Savage 2 speed tranny gearing?

[jhautz]

Just doing some quick math on gearing for a savage. I know what kind of gear ratios I can run on mt maxx and revo, so I'm assuming I can run similar overall gear ratios on the Savage I going to start. One thing I'm not sure about is the 2 speed tranny. I'm planning on keeping the 2 speed...at least to start.

If I set up the over all gear ratio in frst gear to be slightly lower than I would normally run in my maxx, that would set the second gear ratio to be slightly higher than I would normally run in my maxx. I'm thinking that this should allow me to run with overall higher top speeds but still draw lower amp loads in low end acceleration. This is the upside of the 2 speed tranny.

What are the downsides of keeping the 2 speed tranny? I have read in a few threads that some have locked it in 2nd gear. Is the only benenfit of this less moving parts to break? Just trying to understand why some would do that since there doesnt seem to be a benefit to eliminating it.