peeve.
Our team used one rigid set and one removable cover and we didn’t like how the removable cover look after going through matches. They would hang and not look good. So for that this year my team has decide to go with two sets of rigid bumpers w/ quick disconnect pins.
Few teams pull off the “shower cap” removable skirt, and a few others pull of the flippable cover. But most teams that go that route, end up having bumpers that don’t look very good. A team with horrible looking bumpers gives other teams a first impression of your team that you don’t want.
Spend the time to make some quick detach bumpers that you can have two sets of. It’ll look better, and spreads the wear of your bumper into two sets, instead of one.
We do one set of bumpers that has reversible color because it will save you way more time. like 1st you dont have to make two sets now and that will save your time to do something ells 2nd when your at the competition and you have to un-bult your first set of bumpers and then bult your second set, youll save time. if you need that time to fix something or re-program it and 3rd if your going to a zero week scrimmage they will let you play match after match on the field if theres no extra teams. and since you have reversible bumper you can always change your color fast. 
heres what we used last year and they work very well and looked clean and nice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlyujQaTLlA&feature=youtu.be:)
and a few others pull of the flippable cover. But most teams that go that route, end up having bumpers that don’t look very good.
I beg to differ. Most reversible ones (including ours) that I’ve seen look great and require far less work than making a whole other set of bumpers.
Here’s ours:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimsrobot/7457875402/
I agree
I guess that’s where we’re different. The seeping red you see under the blue material just does not look as professional, in my opinion, as two separate sets of bumpers.
No, that one looks great! It really does. Well done!
I was just saying that most teams that do the “shower cap”, or the reversible covers, don’t do them right, which ends up making the robot look unprofessional (with no disrepect to any robots in this thread).
With never seeing a robot operate, people judge robots based on appearances, or how the “think it will work”, or how successful they “think it will be”. Bumpers are a great way to provide a first impression. If your bumpers don’t look good, impressions are already made, without ever seeing your robot perform.
I see your point that is a sad truth, and thank we have took time to master how we make are bumpers look clean
My opinion when I posted this was that the only professional way to do bumpers was two sets.
Seeing some of the examples posted here, I see that it’s possible to make excellent color-changing bumpers.
The major benefit is the time saved at the competition, however in order for them to function properly I understand that they must be carefully designed and perfected, in order for them to function just as well as two-bumper-sets and leave a good impression on other teams (which is always important).
Thanks everyone.
-Leav
