Exposed wheels are a risk, but I’d argue that for some designs it’s absolutely the best option.


If you look at my 1lb bot Algos (http://www.buildersdb.com/botpics/8860.jpg) it’s got one of the more common exposed wheel setups. Large wheels in the rear corners with effectively zero protection. Assuming I was able to shave enough weight to add wheel guards, I still wouldn’t. There are several reasons for this-

-Maneuverability. The current setup keeps wheel contact in almost every orientation, which for a robot that relies on speed and agility to effectively use the weapon is critical.

-Predictable Failure Mode. I know that the weak spot is the wheel itself. It’s a lite flite with a lite hub, nothing particularly durable, and that’s by choice. With the current setup I’ve taken plenty of shots to the wheels and had large chunks of the wheel broken or damaged, but it’s been extremely rare that it’s been enough to disable that side of the drive system. The soft & chewy nature also protects the shaft of the gearbox.

-Quick Turnaround. When the wheels do get damaged (chunks taken out of the tread, cracked hubs, etc) it’s almost no time to put on a fresh set of wheels. I’d rather prep a few extra wheels and swap to a spare set between fights than be stuck with damaged wheels because I didn’t have the time to replace them.


On the other side of things is another 1lb bot in the fleet, Klazo (http://www.buildersdb.com/botpics/8963.jpg) which does have heavily guarded wheels. (0.045” grade 5 ti) Klazo is a bot I wouldn’t run without protected wheels, and again there are several reasons for that-

-Control. The heavy drum and narrow base mean that the bot is prone to gyroscopic instability. The wheel guards keep the bot from turning too quickly and flipping itself over while it’s trying to maneuver.

-Longevity. In this bot I’m using the FingerTech Snap Hubs, which are much more durable than the stock plastic hubs on the lite flites. The extra durability is nice, but it also dramatically increases the chances of a blow to the wheel damaging the shaft on the gearbox. Because of that, keeping the hub itself covered is critical.

The converse of this is the wheel guards do add some risk that the bot might find a stable position without the wheels on the ground. The shape of the guard is meant to minimize the risk, but it’s always a possibility when the wheels are heavily guarded.


I’ll save the wall of text on activation for another time.