Best suspension shopping powerchair

[Sallycatherineharris]

Feeling a wee bit desperate. I’m finding my Jazzy Pride “shopping” Powerchair’s suspension is just not adequate with going over the very bumpy pavement in the historic market where we live.

For me the bumps make my ME much worse I’m bedbound at least 3 days a week and limited to a couple hours gentle activity when out of bed.

Ive a great powerchair for walking my dog but feeling desperate for my shopping one which will “turn on a sixpence” but is so so so much gentler on my body. Can anyone help? I am of course also writing to mobility places but the ME community do of course know the best! Thank you.

 

[Binkie4]

https://www.google.com/search?q=fol...hair&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

Apologies for brevity but I am very pleased with my power chair which also turns on a sixpence but will manage smoothish off-road. Foldalite trekker. I had steroid injections in my knees at lunchtime. Crashed.
I think the link will take you to information you need. We had autochair fit a lift which raises and lowers as needed.
We bought it at Wheel Freedom in Chessington.

 

[Kitty]

My experience is that springier suspension isn't better, it's worse. Much worse.

I avoid using mobility scooters because they have better suspension than wheelchairs. Going over bumps tosses my head around all over the place, and I end up dizzy and with a sore neck. I also find them uncomfortable for my back, because I'm being hurled against the seat back at every bump.

I had a powerchair built for me, which was great except that the maker initially put tail suspension on it. He couldn't understand why I had trouble with it, until he saw me bump over a much-patched section of pavement with my head bouncing around everywhere. His neck was shorter than mine and he was much stronger, so it didn't happen to him nearly as much. The chair was great as soon as he'd taken it off.

I've been using powerchairs a long time, and I've never really found a solution. The only things that work are going slowly; leaning forward when going over bumps so that my back and neck aren't jarred; and avoiding using pavements at all when possible. I sometimes drive short distances between supermarkets and get the chair out at each one, because it's less tiring and painful than bumping over a few hundred metres of what feels like the surface of the moon.

For info, the commercial chair I use for shopping is a Quickie Q700 Sedeo Pro—an older version of the one in the picture below. It's about as heavy and robust as these chair come, and its wheels are about as big as you can get, but it's still bumpy on a bad surface.



The one I had built is much better, but that's because it has 6" wide lawnmower tyres that can be run at low pressure to cushion bumps. Brilliant on nature reserves, but obviously with wheels that wide the steering can be a bit, erm, challenging in a confined space.