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A $1k Wheelchair

newmobility.com

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Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#351

Post by leoedin »

ninalanyon wrote: post #303

In the UK you can buy a simple wheelchair for 132 GBP: https://www.uk-wheelchairs.co.uk/ugo-essential-self-propelle... And what look like slightly fancier ones for between 300 and 500 GBP: https://www.millercare.co.uk/collections/self-propel-wheelch... A magnesium alloy framed one is only 450 GBP: https://www.mobilitysmart.co.uk/magnelite-self-propelled-whe... So what am I missing?

These wheelchairs are custom built to your dimensions. They're not adjustable one-size-fits-all ones.

There's another article by the same author about their quest to get a custom titanium chair paid for by their insurance - https://newmobility.com/finding-the-right-wheelchair/

It's really interesting to learn about all the variables that make a good chair - pressure distribution, the seat height, castor width, centre of gravity and other geometry variables. And all of those are unique to your body.

According to other comments here, a custom titanium chair costs about $4k, so $1k is cheap compared to that.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#352

Post by ndileas »

r0fl wrote: post #166
andybak wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

You say used like it's a slur. There are many fairly high quality bikes to be had used for a reasonable price in most areas of the us. With a few tools and a can-do attitude, you can make almost any bike fit for use. My current daily bike cost about $50. I replaced maybe $100 of bearings and other wear parts. Going on year 4 of medium use now; still works great.

Obviously not everyone wants a new hobby of fixing bikes. But its a great time for almost any hacker or maker.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#353

Post by daedrdev »

imhoguy wrote: post #282
TrainedMonkey wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is a side project that appears to be grown out of frustration of disabled wife & seeing the shitshow that wheelchair market is While it is absolutely true that he cares, I think you are selling his long term plans short. The primary growth factor for the channel was reviewing phones with the repairability / endurance focus, but somewhat recently he expanded to topics such as plugging abandoned oil wells which…

> abandoned oil wells which are leaking methane What? That still happens with so much CO2 and climate change outrage and people literally gluing themselves to roads as protest? Ok, did more research: "In 2021, fugitive U.S. methane emissions from abandoned wells were 295 kilotons—equivalent to 8.2million metric tons (MMT) of CO2 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.4 to 25.1 MMT, the largest uncertainty range among th…

Which is like 0.1% of us co2 emissions

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#354

Post by Double_a_92 »

bee_rider wrote: post #32
rtkwe wrote: post #26

It's odd seeing the number of dismissive comments missing that there are whole categories of wheelchairs for different purposes. It's like asking why XPSs exist when there are Chromebooks, something most people commenting here would immediately realize as a silly question because they suit different needs and functions but the idea doesn't come up because it's an unfamiliar problem.

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.

Probably because of the title. A 1$k wheelchair doesn't sound like anything special. While their selling point is that it's a $1k wheelchair that is actually worth that money.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#355

Post by yunohn »

123pie123 wrote: post #38
TrainedMonkey wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This is a side project that appears to be grown out of frustration of disabled wife & seeing the shitshow that wheelchair market is While it is absolutely true that he cares, I think you are selling his long term plans short. The primary growth factor for the channel was reviewing phones with the repairability / endurance focus, but somewhat recently he expanded to topics such as plugging abandoned oil wells which…

i think he's a better than average presenter for a youtube channel. I did like his huge bunker videos my biggest annoyance is his plugging or advertising stuff too obviously

I mean, without the advertising, he wouldn’t be able to make any videos. Quite honestly tired of people pulling out this argument like all content creators need to be altruistic trust fund kids.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#356

Post by fvdessen »

alistairSH wrote: post #350
throwaway346434 wrote: post #315

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bicycles built for long duration use - people do ride for 16-24 hours straight more than you'd think do exist.

Sure, but those bicycles don’t cost 100 bucks they probably cost 5000+. The last bicycle I bought was $7000 and that was midmarket (my recreational cyclist standards).

I was recently in Rwanda where seemingly half the goods of this very hilly country are transported by bicycle, and those are single speed old english style bikes with steel frame reinforced with rebar. (they carry hundred of kgs on the racks). The bike are run 8 hours a day for years and cost $100.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#357

Post by leoedin »

maxglute wrote: post #56
rtkwe wrote: post #26

It's odd seeing the number of dismissive comments missing that there are whole categories of wheelchairs for different purposes. It's like asking why XPSs exist when there are Chromebooks, something most people commenting here would immediately realize as a silly question because they suit different needs and functions but the idea doesn't come up because it's an unfamiliar problem.

I think its just how cheap / rudimentary the basic model look for 1K. Like it seems there's a viable Indochino / send measurement to Asia manufacture model and get bespoke product back for fraction of the cost. Or some sort of modular break down kit that you can take to a bike shop to tune to custom needs for less. I admire Jerry's effort, but I think people correctly sees $200 product that cost $1000 in US, and some…

How can you even judge how basic it is just from the photos?

A $10k bike designed for racing has the same kind of components as a $100 bike from Walmart, but every single one of them is far, far better - better materials, higher tolerances, a geometry finely tuned to the rider. None of that is really obvious until you look closely. A rally car looks kind of like a road car, until you realise that it only shares a few body panels - every other component is built to a far higher spec.

Maybe this would be a $200 product if he was mass producing them to the same dimensions. But he's not, they're custom made on order to the dimensions of the user.

I've owned a few low cost Chinese bikes, and while they're OK, there's always parts on them that fail because they're clearly made to be as cheap as possible. If I depended on a wheelchair for moving about every day, I'd be damn sure it was well built and reliable. That's the market he's operating in.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#358

Post by space_oddity »

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…

Device so essential to daily life is treated in such a costly, bureaucratic manner

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#359

Post by nothercastle »

makeitdouble wrote: post #267
metadat wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://bikesdirect.com/ Lots of good bikes in the $300-500 range. I've had one for more than 12 years and thousands of miles without issue or drama. I paid $300 for a single speed road bike from BD in 2012, it looks fancier than it is with a carbon fiber fork. Added some Gatorskin tires and it's worked ever since, I only clean and lube the chain every 5 years so far. Made in Canadia.

On the bike comparison, we should keep in mind that a sub-par bike isn't much of an issue for the general public, as requiring more energy is fine (even sometimes seen as an advantage) for able bodies, and the bike breaking during a trip will usually mean just walking from there. Bikes' defaults will seldom be critical short of an accident happening. You don't have that luxury with a wheelchair, you'll want decent ef…

This is a good point. Also most people don’t really ride their crappy bikes or do so knowing that it has weird problems like gears not shifting correctly in part of the range or random shifting.

Re: A $1k Wheelchair

#360

Post by martopix »

vasco wrote: post #68
m463 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sort of think of left-handed people. I am right handed, but overused it and switched to a left-handed mouse. There are basically infinity right-handed mice, but basically zero left-handed mice, most of which are hedged ambidextrous mice. so looking at office chairs and standing desks and all kinds of ergonomics oriented towards healthy sitting, it seems amazing that there isn't more competition for people who sit m…

Most left handed people I know (me included), use the mouse with the right hand. Might be a bubble though, but I never thought to get a left handed mouse, or left handed scissors or most left handed things. There's a few things that really don't work (I play my drumkit with hands reversed), but most things are fine.

Same here.
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