MobilityShop for all types of Disability / Mobility aids and Mobility Equipment
Search:
Follow Us
You tube Twitter facebook
Sign up and save
Sign up to our Newsletter and save 5% on your next order!*
*Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, discount or price match. We won't spam you or sell your email.
 
 

Rollators are NOT Transit Wheelchairs!

Saturday, 23 October 2010
|
Ryan Besso
|
0 comments
Rollators are NOT Transit Wheelchairs!

Firstly, let’s define rollator: a four-wheeled walker with brakes, a seat, a basket and usually a backrest. Now for transit wheelchairs: a four-wheeled wheelchair with small front and rear wheels and foot brakes. They may sound similar, but there are some very important differences that make the wrong item dangerous for the wrong application.

rollator is designed for walking on. It has a seat which the user can use if they get tired. In that instance the user would lock the hand-brakes (if applicable) and sit thereon until they are ready to walk again. The wheels- more accurately the welding of the wheels to the frame- are designed for static weight. This means that you can put 100kg on most rollator seats no problem, but you cannot move the frame with this weight on the seat. It stresses the welding and will snap the wheel clean off. It might not happen the first time, maybe not even on the 37th time, but eventually (and when you least expect it) the front caster will fall off and the whole frame will go over with it. I've personally seen broken walkers at least 3 or 4 times a year and each and every person has come clean and admitted to using it as a transit chair.

What makes it seem so appealing is both the cost and the weight in comparison to a transit wheelchair. Rollators are, on average, almost half the price of a transit chair. They are also often half the weight. The irony here is that they are also, in this case, half as strong. The reason they are so cheap and light is because they lack the robustness and strength to allow for propelling. That is why the directional casters are on the FRONT of the walker- it is so you can steer whilst walking. When the person is being pushed from behind there is no way of directing and thus you hear people complain about how it is a bad design. Rather, they are asking a product to do what it is not supposed to. And eventually it will bite back.

If you really, really want to get a rollator\transit wheelchair all-in-one, there are models out there that are strong enough to do this. Surprise, surprise they are more expensive and are heavier, but they will not kill you when you use them as both a walker and a wheeler. Check out the Pride Airgo Navigator as an example of a sturdy alternative.

Comments on ‘Rollators are NOT Transit Wheelchairs!

Name
Email
Subject
Rating
Message
Comment List
 
 
 
MTA ISO Comodo Secured VISA American Express MasterCard PayPal