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Manual wheelchairs range from basic to advanced and are
divided into four basic categories; folding, rigid, sports and
positioning chairs.
Popular brands or suppliers include:
Invacare • Sunrise Medical • Future Mobility
Product Design Group • Pride Mobility
Folding
• Offer a high level of adjustability, and can accept all types
of seating systems, footrests and arms
• Designed for easy portability
• Choice of either steel or aluminum
• Footrests are removable, as well as arms and wheels on
some models
• A great choice for the more dependent user who does not
need maximum efficiency in propulsion
• Generally heavier than rigid chairs due to folding cross-braces
Rigid
• Eliminates the flex associated with folding manual chairs,
and offers a higher level of performance
• Lighter weight, can be made with steel, aluminum or
even titanium
• Footrests can be fixed or removable, but the frame itself
is fixed which means the wheels must be removed and
the back folded down to allow transport in a typical vehicle
• Wide range of seating systems
• The choice of the full-time independent user due to their
high efficiency
Sports
• Similar to rigid chairs, but with features that make them
suitable for playing sports
• Added features such as optional wheel camber angles and
offensive/defensive wings, to full-out racing machines
• Can be specialized for basketball, quad rugby, tennis, track,
marathon and more
• Hand cycle can be added to an existing chair or purchased
as part of a stand-alone chair
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