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When it comes to navigating terrain in a wheelchair, there are few things as important as your wheels. Look no further than bicycles to see how closely the choice of tires is tied to terrain.
Most manual wheelchair users have a single set of wheels with some type of standard tire tread. As a result, they rarely have the tire tread that works most effectively on any given terrain.
When it comes to dealing with the terrain found on nature trails, gravel roads, grass, the beach, and in snowy environments, off-road tires greatly improve traction and rollability. The larger tire tread increases traction on slippery surfaces. The wider surface area reduces the “sinking” of the tire into the ground. Therefore, reducing rolling resistance. An off-road tire is easier to grab with your hand when pushing on difficult terrain that requires maximum propulsion power such as beaches, soft surfaces, or up inclines.
Ideally, wheelchair wheels would be used similar to footgear. People use different types of shoes to deal with different types of terrain. They switch them as required by the environment. Hiking boots, trail shoes, sneakers, street shoes, etc., all have their specific uses. They can be easily switched as needed. They are relatively affordable. Hence, walking people typically have multiple types of footwear.
For example, if you are going to a nature trail, you put on your off-road wheels. They will likely get dirt, mud, snow, or sand on them. After you are done with your outing, you switch back to your street wheels. Thus, keeping your (costly) street wheels (safe) and your floors clean.
Unfortunately, off-road wheelchair wheels are typically expensive, costing from many hundreds to over $1,000. In addition, ideally each wheel needs its own axle in order to simplify and speed the wheel switching process. A single axle typically costs in the $50 range. Off-road wheels are not covered by health insurance. As a result, most wheelchair users don’t own a set of off-road wheels.
The primary reason that manual wheelchair users don’t own a set of off-road wheels is due to their expense. Most wheelchair users don’t see the benefit of off-road wheels to be worth the expense. In fact, most wheelchair users have never used a set of off-road wheels. Thus, they have never experienced the benefits. Due the difficulty in navigating rough terrain in a wheelchair, most wheelchair users avoid nature trails in the first place.
Typical off-road wheelchair wheels come with very aggressive mountain bike style knobby tires, heavy duty rims and spokes. This gives them a very “macho” appearance, particularly when coupled with pricey off-road wheelchairs. In my opinion, for the typical manual wheelchair user, this type of wheel is overkill. But they do look “cool”, and for those with sufficient funds, “cool” sells.
Wheelchairs, even when used off-road, don’t create the same high forces as mountain bikes. They move much slower. The terrain they can use is more mellow. They generate much less propulsion power. In addition, the aggressive knobby tire tread is uncomfortable to grab with your hands. This style tire is much harder to propel your wheelchair on hard surfaces (compared with street tires). In my opinion, most wheelchair users don’t need an expensive heavy duty mountain bike style wheel. They need an affordable medium duty off-road wheel with moderate tread that is more comfortable to push on both soft and hard surfaces.
Since an off-road wheel uses a wider tire, it needs to be about ½” (or more) further away from the side of the wheelchair. That means it requires an axle that is ½” longer with a ½” spacer. In addition, in order to maintain the geometry of the wheelchair, the larger off-road tire must be placed on a smaller diameter rim.
In practical terms, this means that a wheelchair using a 25”=559 rim and 1” street tire can swap with a 24”=507rim with a 2” wide off-road tire. These wheels have about the same size outer diameter. Therefore, the wheelchair will stay level and the wheel-locks should not need to be adjusted. The 24”=507 rim is also a bicycle size. Therefore, less expensive and more available off-road bicycle tires and inner tubes can be used.
For a wheelchair setup with 24”=540rims, the off-road 24”x2”=507rim will raise the back of the wheelchair about ½” putting more weight on the front casters. While not ideal, it is still a better off-road setup than using 1” wide street tires.
When adding a trike wheel to the front of the wheelchair such as a Free-Wheel, Front Wheel, etc:
(A) If a trike wheel is used with 24”=540rims, the front of the wheelchair will be raised. In this case, the larger 24”x2”=507 rim will somewhat offset the effect of raising the front of the wheelchair.
(B) If a trike wheel is used with a wheelchair setup with 25”=559 rims, then using bicycle 26”x2” off-road tires on 559 rims will offset the raising of the front of the wheelchair.
(C) If a trike wheel is used with a wheelchair setup with 26”=590 rims, then using bicycle 26”x2” off-road tires on 590 rims will offset the raising of the front of the wheelchair.
As you can see, the ideal off-road wheel to be used depends upon the current size of the wheelchair rim along with whether or not a trike wheel will be used.
Using myself as an example, my wheelchair is setup for 25”=559 rims. If have a very short term immediate need for an off-road wheel, I put on 24”x2”=507 rims. If I am going to go on a nature trail or similar, I put on a trike wheel and switch to 26”x2”=559 rims. If I want even more traction and a wider tire, I put on a 24”x3”=507 rim with the trike wheel.
I have three different sizes of off-road wheels to be used depending on my specific need at the time. I can have so many wheels because they were not expensive to obtain. The primary reason people don’t have off-road wheels is due to their expense. If the wheels were less expensive, more people would use them. It all comes down to an individual cost benefit analysis.
If hiking boots or running shoes were expensive as typical off-road wheels, fewer people would own them. When you don’t have proper hiking boots, you hike less. When you don’t have running shoes, you run less. Wheelchair users are less active than they could be due to not having the proper wheelchair mobility equipment which includes wheels.
Having proper off-road wheels makes it easier to navigate a manual wheelchair on rough terrain. This is a fact, not an opinion. Whether or not someone chooses to own/use off-road wheels is a personal choice. Some people do not like them. Some people will never use them. Regardless, the current problem is off-road wheels are too expensive, and most wheelchair users are unaware of their benefits.
Unless they have direct experience with the benefits of using them, they will likely continue to either avoid navigating in off-road environments or struggle more than necessary by using the wrong type of wheels for the terrain.
Personally, I think all manual wheelchairs should come with an extra set of off-road wheels and axles as standard equipment.
NOTE: 507, 559, and 590 rims are all bicycle rim sizes. That means bicycle tires and inner tubes are available, which provides a wide range of tire options and prices. The 540 rim is a wheelchair rim. Therefore, only a limited style of wheelchair tires is available for this rim. Therefore, I advise against getting this rim size off-road wheel.
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