Sports Wheelchairs

posted on Oct 10 by Brian in the Disability News, Fun, Wheelchair Sports, Wheelchair Technology category

Wheelchairs used by wheelchair athletes for sports come in many different varieties. Many serious athletes have a sport wheelchair custom-built to their body dimensions and needs. Most sport wheelchairs have an aluminum frame that is more lightweight for more speed. The frame style differs by sport, such as a fork design for handcycling or a frame with an encased footrest for contact sports like wheelchair rugby.

One of the most common attributes of a sport wheelchair is the main wheels used to propel the wheelchair forward and backward. In sport wheelchairs, the wheels are slanted inward at the top and outward at the bottom. This is referred to as the “camber” of the chair. Sport wheelchairs actually have a negative camber (a positive camber angles the vehicle’s wheels closer together at the bottom than at the top), and the higher the negative camber, the tighter turning radius the wheelchair has.  Having the wheels positioned this way allows the user a better arm position for a better handgrip on the wheel itself, to roll farther and faster with each push. The position of the wheel allows for a quicker push without expending more energy.  Sport wheelchair wheels also have tubular aluminum spokes, allowing more rigidity and an overall lighter weight of the wheel.

Sport wheelchairs are not used for everyday activity, as they typically range from $2,000 to $8,000 which is significantly more expensive than a traditional manual chair.  Amateur wheelchair athletes that cannot afford a customized sport wheelchair can purchase a rigid lightweight chair as a practical medium between an everyday chair, while still enjoying the maneuverability and stability needed from a sports chair.

Wheelchairs built for handcyclers are designed much like a tricycle, with two wheels in the rear then a larger tire in the front. It is powered by hand pedals. The frame is in a lightweight fork design much like a bike. Attached to the hand pedals are also controls for the brakes and as many as 26 gears. These wheelchairs are fully adjustable to be controlled in a lie-down, or recumbent, position.

For court sports, the wheelchair looks more like a traditional wheelchair. The wheels are larger than standard wheels at 24 inches, and have a negative camber for maneuverability and tight turn radius. Most of these wheelchairs have an adjustable center of gravity feature with adjustable seat angles, and front casters as well as anti-tip designs. Removable basketball wings come standard on most court sport wheelchairs. Court sport wheelchairs come in both a tall and short frame style to further customize the chair’s fit to the athlete. The frame is a welded aluminum frame to add to the strength and rigidity of the chair, allowing it to handle contact with other wheelchairs during play without incurring any damage.