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When I was discharged from the hospital in 2008 I got the same wheelchair type which I used already in the hospital, but I had to realize that I could move significantly worse.
I have to mention that even today each 3-year-old leaves me easily behind with his wooden training bike (see older blogpost).
During the last years I have engaged myself intensively with the optimization of my wheelchair and have noticed in doing so that the exact calibration of the steering fork of the front tyres is extremely important. The axes must not be distorted either. This saves a lot of power of which I don’t have much anyway.
The steering forks are adjustable so that one can individually choose the size of the front tyres.
Although this makes sense it has the negative effect though that they could be shifted involuntarily. This happens e.g. when the taxi service fixes the hooks of the tie-down restraints at the forks of the front tyres instead of the wheelchair frame.
Sometimes even a curb is enough, or “qualified“ personnel at the airport to shift the forks.
No matter why, no wheelchair moves straight with crooked steering forks!!!
It can be referred to in each operating manual of the respective wheelchair how to adjust the steering forks.
Have a look at it, extremely interesting…
Such adjustments may only be executed due to insurance reasons by qualified personnel from the medical supply store.
You may have a look, only screw with your eyes…!!!
I have worked out a method, I call it Lucky Wheel, with which anybody can check the steering forks easily with an even wooden board and a stop angle, or a set square from school times. I cannot recommend a supposed even floor.
You put the wheelchair on the wooden board and twist a front tyre in a 90° angle to the wheelchair frame to the outside.
Now you hold the stop angle or the set square right and left to the tyre respectively the board.
If there is between tyre and angle, like my supervisor in my apprenticeship kindly used to say:
There is more light coming through than through a window…, a slot (see below in the picture), the steering fork is shifted, or something else is defective.
This slot could now be closed by rotating the steering fork which has an eccentric on my wheelchair model.
Of course we leave such adjustment tasks to the qualified personnel of the medical supply store…
When this is done after a couple of days you turn the tyre again by 90° for check-up, this time to the inside of the wheelchair, and hold your angle again to it.
In this case the aluminium has caved in, two big washers can work miracles (see pictures above).
I would like to point out again that I assume no liability for these check-up possibilities of the steering forks and all related consequences!!!
For any questions please contact: rollinator@eigude.de
Translator BL
