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From: stevev@chemstor.uoregon.edu (Steve VanDevender)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Wheelchair "wheelies"
Message-ID: <10700@bunker.UUCP>
Date: 17 Mar 90 04:26:16 GMT
References: <10685@bunker.UUCP>
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Reply-To: stevev@chemstor.uoregon.edu (Steve VanDevender)
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Organization: University of Oregon Chemistry Stores
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Index Number: 7202

In article <10685@bunker.UUCP> Michael.Merrow@hnews.fidonet.org
(Michael Merrow) writes:

>Index Number: 7187
>You know, there *is* one particular biped of the female persuasion that I 
>have become very interested in lately, and I've come across a question 
>that maybe you or someone else here with wheelchair experience might be 
>able to answer... No, it's nothing like *that* :-). It just turns out 
>that she is very fond of going to the beach and I used to love to do that 
>too, before I became a wheelchair user. Considering that summer is going 
>to be here soon (I hope, I hope) I was wondering if you might have any 
>ideas on how to overcome the logistical nightmare I foresee of trying to 
>maneuver around in sand with a wheelchair? Thanks.

>Michael

I once saw an ad for a wheelchair designed to run on sand, but it
looked pretty bad since the wheels were basically flat circular
bands.  If it had pushrims, which it didn't, I'd have worried
about slitting my wrists on the wheels.

Fortunately, there do exist wide tires and rims for 'chairs that
can be used on rough ground, allowing you to do things like hike
on dirt trails and probably get around easier on the sand.  I
can't give you any references off-hand, but you could probably
find some ads in magazines like Sports 'n' Spokes.  The ones I
saw advertised a while back were called "Trail Wheels" and were
basically mountain bike tires and rims with pushrims and
wheelchair hubs, available in up to 2-inch wide sizes.

If you can find back issues of S'n'S, look for the one with the
cover shot of a guy rapelling down a rock face in a 'chair.  It's
a zinger of a cover--definitely shocks the bipeds.
--
Steve VanDevender 	stevev@chemstor.uoregon.edu
"Bipedalism--an unrecognized disease affecting over 99% of the population.
Symptoms include lack of traffic sense, slow rate of travel, and the
classic, easily recognized behavior known as walking."