17 replies to this topic

[Paul4421]

I am an active L1 wheelchair user with a young family. Lately (well past 4yrs really!) I've started feeling fatigue in my arms and shoulders. I am now at a point to which I am starting to say no to excursions that involve a lot of wheeling on uneven ground, such as country fayres etc.

To stop myself missing out, I need to do something about it. I am thinking electric trikes. However I am still fairly hung up on the perceivance of being in an 'electric wheelchair' I know it sounds mad, but I am really still very mobile albeit for shorter distances noq.

I have seen there are a few trikes on the market and am not sure which are the better ones, and which I need to give a miss to. Obviously I need one to last, it would not get used all the time, but when it did it would need reasonable power to tackle grass slopes etc. I guess one with 10miles on a charge would suffice.

Any recommendation from anyone, I would like new battery technology, ie batteries without a memory if possible. Am sort of thinking buying secondhand, but dont want to get lumbered with half knackered batteries before I start

Thanks for any help that may come my way

[Ratticis]

The first thing I would look at doing is increasing your endurance. You have a tough time with distance but an electric alternative won't help, it would only make things worse. From the sounds of things you're still young with a desire to be active. So start out going for a short 'walk' every day and gradually increase the distance. Also you might want to consider an arm bike (one that sits on a table top that you can increase the tension on) and gradually increase the tension and time spent on it. These work good because you can watch TV or whatever while using. Sometimes I find it easier to exercise with a distraction. Also build up your arm strength, weights, bands, whatever helps. This will help out too.
I know that's all easier said than done. After a few months in the hospital I went from being able to go 5 or 6 miles without breaking a sweat to barely being able to do half a mile and be exaisted. It takes a lot of work, but in the long run it's worth it.
Ultimately it's up to you what you do, but a young L1 in an electric chair or trike or whatever, why? I swore I'd be using a manual chair until both arms fell off.
Good luck in whatever you choose.

[Tetracyclone]

Ratty,

It is hard to imagine that this young guy with a young family lacks opportunity to exercise. kids want to be picked up, and, you know, everyone is different. Occasionally I try transferring without using my legs, just to see what you paras or completes are up against and ***&*! Wow. As Gordon emphasizes, transfers are very stressful to the shoulders.

You will no doubt point out that I am OLD, which is true, but not to scribbs.

[mellowgator]

i was in your exact situation and i wanted to be able to go to see my kids soccer games and go over terrain. my solution was to get power assist wheels. it's the perfect set up for us not quite ready for a power chair people.

if you search the forum there is a lot of info on the two top kinds the emotions vs the extenders the newest chair put out by ex johhnson and johnson people.

i had the i-glide and liked it a lot and when they quit making it i got the extenders. i like them very much as well and you can just add then to your chair so if you don't want them on all the time you just switch out your wheels. if i were going to a theme park i would carry the extra battery in my underchair carry.

in response to ratty's post. when i used to complain of my pain in my shoulder and neck from overuse people used to tell me to work out. this was when my girls were small and i was lifting them each at around 40 lbs and running after all them constantly. a marathoner doesn't get as much exercise.

mellowgator

Edited by mellowgator, 31 May 2010 - 09:26 PM.

[tyvin]

I hear you and hope you find what you want.

I have great upper body endurance but would love to have a scooter to go the long distances and over the rough stuff. Only thing is the insurance won't help pay because of my ability to maneuver in a manual wheelchair.

The other day this person zipped passed me in what looked like a scooter (I was so jealous). I like the scooters as opposed to the electric wheelchairs. The scooters+
just looks like one could do so much more on a scooter as far as distance and terrain are concerned.

Good luck to you.

[Ratticis]

I think I misread the post the 1st time. I thought he was considering an electric chair full time. Just for longer distances over rough terrain is understandable. Sorry if I came across offensive or it sounded like I was suggesting you're lazy. Of course family is the most important thing in the world. And old is just a state of mind, cyclone. Gator, he mentioned fatigue, not pain. I would never tell someone in pain to just work harder, further straining a possible injury. I had a doctor who told me 'just work harder' and another accuse me of 'just trying to get drugs' because 'you're paralyzed so there's no way you can feel pain there'. 2 years later turns out I had 3 cracked ribs and still have cronic pain there if I sit still too long.
To the op, I was going to suggest the detachable power assist wheels, but gator beat me to it.
Good luck!

[DaveP]

I have a Viper from Team Hybrid - www.TeamHybrid.co.uk. It's a front wheel power attachment that you dock on to a wheelchair and it's perfect fo all sorts of terrain. I use mine for walking my dogs in the woods, along canals, going around car boot sales, country fairs, etc. Makes exploring places on holiday a pleasure, rather than a challenge!

[Paul4421]

Hi,

Sorry I wasnt clear earlier. I am late 30s and am very active, ie looking after two children (lifting, carrying, picking up from nurseries etc etc), run a farm full time (ie constantly hauling myself up about 7foot into tractors) and wheeling about just about everywhere.

The last few yrs I have felt it, not so much endurance, but on my shoulders. Xrays, show I have some very early wear on my joints. Therefore I am quite keen on limiting this deregation as much as possible

I go to a few country shows etc etc and do struggle to wheel around all day on uneven ground more often or not on a slope. I am thinking a trike might make this more enjoyable at such events and maybe I can use it for walks with the dog instead of a 800cc noisey farm quad !!

So am asking for any info on such trikes. PDQ springs to mind, but have seen bad things about the company on the net !!

I am about 13 stone, is the 12mile range often advertised realistic. I guess on grass you could easily half this??? I would be interested in any comments good or bad about products on the market

[dangerousdave]

I have a PDQ Power Trike
PDQ are no longer around
For me the power control boards were a constant problem, which I solved by purchasing a differant controler
I am happy with my trike wheel as it takes rough terrain in it's stride and zips along pavements or roads at 20mph (Nimh battery)
If and when it finally breaks down I will consider the
Viper from Team Hybrid - www.TeamHybrid.co.uk
At 58yrs my shoulders and arms are giving out and this is the only way I can remain a active outdoors person

[DaveP]

Team Hybrid also do an attachment that may be of interest to you as a farmer - it's the Viper Tag Axle with a motor in each rear wheel.

One of their test Vipers had 3 motors and towed a 2 ton Land Rover! The video clip is on their web site.

[ems]

oh gawd.. lets not go into PDQ ;) My wound is still sore ;)

[robbo100bike]

Hi Paul

What about a handcycle? A decent clip on or even an all in one handbike?

Good Luck

[Tetracyclone]

DaveP-

The vid of the viper pulling the Landrover is grand. I'm sold. Too bad I'm also overbought.

Does anyone know where to get a hybrid that would allow leg cycling? As a barely walking quad that is my dream.

Edited by Tetracyclone, 02 June 2010 - 01:08 PM.

[COOL Mobility]

Paul4421, back to your request, try Team Hybrid in Europe or in US there is now an electric vesion of their Dragonfly hand cycle, the Fiirefly see Rio Mobility.

I have a Dragonfly and it works well and Firefly is just a powered version with same attachments.

Consider your needs as the front wheel can easily spin under power unless enough weight is forward. You may need a frame with two axle socket settings to load up the front more.

Do you want speed or power - hard to get both unless it is a motor driving a geared hub via chain drive. Hub motors are more simple and brushless ones incredibly powerful but you need to pay for quality motors and controllers.

Consider a handbike with a chain drive motor bolt on option - get the best of both with geared power bands and ability to hand pedal home if your power fails.

Best of luck.

[COOL Mobility]

Out of interest, I've been working on using gearless brushless hub motors. Power is amazing (I can spin the wheels of a mid wheel drive chair on smooth concrete) but controllers vary from poor to expensive with reverse an expensive option. Much quieter than geared hubs and much more efficient (above 80% compared to below 60% for brushed, geared motors).

I'm also using 36Volt batteries for better power range.

Cheers

Edited by COOL Mobility, 07 June 2010 - 08:05 AM.

[StuartW]

I am considering a Rio Firefly, Has anyone on the forum had any experience with this product. It is very well priced compared to the other options mentioned in this post but I have been able to to find no reviews or owner feedback. I am reluctant to buy blind with the poor record of similar products from other manufactures.

Regards

Stuart

[ManualMobility.com]

StuartW, on Jun 15 2010, 08:18 AM, said:

I am considering a Rio Firefly, Has anyone on the forum had any experience with this product. It is very well priced compared to the other options mentioned in this post but I have been able to to find no reviews or owner feedback. I am reluctant to buy blind with the poor record of similar products from other manufactures.

Regards

Stuart

Hi Staurt

I own a 7-speed Rio Dragonfly (an attachable handcycle from www.riomobility.com) which has the same mounting system as the Firefly. It's mounted on a Quickie GP Swingaway (it has swingaway foot rests) so the mounting goes on the inside of the frame, which makes it a bit harder to get my feet in and out of than if mounted on the outside (it's still fairly easy to get in and out of). I am very impressed with the quality of the unit, it's extremely solid and it can be put on and off the chair very quickly. The Firefly uses the same mounting system and many of the same parts as the Dragonfly. If you have solid footrests then the mounting can usually go on the outside which gives your legs more room and would make it slightly easier to get in and out of. You could even get extra mounting bases and use the same unit on different chairs.

Someone else has pointed out the lack of traction on front wheel drive handcycles. I don't have much power and I've stalled on steep sections and have slid backwards even with my front wheel locked up. Of course you can't steer under those conditions and luckily nothing bad has happened. I'm a C2 quad with about 1% power on my right arm and maybe 25% on the left. Someone with more power would be able to build up enough momentum to get up short steep sections but long steep areas could cause problems. A power hub and battery mounted up front would give the unit more traction though.

If you mount a system on a standard chair you are sitting quite high and you must be very careful going around corners or over you go.

The Firefly is motor only but there are other machines that use the Bionix motor in conjunction with a manual powered handcycle. The 250Watt model requires that you apply power and it will automatically add additional power (+25% +50% + 100% or +200% of your effort). They are very well made and are used on standard bikes and trikes as well. I don't know how well they work with the slower speed handcycles. You can find sources to similar machines as the Firefly at www.manualmobility.com (probably in the handcycle section).

Good Luck
Murray

[ManualMobility.com]

Paul4421, on May 31 2010, 11:32 AM, said:

I am an active L1 wheelchair user with a young family. Lately (well past 4yrs really!) I've started feeling fatigue in my arms and shoulders. I am now at a point to which I am starting to say no to excursions that involve a lot of wheeling on uneven ground, such as country fayres etc.

To stop myself missing out, I need to do something about it. I am thinking electric trikes. However I am still fairly hung up on the perceivance of being in an 'electric wheelchair' I know it sounds mad, but I am really still very mobile albeit for shorter distances noq.

I have seen there are a few trikes on the market and am not sure which are the better ones, and which I need to give a miss to. Obviously I need one to last, it would not get used all the time, but when it did it would need reasonable power to tackle grass slopes etc. I guess one with 10miles on a charge would suffice.

Any recommendation from anyone, I would like new battery technology, ie batteries without a memory if possible. Am sort of thinking buying secondhand, but dont want to get lumbered with half knackered batteries before I start

Thanks for any help that may come my way

Hi Paul

The trouble with buying used is that the batteries are usually the first thing to go. As far as batteries go, gell cell is probably your worst choice, unless you need the addl weight (wheelchairs are more stable because of the heavy batteries in the base). Lithium, Lithium Iron and Nickel metal hydride are all better choices. http://www.ebikes.ca...e_batteries.php has some brief info on batteries.

My website at www.manualmobility.com has lots of links to handcycles. I try keeping to manual machines many of the manufacturers also have an electric or electric/manual combo. My trikes link will also have info on electric assist.

Murray