A business supported by Innovate UK has designed a wheelchair with suspension that is improving the comfort of users across the globe. From: Innovate UK and UK Research and Innovation Published 21 June 2019 A £24,000 Innovate UK grant in 2013 helped them to develop the loopwheel for wheelchairs, and a further £240,000 grant in 2017 allowed them to partner with other companies.
"Having the Loopwheels has been a complete life changer for me. I can now go on longer journeys with less fatigue...."
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Loopwheels have been specially designed to help wheelchair users get around more easily and with more comfort. The springs give you extra power to get up kerbs, and reduce jolting as you come down. This gives a much smoother ride than standard wheels, wherever you go. Select Why choose This? Does it fit? Videos Downloads Items to Order Filter by Wheelchair Pos. Description Material Size Unit Item no. Price Loopwheels Classics Pneumatic 24'' Piece 24W12BKBANGY €975.00 Why choose This?
We have made the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 Recumbent Cycle-Con. With the current surge in Covid cases, and so many unknowns about what may happen in the next two months, postponing seems like the most responsible thing to do at this point in time.
You’ll notice your loopwheel has more movement, vertically and laterally. As soon as the springs are loaded, they compress and further change their concentricity. This is what gives you wheelchair comfort and shock absorption. A Loopwheel is designed to absorb shocks, reduce jolting and cushion your body against vibration. You’ll notice more sideways movement than with a spoked wheel, but you’re trading rigidity for greater comfort.
It remains static on standard floors or smooth pavements but shifts to an active response mode when the wheel encounters obstacles. The wheel’s hub symmetrically expands or shrinks to absorb the transmitted shock.
Loopwheels launched their journey into production off the back of two highly successful Kickstarter campaigns in 2013 & 2015 where the response from the community was astounding. The brand has since expanded worldwide and now distributes products to over 20 countries.
TRX is a performance truck and an off-road truck, designed to keep you in command of all 702 horses across ever-changing terrain.
'We're at preproduction - we've made wheels, but we're now hoping to get funding for tooling so we can mass product them, and we are planning to spend the next two months getting production ready.'
Talking with Sam and Gemma it is clear that Loopwheels wont be stopping with just this one product, hints are dropped and you can see ideas formulating in their heads as they talk with you.
The current version is constructed from carbon composite strips developed in conjunction with an archery bow manufacturer.
Do you have a trike with a rigid frame, in other words, one that is not suspended? Are you getting tired of all those nasty road irregularities knocking you around and loosening the fillings in your teeth? Had enough torture for this lifetime? Want a posh and smile-producing experience? Well then, Loopwheels may offer a solution, according to their website. Essentially, with these wheels on a rigid trike, the trike is no longer rigid, that is to say, once installed in place of traditional spoked wheels, you now have full suspension in all three corners of your triangulated realm! Cool.
Without a suspension system, the car’s wheels would hit a bump and move up and down perpendicular to the road surface. This vertical energy would be transferred to the car’s frame, which would pull the wheels away from the road before gravity takes over and slams the car down. The suspension system must be finely tuned using a combination of springs and shock absorbers to reduce these effects for a comfortable and smooth ride.
For the commuter, or indeed for the rider that values comfort rather than speed (but still wants to put in a lick of pace when needed) then this really does tick all the boxes.
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The constant rumble and vibration from bumpy roads is tiring and can cause you problems. Loopwheels reduce vibration on average 65% compared to a traditional spoked wheels.
We’ve found in the past that Kickstarter is a great place for finding technologies which aid independent living, from accessible board games to travel apps, so it’s definitely worth checking out the progress of this latest design. The link's are below for the Kickstarter page where you can find out more about the project and rewards scheme.