Off-road Wheels

chaim613

Hi, In order to explore outdoor trails, etc. my street main wheels are not suitable. There are knobby tires mounted on 22", 24" and 26" diameter main wheels (Sumo is one brand) that seem to solve the suitability for offroad problem. I'm a bit unsure about whether to invest in a wheel diameter that is greater than the existing 24" diameter. I don't know what difference knobby tires make, Is it a safety issue? I also am not sure whether my 1" wide caster wheels should be wider?
If anyone has experience with offroad wheelchairing (Manual) and can share advice, I'd be extremely grateful!  

Adrian_Scope

Welcome to the community @chaim613. Thanks for reaching out. Hopefully one of our members will have a better idea and be able to advise you.

April2018mom

Hello and welcome!

Have you ever heard of spokz? https://www.spokz.co.uk/off-road/freewheel.html?mode=list

April2018mom

Hi @chaim613. Welcome! 

This company makes bespoke or custom made wheels that fit onto wheelchairs for off road use https://www.spokz.co.uk/off-road-wheelchair-wheel.html

I hope this is useful! 

Matt_Scope

Hi @chaim613 As @April2018mom suggests above, there are a number of retailers who will supply off road wheels and tyres, Spokz is one and there are 3 or 4 more I would use.  I would do a search online for "sports wheelchair wheels."   They will be a niche produce and therefore have a cost a cost attached, but sometimes the off road wheels are not as expensive as the high spec sports wheels.
As for the diameter of the rear wheels, it may actually be that the correct wheel diameter is smaller than your regular 24" wheels, when looking at the options for off-road wheels for myself I noticed that the pair I was considering were actually 22" and the huge knobbly tyres that improve your grip and ride on rough ground made up the extra 2".  Pushing a larger rear wheel will add a higher gearing and make each push further but harder.
As for front castors, mine are 1" Diameter 4" high and I find them fine for all surfaces.  In the end I didn't change too off road wheels, however I have a very light (5kg chair) and very good arm function and I find it is the weight and the set up/balance of the chair that is most important., so if you have a chair which is adjustable, I would look at doing this before you look to change wheels.

the other option however for "off road" are the extra wheel adaptions that you can get and fit most chairs.  One of these is called the freewheel, while other manufacturers also make them and they can be bought from the same manufacturers and distributers as the wheels you refer too.