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A $1k Wheelchair

newmobility.com

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Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#161

Post by II2II »

Suppafly wrote: post #94
bee_rider wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sort of “I googled for 30 seconds, and found a cheaper option, why does this project exist” type response is anti-curiosity and anti-learning. It is possible that the YouTuber guy is a total idiot and decided to make a $1000 wheelchair instead of buying a $200 one, but that shouldn’t be a default assumption, haha.

>It is possible that the YouTuber guy is a total idiot and decided to make a $1000 wheelchair instead of buying a $200 one, but that shouldn’t be a default assumption, haha. Seems insane to assume that but we see it in tech all the time where someone unknowingly spends a ton of money on reinventing something that already exists.

> Seems insane to assume that but we see it in tech all the time where someone unknowingly spends a ton of money on reinventing something that already exists.

There are a couple of reasons for that. The most obvious is that they did not do their research prior to embarking on the project. The less obvious is they did extensive research before embarking upon the project. Plenty of tech popped up in the 70's and 80's that flopped or only found a niche market, that later turned out to be quite popular. Sometimes the tech wasn't ready, other times it was just too expensive when it was introduced, yet other times he market simply wasn't ready for it.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#162

Post by GlacierFox »

anigbrowl wrote: post #150
bee_rider wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sort of “I googled for 30 seconds, and found a cheaper option, why does this project exist” type response is anti-curiosity and anti-learning. It is possible that the YouTuber guy is a total idiot and decided to make a $1000 wheelchair instead of buying a $200 one, but that shouldn’t be a default assumption, haha.

One of the more valid use cases for AI is scanning forums an auto-labeling/hiding low quality comments.

Low quality comments or comments you don't agree with?

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#163

Post by svpk »

gibrown wrote: post #43
fotta wrote: post #16

Custom fit lightweight wheelchairs are expensive. My Ti-Lite (one of the most popular lightweight chair brands) Aero Z starts at $3k and goes up quickly with wheels and backrest and casters and various other options that I need for sitting 16 hours a day without creating more problems. Insurance covers this for me every 5 years, but of course that's not a luxury every one has. Most plans don't cover DME 100%. What Za…

Ya, I was expecting to see something not very impressive at that link, but was pleasantly surprised. My chair is about $7k and while this one doesn't look like it would work for me, it is definitely much better than the cheap hospital chairs.

If you don’t mind sharing, what aspects of it make it seem like it wouldn’t work for you?

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#164

Post by codedokode »

As I understand, it doesn't even have a motor? Why cannot we have an electric wheelchair for everyone today? How do you climb uphill (or from an underground passage) without a motor?

Also, I don't know anything bout wheelchairs but googling shows that there are Chinese electric wheelchairs below $1000 (don't know anything about their quality).

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#165

Post by twobitshifter »

ruune wrote: post #99
tills13 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

for better or worse the entire Mr Beast empire and, to an extent, Logan Paul and his ventures (Prime, etc)

These never made it further than "I'm buying this because I like MrBeast/Logan Paul/etc." at least as far as I can tell. These wheelchairs are supposed to become good enough that any regular disabled person that can't walk* will seriously consider them even without knowing who makes them. *English isn't my first language, no idea what a proper inoffensive way to describe the target audience is. I mean no harm :)

those logan paul Prime drinks are now in every convenience store. I don’t notice any logan paul related obvious branding.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#166

Post by r0fl »

andybak wrote: post #152
nothercastle wrote: post #122

The BOM for this wheel chair is probably 200-300 of just wheels and bearings maybe more. People who say this can be bought for 200$ are completely out of touch. You can’t even buy a decent bike for much under a grad new and bikes have much better scale.

My bike cost £75

A decent bike for a child costs more than that these days in North America.

You either bought this bike used, stolen, in 1989 or are trolling.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#167

Post by changing1999 »

paulddraper wrote: post #42
changing1999 wrote: post #37

I have no knowledge of this specific product area but wondering what aspect of the wheelchair in the photo results in this seemingly high cost? (to note, I understand that this is still far cheaper than other wheelchairs). Is it the material cost? It looks like it's just a few pipes, a cushion, and a pair of wheels. About the same build as a basic bicycle.

First, have you purchased a bicycle? "High quality" bicycles start at $1,000. (quality dimensions = weight, comfort, durability, flexibility) Second, small scale manufacturing is expensive. Third, large-scale manufactured wheelchairs have the same problem as the rest of the medical equipment world: prices are subsidized/inflated by insurance.

I've only ever owned fairly cheap commuter bikes like Specialized. But even then, the quality and the comfort were OK. I guess in this case, small scale and configurability makes the biggest difference in wheelchairs vs bikes.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#168

Post by not_the_fda »

Quite frankly this is against the law.

Wheelchairs are considered a class II medical device. Just because you are cheeky and say its "not a wheelchair", its still a wheelchair and is subject medical device regulation.

A wheelchair can cause a sorts of harm if not designed properly and built of high quality.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#169

Post by codedokode »

jmyeet wrote: post #24

So I follow some disability activists and it's kinda depressing just how hostile society is and people are to people with disabilities. And this crops up everywhere. So for wheelchairs, for example, airlines routinely damage or destroy or lose wheelchairs, like 1000+ a month [1]. You need to be aware that wheelchairs typically need to be customized for the user. You typically can't just buy a wheelchair on Amazon and…

By chance, don't you know why we cannot have electric wheelchair for everyone who needs it? Manual wheelchair seems to be not very convenient and to require lot of effort to use it.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#170

Post by dghlsakjg »

Suppafly wrote: post #136
maxglute wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TW also makes a lot of bikes. The amount of parts and fabrication on these wheel chairs don't look close to a $1000 bike, but I don't know how much component costs for wheel chairs are. Again, speaking from ignorance, this looks like $200 of assemble at parts that can then be taken to a bike shop to tune up for another $100. IMO the disconnect is this looks like such a rudimentary/basic product and it's hard to see t…

>The amount of parts and fabrication on these wheel chairs don't look close to a $1000 bike Only because bikes are made up of commodity parts from many suppliers which drive the costs down, whereas this is mostly bespoke. It is hilarious that people keep throwing out prices of $200 or $500, when $200 might get you close to the cost of one of the wheels on this. >IMO the disconnect is this looks like such a rudimentar…

> Only to someone that's not familiar with what this is and what its competitors are.

I think that's what people are missing.

His competition is $5k wheelchairs that are often pictured with another $10k + of customizations.

I don't think that most people realize that $5k wheelchairs don't come with so much as a seat cushion as standard.

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