Manual add-ons, for manual wheelchairs, can be overlooked when it comes to wheelchair add-ons. This is a shame, because sometimes they can be exactly what is needed. One major advantage of a manual wheelchair add-on is that they help manual wheelchair users maintain fitness levels. How so? Well, they do this by extending self-propelled journey distances. So, thanks to this product class, longer manually-powered journeys become an option. If these specialist attachments sound like they might be for you, here’s a little buyers’ guide.
What Manual Add-Ons can I Buy from Lifestyle & Mobility?
So, you want to buy one of these products? Sure, let Lifestyle & Mobility be your guide to this new world of manual mobility choices. Perhaps the first thing to be aware of is that, whilst they are not powered, and so don’t present the obvious risks to unfamiliar first-time users, these are still generally prescriptive products.
What this means for you is that, if you are to be a first-time user of an item like one of the above, with your self-propelled wheelchair, is a free in-home assessment with one of our expert assessors. You can reach out to us by phone, email, LiveChat, or even by written letter. We will always do our best to provide home demonstrations and/or assessments for interested manual wheelchair users who are wanting that something extra.
The manual add-ons which Lifestyle & Mobility sell cover a range of prices. Whilst they are usually cheaper – in fact, sometimes far cheaper than their powered cousins, the price is significant. So, you’ll want to get your choice right. And we want to help you do just that. So far as we’re concerned, when products are properly matched to people, that’s the win-win outcome for everyone.
The Spokz FreeWheel, shown at the top of this article, is primarily an entry-level model in this class, and, depending on your confidence, may not require any formal assessment. It is something of a plug-and-play product. Beyond this though, the picture changes.
Not Powered, Still Prescriptive
Just as powered add-ons for manual wheelchairs are largely prescriptive across the board, so are manual versions. These are complex items, to fulfil important purposes in enhancing users’ lives. The manual Triride Triwheel, also shown in this article (in the green colour option) may have a modest base retail price, but there is a lot to consider.
The last thing that you want from a manual add-on is a product which doesn’t fit properly to the front of your chair, doesn’t make good ground contact, or otherwise do all it should to make your life easier. Hence, apart from the FreeWheel, these products really do need a pre-order assessment for those new to them. Most self-propelled manual wheelchair users with suitable products for use with manual add-ons are likely to be familiar with prescriptive mobility product assessments. But, at Lifestyle & Mobility, we recognise that this will not always be the case. Therefore, our assessment protocol takes putting you at ease very seriously indeed.
Going Further
Besides basic questions about how you would fit an add-on of this sort to your wheelchair, the questions of where and when you plan to make use of your new add-on will come up. This relates especially to what terrains you may want to travel on. Obviously, this will play into selecting suitable wheel dimensions, tyre types, and gear options, amongst other considerations. It may even be that a hybrid manual/powered add-on turns out to be the best solution for you. In fact, come the next part of this miniseries, we’ll be looking a little at hybrid add-on options.
Thank you very much for reading, from all at Lifestyle & Mobility!