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A quick
evaluation of
Pride's Quantum "Rehab" Q6 "Edge" Powerchair.
The Quantum Q6 is a "narrow" 6 Wheel or "Mid Drive" Hi End Powerchair.
Best suited to individuals who are average to small build. And those who don't
expect too much in the way of range or speed or good outdoor capability.
One of the few powerchairs worthy of any real consideration by
an adult as an "all day" full time, rehab serious
and active powerchair. As such it needs to be good! I only point out the
negatives in many reviews so its not quite as bad as this page may make it seem! However...
PowerChair ONLY Menu
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Like all modern Powerchairs it will need to be
properly
re-programmed and set up to suit its user. In the case of this and other
Pride Mobility chairs this is even more important than usual as they all seem
exceptionally bad in this respect.
Steering accuracy & precision is impossible at any speed other than very,
very slowly
on every Pride powerchair I ever tried.
Reprogramming is actually easy with most powerchairs. But to
cure the problem you need access to an OEM level programmer. NOT the one your
dealer has...
And Pride Quantum use their "own" Q-Logic controllers built
for them or rebranded for them by another outside company, such as
PG Controls, or
Curtis... And they do not allow end users, or the tech guys access to
these. Only "dealer" versions are available Which basically means you are
screwed and it will never steer correctly...
Want more evidence? Read
this ...
The Q6 is a rehab style chair because apart from the usual
fancy cushions, and other things we all need it can be fitted with elevating leg
rests, seat risers, tilt, recline seating etc. We wont go into that here other
than to say that before you order please understand what the options you choose
do to the Centre of gravity, the weight of the chair (these fancy seating
options can be hugely heavy) and the seat height. Which all affects stability
and performance, range etc - especially with the small batteries fitted here.
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It was designed to be narrow. That's
the Edge's claim to fame. And at 24 inches it is. Its almost 2 inches
narrower than the same companies Q6000 for e.g.. But add a wider seat cushion
like 20 inches, which is typical for a (grown!) adult then
it becomes as wide as most other hi end powerchairs are at about 25.5 inches.
Added 25th April --
Its WHEELS are 24 inches wide. When not distorted slightly with the users
weight added.
But even with its commendably narrow arm tops (@ about 2,25 inches wide each) it
has a 3+ inch wide control pod. See image. So we get 2,25" + 20" cushion + a 3"
control pod on the other side. Actual width 25 inches. More when actually
measured though! So at 20 inches or bigger cushion size and you are better off with a chair that
uses bigger batteries. Since there's no point in having a chair that's narrower
than you are seated.
So at this point Prides
own Quantum Q6000 is a better bet, since it also has full sized batteries and better
speed & range
too because it can have full sized group 24 batteries fitted. So a fat bum
needing an 20 inch cushion completely
defeats the object of this chair and its small battery "slimming" process...
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To get it down to 24 inches wide they had to use much smaller
22NF batteries. That means less range or less speed no matter what
they claim, and importantly less power as
the internal resistance of the smaller gel batteries is higher.
And to try to combat
this and regain some range the standard control system is just 75 Amps and speed is just 5 mph
as standard. (6 is the "high speed" option...) No 8mph possible.
Half way between a slow indoor chair and a faster outdoor one.
Unless you are VERY light the 6mph option will give
even more limited
range and torque since to make it faster requires taller gearing. Taller gearing
eats batteries faster even if you drive slowly. So with such small Gel batteries
speed is limited. And you can expect to
replace them more often too, due to the higher average depth of discharge that is
inevitable. This will likely not be a problem if you are a lightweight and don't
go too far..
A 100 amp controller is available, also not a very good idea
with these small Gel batteries. Lack of power and voltage drop under load will
soon become a problem if it is programmed to "go" when you do!
Unfortunately a 100 amp controller is the bare minimum that is
really needed for a "grown" adult in a 6 mph powerchair. So 6 isn't a
good choice for heavier people. If you want this chair then go with the 5mph
option.
It has small rear casters sticking out behind which hit everything behind you indoors,
including running over peoples feet at a busy bar! Ask me how I know this! I am
not a fan of mid drive chairs. And they sink in soft ground, snow, etc.
So what's it like? Well
like all mid drive chairs it has difficulty with the real outside world because it has to try and balance
4 small casters and a set of hard narrow drive wheels on uneven surfaces.
Well it doesn't work well! Depending on what you are used to.
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This 6 wheel platform is at best a huge mix of compromises and they get hung up
and stuck on things like gravel, curbs, and other uneven places. Ramp
transitions that are not smooth, and other obstacles present the tiny casters
with problems out in our real world environment. And
it gets high centred with its drive wheels spinning uselessly far too easily on the
loose stuff.
It only has 3 inches of ground clearance
so you better be careful! on uneven stuff too,
See here. So this chair is best suited to smooth areas like shopping centres and to
indoors ideally. Especially with its standard wheels.
It is available with some 1 inch wider
"off road" (ish!) tyres so as to try improve
the ride comfort and be slightly better off road. But then the chairs width is
then actually the same as the the "bigger" Q6000 (with its full sized batteries, better
range, speed + longer battery life) and actually wider than
my own powerchair Here and that has
full sized batteries as well as a pair of 6 inch wide, real fat off road, high
floatation low pressure tyres and big batteries And its smaller than the Q6000...
Who is this chair for? Lightweights, that primarily visit
shopping centres and smooth places with mostly indoor usage that don't mind
shorter range, or high battery "replacement" rate and relatively slow and harsh
outdoor travel and slower speeds.
It is available in masses of fancy colours though. If that
sort of thing floats your boat! Personally I prefer my powerchairs black. They
should be efficient, well built, well designed, powerful, controllable and
capable of both indoor and real outdoor use and be invisible. So I build my own
chairs... .
here
COMMENTS can be posted
Please leave any comments you may have good or
bad
Here
Maximum Speed |
Standard: Up to 5 mph
Optional: Up to 6 mph -
no 8mph option due to the
small batteries. |
Ground Clearance |
3" at centre of frame
(Not adequate
outdoors) |
Overall Length |
35.5"
That is without footrests...
My chair Here
is 35 including footplates. They are not trying. |
Overall Width |
24" with 3.00
narrow hard tyres. With optional 4.00 tyres it is 25.5 wide - wider than
my own home built powerchair that is truly off road capable.
Here
with 12 inches of rubber! |
Drive Wheels |
Standard: 14" pneumatic
Optional: 14" solid -
both are too harsh on the streets. |
Caster Wheels |
6" front and rear low impact
OMNI-Casters - far
too small outdoors. |
Standard Electronics |
75A Q-Logic NE 75A Q-Logic
NE+ 75A Q-Logic EX -
too small, but all the batteries can sensibly cope with which is why the
best option may be 5 mph unless you are very light. |
Standard Battery
Charger |
8A, off-board -
too slow.
I use 30 amp at home, or 100 amp from my car... |
Per Charge Range |
Up to 15.5 miles -
short range due to small batteries. |
Battery |
Two 12 volt, deep cycle
NF-22 - most hi end
powerchairs use bigger group 24 batteries. Batteries are always
the weakest point limiting range and performance. Bigger is better. |

POWERCHAIR
ONLY!:
Detailed Full PowerChair Related ONLY Menu HERE
VEHICLE
ONLY:
Detailed Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles ONLY menu HERE
EVERYTHING
ELSE:
Detailed Menu of Everything else HERE!
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