Going on an adventure is incredible, but you need the right equipment!
For the past 5 years we have tested many pieces of equipment that all meet the same need: to allow you to travel off the beaten track.
Electric third wheel
Batec
The Batec is the first electric wheel I have had the opportunity to test. It is powerful and allows you to move on most of the trails you can find on your trip.
Apart from its ease of attachment to the chair, it has two major drawbacks:
- Il faut installer une barre d’accroche sur le fauteuil qui rajoute un poids important pour l’utilisation quotidienne et notamment lors des transferts voiture
- It is imposing and the turning space required is enormous
- Its high weight, about 25 kilos, does not make it easy for the people who accompany you to store it in a car for example
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Its price: 7 700€ TTC (standard version) and 8 360€ TTC (specific version for tetraplegic). In both cases, the fixings on the chassis are not included.
Retrouvez plus d’infos ici (site officiel de Batec, disponible uniquement en anglais et espagnol).
Triride
Just before our honeymoon in May 2018, I tested the Triride Special High Power L16 and it was a revolution!
This easy to handle wheel is light, takes up no space and has some very practical technological advances: reverse gear, cruise control and the battery recharges when braking! I have more than easily adopted it!
Its price: 5 676€ TTC (adaptation for tetraplegic for 638€ TTC extra).
Retrouvez plus d’infos ici (revendeur Access Matériel Médical).
Here is a summary table of the advantages and disadvantages of these two wheels:
Smartdrive
The Smartdrive is an urban mobility aid. It fits easily under the chair and thanks to its small size, it does not alter its dimensions. The Bluetooth wristband supplied with it allows you to track your movements and set the maximum speed as you wish. The battery lasts all day and recharges quickly.
It can be easily attached to a fixed frame chair as well as to a folding frame (additional handling is required).
Its price: 6500€ TTC. It is a cost but the Social Security covers €2187.03 if you have a medical prescription for its purchase.
Retrouvez plus d’infos ici (revendeur Permobil).
Manual third wheel
Freewheel
This is the most affordable wheel. It will allow you to move around more easily, whether in the city to get over cobblestones or small pavements, for example, or to ride along the stony paths next to your home.
Son prix : 525€ TTC. Il est également possible de l’installer sur un châssis pliant avec une accroche spécifique.
Retrouvez plus d’infos ici (revendeur Tween Europe).
Frontwheel
Cette roue, fabriquée par RGK, est spécialement conçue pour leurs fauteuils. Elle se fixe en quelques secondes grâce à trois points d’accroche : un sur chaque potence (une bague de fixation doit être installée) et un sur le tube du cale-pied.
Whether you're going forwards or backwards, your little wheels never touch the ground and manoeuvring is much easier.
I took it on our world tour and it changed our lives! An electric assist is very practical when you know more or less what kind of terrain you are going to take. The Frontwheel goes absolutely everywhere. We could not have gone so far in our discoveries without it. Back in Paris, I don't get rid of it anymore. I got used to not being shaken by the pavements and holes of the pavements.
Its price: 766€ TTC.
Retrouvez plus d’infos ici (revendeur Access Matériel Médical).
Roue Magellan
Cette roue, fabriquée par Magellan, est très pratique sur des sentiers pentus. Elle nous a énormément servi pour l’ascension du Kilimandjaro !
Son énorme avantage est que son angle d’inclinaison est réglable ! Ainsi, quel que soit l’angle de la pente, il est possible de se tenir le plus droit possible pour ne pas basculer et optimiser l’effort en montée.
Elle se fixe sur quasiment tous les châssis (la liste est disponible sur le site de Magellan) grâce à trois points d’accroche : une pince, avec système de serrage, se fixe sur chaque potence (une bague de fixation doit être installée).
Son prix : 1 042€ TTC.
Retrouvez plus d’infos ici (site officiel du fabricant Magellan).
For all of these wheels, do not hesitate to ask your usual supplier if you wish to purchase them. They will be able to advise you according to your specific needs.
Our invention
For our round-the-world trip, we looked for equipment that would be both easy to carry and that would allow us to tackle difficult terrain. Steep slopes and loose ground (sand, stones...) are the number one enemy of wheelchair users!
A few weeks before our departure, we saw images of polar explorers such as Mathieu Tordeur or Mike Horn. In the heart of this hostile terrain, they pull their equipment in pulkas, a kind of large, sturdy sledge, with the help of a harness. Immediately, one thinks that this could be the solution!
Myriam puts on the harness, with carabiners we attach two ropes which are then tied to the chair's gallows and I replace the pulka!
You can easily get the harness online and for the ropes and carabiners we went to Decathlon.
2 responses
With my manual folding chair and removable arms, I opted for the 3rd motorized wheel, EmplulseF55, 14′ wheel (Sunrise Medical). The concept is globally similar to the Triride. EmpulseF55 can be put in a car trunk (provided that the trunk can accommodate the wheel AND the wheelchair + luggage, like a berlingo or a kangoo, avoid SUVs because the trunk is quite narrow), the whole thing is very easy to handle like a bicycle wheel and allows to tackle more uneven grounds (be careful with stony paths...). Nevertheless some disadvantages :
- the set doesn't stand up by itself and the crutches eventually added are perpendicular to the mounting frame and not retractable. Their positioning is not practical during the transport (handling and clutter).
- always during the transport, to raise the frame in U (bars of fixing) and to lock it are conditioned with the length of the handlebar if not the frame does not pass below (the length of the unit wheel and handlebar reaches then 1m...)
- the fixing or the unhooking of the equipment to the frame can be quite difficult depending on its gripping capacity and mobility (the weight of the set, even if displayed at 13kg with battery; the lever allowing to realize the maneuver is quite hard to handle). When you unhook, the ideal is to hold the handlebars with one hand, otherwise the handlebars will fall suddenly on your biceps and beware of bruises! The intervention of a third person facilitates the handling (action on the lever or retention of the handlebar).
Although this purchase is not very conclusive on the transport side and some manipulations, it remains a practical and pleasant means to pilot during my leisure travels (except electric wheelchair). Cost including VAT: 4 500€.
Thank you very much Corinne for the presentation of this motorized wheel!