Joe P in New York City

[JoeP]

I've been spending hours & hours immersed in this amazing website. I am truly astonished by the depth of knowledge herein. Burgerman/JohnR, and the core of commenters -- ex-Gooserider, Irving, Lenny Robbins, Scollard, Shirley, Steves1977uk, Woody, and others -- wow, what can I say. There's some mighty smart people there. And John R., you should receive an OBE for the thousands of hours you have invested in wheelchair research and in building this amazing website! And my hat's off to guys like espresso & Nandol and others who have persevered and shared their experiences switching over to LiFePO batteries.
Anyway, I'll introduce myself. I'm Joe P, 65, and now retired. I'm from New York City. I've been using a wheelchair for the past five years after having come down with a very severe case of Guillain-Barré syndrome. I'm classified as tetrapalegic. I have the basic use of my hands but I have relatively little fine motor skill, which drives me nuts because I'd love to pursue a wheelchair build myself.
Currently, I use a narrow base/NF22 TDX-SP which the hospital wheelchair clinic outfitted me with five years ago. I'm grateful that the narrow base works pretty well in my relatively small New York City apartment.
The worst part of using a wheelchair in New York City are the cracks, bumps & holes in the sidewalks. And if one attempts to revert to using the smoother bicycle lanes in the street, you have to diligently avoid the melting tar on the streets during the summers. Having once tracked tar into my living room, I do everything I can to avoid it. But on really hot summer days, I have to stick to the sidewalks.
The TDX-SP seems to have been custom engineered to maximize the transfer of impact directly to one's spine. This is not the sort of chair you want to venture outdoors with so I try to limit my outdoor excursions to twice-weekly trips to my physical therapist's office.
My main interests right now are to:
1) figure out a dependable smooth riding wheelchair to acquire since I have nearly reached the five-year mark required by insurers (Medicare will pay for part of the chair; I imagine I'll have to make up the rest for any upgrades). I'm leaning toward a Permobil F5 right now, mostly based on its reputation as having one of the best suspension systems available;
2) figure out how to build a Burgerman inspired wheelchair that would minimize sidewalk & road shocks using wide low-pressure tires. Given my lack of manual dexterity I'll have to rely on others to do most of the work; and
3) for both of those chairs, build and install LiFePO batteries.

[Burgerman]

Buy a V6 or V4 but a little wide?

[JoeP]

Buy a V6 or V4 but a little wide?

Hi BM,
I just left a message with Magic Mobility's US distributor, Innovation in Motion (IM).
One of their online brochures from Australia mentions that the V6 hybrid can be obtained in a 670 mm width (26.4 inches). That would be pushing the boundaries for my New York sized two-bedroom apartment. I would have to enlarge two 30 inch wide doorframes to 34 inches, but I've been contemplating this for a while.
The write up on the V4 mentions a 710 mm width. That is not going to work, not in NYC!
Hopefully, Indiana-based IM will have a dealer in New York City. I would want to try the Frontier out.
Joe P

[LROBBINS]

The 26.4" width may be with the (optional) narrow tires - which aren't going to give the shock absorption of the fat ones.

[steves1977uk]

Welcome to the forum Joe! Expresso may be able to help you do a LiFePO4 conversion since he's also in NYC. Post a message in one of expresso's lithium threads and see if he would be able to help you

Steve

[JoeP]

Welcome to the forum Joe! Expresso may be able to help you do a LiFePO4 conversion since he's also in NYC. Post a message in one of expresso's lithium threads and see if he would be able to help you

Steve

The 26.4" width may be with the (optional) narrow tires - which aren't going to give the shock absorption of the fat ones.

Hi Lenny, hi Steve,

I'm still waiting to hear back from Magic Mobility. The wheels of wheelchair procurement grind slow in the US. Yes, I would really need those nice big low-pressure tires. But anything wider than 26 1/2 inches will make it difficult to get into my building's elevator, not to mention navigating my apartment.

I'm new to all of this bulletin board stuff. I can't even figure out how to get an emoji pasted in! I thought it might be appropriate to PM espresso, but I guess I'll try the both.

Joe P

[Burgerman]

It is. He wont mind. He will likely want to help too. But as he may tell you he isnt an expert. But did a good job of sorting his own lithium setup out after asking a lot of questions. So if you are close it may be useful to talk to him.

[steves1977uk]

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5702 Link to expressos lithium thread.

Steve

[JoeP]

http://www.wheelchairdriver.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5702 Link to expressos lithium thread.

Steve

Thank you Steve!

[JoeP]

Welcome to the forum Joe! Expresso may be able to help you do a LiFePO4 conversion since he's also in NYC. Post a message in one of expresso's lithium threads and see if he would be able to help you

Steve

The 26.4" width may be with the (optional) narrow tires - which aren't going to give the shock absorption of the fat ones.

Hi Lenny, hi Steve,

I'm still waiting to hear back from Magic Mobility. The wheels of wheelchair procurement grind slow in the US. Yes, I would really need those nice big low-pressure tires. But anything wider than 26 1/2 inches will make it difficult to get into my building's elevator, not to mention navigating my apartment.

I'm new to all of this bulletin board stuff. I can't even figure out how to get an emoji pasted in! I thought it might be appropriate to PM espresso, but I guess I'll try the both.

Joe P

I spoke to the Magic Mobility representative covering New York City. He said that Magic Mobility's solution to New York City's cramped living spaces was the Magic Mobility Frontier V6 "Urban C73". Apparently this is just a V6 frame with narrow tires. I will give it a test drive, but I suspect that Lenny's observation is correct: small tires will negate the shock absorption advantages gained by larger low-pressure tires.

Anyway, I will have to start an organized research program to boil down the choices that would suit me best.

Should I be posting this in an existing thread or should I start a new thread? I don't have a clue when it comes to forum/bulletin board etiquette.
Joe P

[JoeP]

It is. He wont mind. He will likely want to help too. But as he may tell you he isnt an expert. But did a good job of sorting his own lithium setup out after asking a lot of questions. So if you are close it may be useful to talk to him.

I PMd espresso and we've been in contact. He's very helpful. It turns out he practically lives next door to me. We will have to find a pub convenient to the both of us!