It's like pulling teeth to get things through my insurance that isn't a drug or doctor appt. and even some of the doctors appts are touch and go. Using Humana and their "customer care representatives" don't seem to know anything. My DH's cpap machine ended up being covered fully, after it was denied twice. And then it got denied again after they said it was covered, he finally gave up fighting over it.

So he decided to just skip the fighting for a wheelchair. We'll probably go ahead and submit a claim on it, but really care far more about the comfort and compactness of the chair over the costs. If it's a comfy sturdy chair that could last me quite a few years without hassle, and fits in the nonexistent trunk of a Mitsubishi Mirage, it'll be worth it's weight in gold as far as DH is concerned.

Lightweight, compact chairs are like night and day... make sure it has bicycle wheels and tires so you can adjust the air pressure...it makes the ride silk smooth rather than the harsh ride of a solid, rubber wheel.

The tires was one sticking point for me in deciding what is best... It makes sense that pneumatic wheels would be smoother than hard plastic ones, but I wasn't really sure if that would actually end up being the case. Do you also recommend pneumatic wheels as the front casters?

We have rough asphalt, glassy concrete (rough as well), sand and sandier grass, linoleum, and rocks from pea-gravel to granite chunks. Then when I head north, it's to fields of granite, long grass, the occasional dirt road (or dirt parking lot) and plenty of hills of clover, wild flowers and grass (all of which might as well have been an oil slick to my current beasty)

So traction is a big thing as far as I'm concerned, but since pretty much every manual wheelchair is rear wheel drive, how much do the casters play into the traction game? I can get suspension spokes for the front wheels so for a smooth ride it might not matter if they're plastic, though it would seem like the asphalt would make short work of them....hmmmmm....

What you chose looks kinda like Quickie 2 I have.
Pneumatic rear tires are a MUST. Primo V 25-540 24" are what I use.
Low profile smooth rubs cloths less, don't have knobbie treads to collect mud, easy to push. Best.
Pneumatic fronts- I did it for 10 years, Cadillac ride BUT they lose air quick DON'T get them. Get same tires with airless inserts (very hard to change tires though) or get what i use for past 10 years which is soft roll solid fronts.

And fronts- don't get those tiny 3 or 4" wheels, get 6".

Many many adjustments on these chairs (if like mine) so relax & fine tune to your liking over time.

I guarantee dealer will NOT adjust it close to what feels best for you.

Got my new wheels and wow, wow, wow,wow... Night and day from my ancient invacare beasty. I even thought I was going to wreck leaving out of Walmart, it rolled so well, too well almost, down the ramp was a regular bullet out into the parking lot fun, but won't do that one again. But it is definitely comfy comfy. Like sitting in a favorite chair.

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I like the color.

If I get one, mine will be orange. Hopefully I won't ever have to get one. But if I do, I want an orange one.

Nice one, buddy

Green is my color....mine is all black which sucks, but still a good roller. Huge difference from a standard "hospital" iron maiden chair

Good deal. Now for tweaks...

Brakes- Notice location of mine on upper tube/frame. Yours could likely be moved if desired. I also take them apart, grease bolts/pivots & can lock with 1 finger yet still hold tire great. Tire psi also effects brakes.

Front wheels- next size larger won't get caught in cracks as easy.

Rear wheels- axle plate on mine has 4 bolts holding it to chair. Washers get put between plate & frame if you want to change camber (wheel tilt in/out) like mine, which makes bottom wider increasing stability & saves knuckles from rubbing door frames cause it's narrower up top.

Arm rests- your chair could get tubular ones like mine that swing away & lift out to knock items of store shelf ya can't reach.

Many more custom adjustments but thats enough for now

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awesome tweaks that I didn't even think of .

Aside from the armrests, those annoy me for some reason. I've played in wheelchairs since I was pretty much a toddler. My mother worked for a private ambulance service, we got to have fun in the wheelchairs. But the arms 'icky'. though I never thought of using them to knock things off shelves. I have, however put my skills from working with horses to good use and often use my purse straps to lasso anything I need of the top shelf (milk excluded can get messy)

It's great fun going to the grocery store , especially when someone offers a bit too late to grab something for me, and gets to watch it fall right into the shopping cart as I pull my purse back and toss it over my shoulder once more.

Of course they also seem to have a hard time realizing that someone in a wheelchair can push a regular shopping cart around the store... So the cashiers are often bemused too when I get up to the check out with a cart full of groceries and no one around but me.