So, last night I get an email from WCS concerned at how I was abusing my chair. They'ed seen a video I posted on Facebook of me wheelieing my privately purchased chair around my yard.
Tell them to mind their own f*****g business.
And tell them that it was YOUR chair (another reason to use a budget) and that SO WHAT! If they consider that abuse, their problem. If the chair fails, its because its inadequate for purpose. And that you are mentally able. Only physically broken, and thats just how you ive your life.
I spent 13 months in a spinal injuries unit. At least 7 of which we were all TAUGHT to wheelie manual chairs by the NHS hospital OTs and Physios and encouraged to do so. And then to wheelie them up and down curbs. They even had wooden steps and blocks and wooden "curbs" all laid out in the gymn to practice on. Because it increases your mobility while surviving the real outside world.
I have been doing exactly the same with huge advantages, on my BM2 powered chairs for 15 years. Thats why they were built and programmed in this way. As such there was a whole ward of wheelchair users, practising wheelies and leaning back on walls and beds everywhere you looked. With doctors and nurses all perfectly accepting and used to it. That is the very nature of a spinal injuries unit. Now its true that these were not powered. But so what?
http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/gopro/control.mp4 So why would they consider that doing wheeies is ABUSING your chair? I drive at 6mph and wheelies indoors and out day in, day out, for 22 years. Never hit a thing. Fell out about 8 times. I consider any thair that doesent steer and wheelie this easily to be an uncontrollable oil tanker that limits my mobility.
Its useful in that you can dump that curb climber (death wish thing they bolt underneath) and hapily and more safely lift the front for curbs. And again where theres soft ground its useful to lift the front over/across this.