Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!yale!bunker!wtm From: stevev@chemstor.uoregon.edu (Steve VanDevender) Newsgroups: misc.handicap Subject: Re: relocation Message-ID: <10523@bunker.UUCP> Date: 5 Mar 90 22:15:41 GMT References: <10385@bunker.UUCP> Sender: wtm@bunker.UUCP Reply-To: stevev@chemstor.uoregon.edu (Steve VanDevender) Distribution: misc Organization: University of Oregon Chemistry Stores Lines: 67 Approved: wtm@bunker.UUCP Index Number: 7070 In article <10385@bunker.UUCP> Chita.Cazares@f114.n202.z1.fidonet.org (Chita Cazares) writes: >Index Number: 6951 >I never thought of it before - snow tires for wheelchairs?! Makes good >sense. DO wheelchair users typically have more than one set of tires? >Do you ever get flats? I've never noticed air valves - do you have to >pump the tires to different pressures when carrying different weights? Most manual wheelchairs have pneumatic tires and tubes that get flats. I get one or two flats a year in mine. I don't keep a set of spare tires around but I do have a spare tube, since nearly all flats are small punctures that do not severely damage the tire but do prevent the tube from holding air. So far I've kept the inner tubes that came with my chair by patching them, and have the spare tube in case I end up with a puncture that can't be repaired. While the weight of the occupant can influence the tire pressure you'd want to keep, the rated pressure is usally sufficient for average weights. A 300-pound person might want to pump up their tires a little more to avoid too much tire squash, but running the tires at too high a pressure increases the risk of unseating the tires or of having blowouts. Conversely, letting the tires get too low causes sluggish handling and increases the risk of pinch flats (caused when the inner tube is holed by being pinched between the tire and the rim). Wheelchair users who are handy tend not to keep anything more than a spare tube, a patch kit, and a pump around. Wheelchair users who have difficulty with fixing tires may want to keep a spare wheel around, so they can swap in the new wheel and fix the wheel with the puncture later. By the way, I've learned from experience that you can run on a flat without running too much risk of damaging the tube. My last flat occurred several blocks from home, and the only way I could get back was to push on the flat. The inner tube was fine, except for the small hole that a shard of glass made. If you get a puncture from a thumbtack (this is very common, as are glass cuts) you should leave the thumbtack in if the tire has not lost all pressure. If the tire is losing pressure too quickly, take the thumbtack out to avoid chewing up the opposite side of the inner tube. You can greatly reduce your risk of flats by purchasing "tuff strips", which are strips of puncture-resistant plastic that you place on the inner surface of the tire between the tire and tube. These prevent most flats from glass cuts and tacks, and will also allow you to run on tires that have become cut by holding the inner tube in. You will still get some flats when something manages to work its way around the edge of the tuff strip, and it's very important to make sure the tuff strip is aligned properly to prevent these kinds of flats. Tuff strips are available in bike shops, and since most wheelchair tires are standard bike sizes you should have little trouble finding ones that fit. At worst you can buy ones for 27-inch wheels and cut some off the ends to fit them into standard 24-inch wheelchair tires. -- 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."