Do you have any resources on how different consumable wheelchair parts should last? I know it sounds absurd but I have a Roomba and I really like how it tells me how frequently each part needs to be replaced so I’m trying to make something similar for my wheelchair parts. My initial guesses were based off my old bike parts but I now have people giving me wildly different estimates (eg. 4 months for bearings feels like either a sales tactic or a life sentence to being homebound)
There’s No Fixed Schedule
A Roomba can give you those estimates because it logs runtime. It knows how hard it’s working and the type of conditions it’s moving around in. With your chair, the lifetime of its parts can vary wildly based on where and how often you use it.
A travel chair that gets used twice a year and the day chair you take through city streets may have the same bearings, but one will need replacing after a few months of hard use; the other might last years. Any flat estimate—like four months—is either a worst-case scenario, a sales tactic, or someone projecting their usage pattern onto yours.
Your Chair Will Tell You What Needs Fixing
The better approach is paying attention to how your chair feels. Hearing a rattle or grind in your casters? Time for new bearings. Brakes not gripping like they used to? The treads are worn. Swap out the tires.
Once you’ve owned a chair for a while, you develop a sense for it. That’s when you can start building your own estimates based on your actual usage.
What Your Chair Can’t Tell You
Tubes and seat cushions are the two exceptions: both degrade in ways you won’t notice until there’s a problem.
Replace your tubes every two years regardless of how they look. Rubber degrades whether you’re using the chair hard or not.
Your seat cushion is the most important part of your chair. Cushion degradation is gradual and you adapt to it without realizing. By the time it’s obviously bad, it may already be impacting your health. For foam cushions, replace them every 1-2 years. Three at most. You’re more likely to notice the wear and tear on your body than the seat cushion. Trust me on this one: your ass will thank you.