Mountain Trike, which makes all-terrain wheelchairs and trikes, shares the story of Richard, one of its first-ever customers. He’s used his Mountain Trike all-terrain wheelchair in almost every situation imaginable. Read on to find out more about this versatile wheelchair trike and watch a video to see it in action.
Back in 2011, Richard Brooks was one of our very first customers. Richard, who lives in West Yorkshire, has benign multiple sclerosis (MS), which means his symptoms stay pretty much the same. But, as with any debilitating condition, he has good days and bad days.
Due to balance issues and his love of the outdoors, Richard knew that he needed an all-terrain wheelchair. Our Mountain Trike wheelchair/trike has provided him with eight years of enjoyment. He has used it in all manner of situations:
- shopping
- rambles
- expeditions
- exercise
- leisure
- appointments
- holidays.
Despite this, during day-to-day activities and when on holiday or exploring, Richard sometimes finds that keeping up with others is hard work. After a burst of activity, he often doesn’t have enough breath left for talking to friends and family.
A unique lever-drive system on the Mountain Trike, which self-propels it, has greatly improved this. It is easy to use and also means clean, dry hands, whatever the weather. But the recent addition of our eKit has added to this.
How an electric all-terrain wheelchair can help
Whilst you don’t have to be superfit to propel a wheelchair or trike, there is obviously a certain level of fitness required. We at the Mountain Trike company recognised that by offering an electric version of our wheelchair we would open up the outdoors to even more wheelchair users.
Managing director and inventor of the chair, Tim Morgan, set about designing the eTrike – an electric power-assist all-terrain wheelchair/trike, which came to the market earlier this year.
While this is great for new customers, we also wanted to find a way to ensure previous buyers could benefit from this assistance, so we created the eKit as well.
It can be fitted to the Mountain Trike lever-driven wheelchair, offering flexibility for previous Mountain Trike customers and for future customers if their circumstances change.
Ahead of the launch of the new eTrike, we were keen for customer feedback. A number of customers road-tested the eTrike, including Richard. He instantly knew that the eTrike and eKit would be a game-changer for him and others.
The Mountain Trike eKit – Richard’s experience
Tim contacted me to let me know about the eTrike and eKit and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to try out the production model. Within the first few minutes, I knew I had to have one!
As soon as possible I placed my order for the eKit. Eager to help, on the day of fitting the eKit to my Mountain Trike, I headed to Mountain Trike HQ to assist Tim.
For the last couple of months, I have been ferrying my father-in-law to a hospital about 30 miles away, then taking him to London to visit my mother-in-law at another hospital.
As we all know, parking within a hospital can be a nightmare. This is where the Mountain Trike with the eKit has come into its own. It allows me to park elsewhere and then trike in, having the confidence that I won’t run out of steam getting there.
It is also great at whizzing along at a good speed but feathering the throttle to give a little boost on each push forward. This allows me to go further afield without straining too much, so I can climb hills without stopping every third push for a long break.
It is also very reassuring to know that I can always get back, even if I am suffering from fatigue linked to my MS.
My trike is still easy to get into the car as the extra weight of the eKit is only approximately 5kg. But I can always remove the battery to make it lighter if needs be.
I haven’t found anything negative about it – there are so many positives. I would recommend anyone to buy one – it makes a manual Mountain Trike so much more versatile.
By Mountain Trike
For more information about Mountain Trike and its all-terrain wheelchair products visit the website.
