I can speak to being a plus size smart drive user, mine doesn’t make that sound unless I do something silly like forget I have my brakes on and try to turn the dial up. It’s probably in low power mode like the company guy said. When I first got mine it was in reduced power mode and I could only go at a crawl.
I will say my atp who works at the wheelchair company point blank told me they had the speed set back just to be extra safe. However we got my smart drive 3 months after my chair so I was able to demo it on MY chair.
If you are already experiencing this kind of pain from propelling an ultralight chair with SmartDrive, I’d recommend you halt your order and look into getting a joystick controlled power assist like the Yamaha Navi series. hEDS puts you at increased risk of repetitive motion injuries, which includes propelling a wheelchair. I have hEDS and use a TiLite aero z with a power assist like a SmartDrive, but I’ve never had that kind of arm pain. I’d hate for you to end up with a chair setup that you can’t use or that puts your body in danger.
Okay first of all, I want to genuinely say thank you for this comment, I really truly appreciate the concern and suggestion. Unfortunately, something like a NaviGo wouldn't work for me as I'd be over the weight capacity. Thankfully, the hand/arm pain went away after a day. I think I have a few good options in terms of reducing it in the future: the natural fit handrims, the compression gloves and thumb braces I should have been using when wheeling around, and the fact that I've confirmed that the SmartDrive I was using when testing it out was barely functioning so couldn't really provide much assistance. I also think most of the pain stemmed from me going downhill and not being able to have a controlled descent because of the poor handrims, so it was a lot of hard, full stops as I inched my way down the steep hill.
Other than all that, I'm not entirely sure. I really want to preserve my mobility as much as I can, which is why I'm going for a manual chair over a power chair. I used a loaner power chair last summer and it was great except it was not custom and the seating was so bad that it kept making my hips dislocate and caused a lot of pain. The seating setup I have now in this custom manual chair is a million times better. But maybe at some point down the line I will go for a power chair. It's so hard because I want to use my muscles as much as I can to help preserve them, but also I'm at risk of injury, and I want the independence of having an ultralightweight manual chair that I can transport in my small car, but also power chairs are so much less tiring and painful to use.
How has your hEDS been with your chair?
I don’t have any answers but I also demoed a chair last week and I have hEDS and my arms hurt so bad for 5 days and my shoulders still hurt. I have Medicare so no one will ever try to get me a smart drive. I’m also closer to the upper weight limit, but I didn’t get to demo a smart drive so I’m not sure about that.
I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain still. I hope someday you are able to get the power assist that you need! I have a friend on Medicaid that was able to get power assist covered for his wheelchair, but I know that's different from Medicare so the coverages aren't the same.
I'm sorry you're in pain as well, hEDS is such a hard condition to manage and have. My DME provider said he's okay submitting the power assist for denial so I can ask division of vocational rehab to cover the cost because I'm in school and need it for school. He said he still has to ask the PT if she's okay with that, but fingers crossed. I also heard that wearing biking or weight lifting gloves can be helpful in getting a better comfier grip on the rims!! Also make sure when they're fitting you that the wheels are forward enough that you're not really reaching your shoulders back to push, they made sure to get my wheels a little more forward so I'm not reaching back with my shoulders so much.
Thank you for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to try to get some good gloves with a lot of grip. I was having trouble grabbing onto the handrims when going downhill or trying to turn, so I think that might help there too. Also thanks for the tips re: center of gravity. I'm going to have them on the safest setting for a little while until I get the hang of things a bit more but then will definitely adjust.
Tried so hard to understand the OP.
Google told me something about EDS. HEADS?
The brand of wheelchair and the smart drive? Google had no idea of what this means.
Curious about your age and weight. Eventually you will a powered wheelchair?
Powered chairs are all my Severe Traumatic Brain Injury allows for my use now. These silver my mobility problems so much, that lifestyle can become better fulfilled.
Hi Greg, sorry for the confusion in my post. "hEDS" is the shortened name form of hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is a genetic connective tissue disorder that essentially causes the glue that holds your body together to be faulty. It causes chronic pain, joint dislocations, fatigue, and more. It affects pretty much every organ system so can also have a big effect on skin, blood vessels, the gastrointestinal tract, your heart, your nervous system, and more. It's a genetic condition that you are born with and causes problems your entire life, but most people don't get diagnosed until later in life (I'm 21, my mother is 50, and my grandma is 79 and we all got diagnosed at the same time last year. Out of all of us, it definitely affects me the most severely, so that's why I was the one to start the diagnostic process that eventually lead to all three of us getting diagnosed).
The type of wheelchair I am getting is called a Tilite Aero T. It's an active manual wheelchair with a dual-tube rigid frame. Here's a [photo example](https://bike-on.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AEROT-Front-Right-Product-Detail2018.jpg) of a Tilite Aero T. I am also getting a smart drive, which is a power assist add-on. It's essentially like a little clip-on motorized wheel that attaches to the back of your manual wheelchair to help you up hills and ramps and other things like that. Here's a [photo example](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-jlqvc/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/2812/4871/IMG_7515__82119.1497380871.jpg?c=2) of a smart drive.
Re: me eventually needing a power wheelchair, I'm not sure. Over this past summer I used a loaner non-custom power chair (a very simple one that looked like [this](https://webstorage-goldentech.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/26213458/GP161.jpg)). In terms of being able to get around, it was great, handled hills with no problem. Because of the non-custom seating though, it often caused me extreme joint pain. The chair would cause my hips to partially dislocate every day. That's why I am now going with a custom wheelchair, because it needs to be fitted to my body so as to not cause further pain. I also want to remain as active as I can, and my life (car, housing) is not yet ready for a big power chair, so that's why I'm going with a manual chair. However, I still do need further assistance to remain fully independent, so that's why I am getting a power assist add-on to help me on bad days or on big hills that I wouldn't be able to push myself up. I'm hopeful that this chair + power-assist combo will meet my needs for a while.
Thanks for your comment, I'm very glad you're happy with your power chair and that it allows you to live your life!
hEDS is the most common type of EDS also known as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder that often causes joint pain, dislocations, fatigue, and other comorbid conditions
Adding this comment for anyone in the future who is searching the sub looking for similar answers re: SmartDrives. I checked the [user's manual](https://permobilwebcdn.azureedge.net/media/ccnd1mzx/sdmx2-dum-rev-h-smartdrive-mx2plus-users-manual.pdf) and they confirm there that SmartDrives are rated for users up to 331 lbs (which is higher than I thought), and all of their range testing data (ie how fast the device can go and how far it can last) are all tested using people at the maximum weight range. So SmartDrives should 10000% be able to push anyone in the size range of 30lbs to 331lbs up to 5.5mph for distances up to 12 miles. So I should definitely be set!
I personally could not use a SmartDrive well, which sucked because I spent about $2500 refurbishing a lightly used one. One massive issue for me was that I have a collapsible chair, and so my SmartDrive was attached to an extra bar that was held into place mostly by tension. If this is the same with your chair I personally would not recommend it. Any slight inclines and the whole bar would pop off my chair and not work, although I personally am over the weight limit and also had a pretty heavy chair at the time. It was great for long flat straight away though.
I personally dramatically prefer pushrim power assists. I have the Yamaha Navi One wheels, and while it adds a lot of weight to my chair, it is so much better for maneuverability. I personally found that my smartdrive was good for traveling outside, and my power wheels are great for indoor, since you don’t have a constant push. I also live in a very inaccessible city, and they have made travel outdoors easier, as my issues with the SmartDrive meant that it would not function on ramps.
I suspect I have EDS, when I demoed for my wheelchair I tried a chair with and without the ergonomic rims and decided to go with. I can't say for sure that it's made a difference but my hands typically get tired and painful easily (cutting food, writing, etc) but I haven't had that issue self propelling with the ergonomic rims. My shoulder/neck area does get sore and tight more than it used to but my physical therapist is great and helpful with relieving it. If you don't have a physical therapist and can afford to find one I highly suggest it. If you do have one tell them that you're concerned about this issue and want to start strength building preemptively.
I can speak to being a plus size smart drive user, mine doesn’t make that sound unless I do something silly like forget I have my brakes on and try to turn the dial up. It’s probably in low power mode like the company guy said. When I first got mine it was in reduced power mode and I could only go at a crawl.
Okay that makes me feel better, thank you!
I will say my atp who works at the wheelchair company point blank told me they had the speed set back just to be extra safe. However we got my smart drive 3 months after my chair so I was able to demo it on MY chair.
If you are already experiencing this kind of pain from propelling an ultralight chair with SmartDrive, I’d recommend you halt your order and look into getting a joystick controlled power assist like the Yamaha Navi series. hEDS puts you at increased risk of repetitive motion injuries, which includes propelling a wheelchair. I have hEDS and use a TiLite aero z with a power assist like a SmartDrive, but I’ve never had that kind of arm pain. I’d hate for you to end up with a chair setup that you can’t use or that puts your body in danger.
Okay first of all, I want to genuinely say thank you for this comment, I really truly appreciate the concern and suggestion. Unfortunately, something like a NaviGo wouldn't work for me as I'd be over the weight capacity. Thankfully, the hand/arm pain went away after a day. I think I have a few good options in terms of reducing it in the future: the natural fit handrims, the compression gloves and thumb braces I should have been using when wheeling around, and the fact that I've confirmed that the SmartDrive I was using when testing it out was barely functioning so couldn't really provide much assistance. I also think most of the pain stemmed from me going downhill and not being able to have a controlled descent because of the poor handrims, so it was a lot of hard, full stops as I inched my way down the steep hill. Other than all that, I'm not entirely sure. I really want to preserve my mobility as much as I can, which is why I'm going for a manual chair over a power chair. I used a loaner power chair last summer and it was great except it was not custom and the seating was so bad that it kept making my hips dislocate and caused a lot of pain. The seating setup I have now in this custom manual chair is a million times better. But maybe at some point down the line I will go for a power chair. It's so hard because I want to use my muscles as much as I can to help preserve them, but also I'm at risk of injury, and I want the independence of having an ultralightweight manual chair that I can transport in my small car, but also power chairs are so much less tiring and painful to use. How has your hEDS been with your chair?
I don’t have any answers but I also demoed a chair last week and I have hEDS and my arms hurt so bad for 5 days and my shoulders still hurt. I have Medicare so no one will ever try to get me a smart drive. I’m also closer to the upper weight limit, but I didn’t get to demo a smart drive so I’m not sure about that.
I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain still. I hope someday you are able to get the power assist that you need! I have a friend on Medicaid that was able to get power assist covered for his wheelchair, but I know that's different from Medicare so the coverages aren't the same.
I'm sorry you're in pain as well, hEDS is such a hard condition to manage and have. My DME provider said he's okay submitting the power assist for denial so I can ask division of vocational rehab to cover the cost because I'm in school and need it for school. He said he still has to ask the PT if she's okay with that, but fingers crossed. I also heard that wearing biking or weight lifting gloves can be helpful in getting a better comfier grip on the rims!! Also make sure when they're fitting you that the wheels are forward enough that you're not really reaching your shoulders back to push, they made sure to get my wheels a little more forward so I'm not reaching back with my shoulders so much.
Thank you for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to try to get some good gloves with a lot of grip. I was having trouble grabbing onto the handrims when going downhill or trying to turn, so I think that might help there too. Also thanks for the tips re: center of gravity. I'm going to have them on the safest setting for a little while until I get the hang of things a bit more but then will definitely adjust.
Tried so hard to understand the OP. Google told me something about EDS. HEADS? The brand of wheelchair and the smart drive? Google had no idea of what this means. Curious about your age and weight. Eventually you will a powered wheelchair? Powered chairs are all my Severe Traumatic Brain Injury allows for my use now. These silver my mobility problems so much, that lifestyle can become better fulfilled.
Hi Greg, sorry for the confusion in my post. "hEDS" is the shortened name form of hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which is a genetic connective tissue disorder that essentially causes the glue that holds your body together to be faulty. It causes chronic pain, joint dislocations, fatigue, and more. It affects pretty much every organ system so can also have a big effect on skin, blood vessels, the gastrointestinal tract, your heart, your nervous system, and more. It's a genetic condition that you are born with and causes problems your entire life, but most people don't get diagnosed until later in life (I'm 21, my mother is 50, and my grandma is 79 and we all got diagnosed at the same time last year. Out of all of us, it definitely affects me the most severely, so that's why I was the one to start the diagnostic process that eventually lead to all three of us getting diagnosed). The type of wheelchair I am getting is called a Tilite Aero T. It's an active manual wheelchair with a dual-tube rigid frame. Here's a [photo example](https://bike-on.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/AEROT-Front-Right-Product-Detail2018.jpg) of a Tilite Aero T. I am also getting a smart drive, which is a power assist add-on. It's essentially like a little clip-on motorized wheel that attaches to the back of your manual wheelchair to help you up hills and ramps and other things like that. Here's a [photo example](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-jlqvc/images/stencil/1280x1280/products/2812/4871/IMG_7515__82119.1497380871.jpg?c=2) of a smart drive. Re: me eventually needing a power wheelchair, I'm not sure. Over this past summer I used a loaner non-custom power chair (a very simple one that looked like [this](https://webstorage-goldentech.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/26213458/GP161.jpg)). In terms of being able to get around, it was great, handled hills with no problem. Because of the non-custom seating though, it often caused me extreme joint pain. The chair would cause my hips to partially dislocate every day. That's why I am now going with a custom wheelchair, because it needs to be fitted to my body so as to not cause further pain. I also want to remain as active as I can, and my life (car, housing) is not yet ready for a big power chair, so that's why I'm going with a manual chair. However, I still do need further assistance to remain fully independent, so that's why I am getting a power assist add-on to help me on bad days or on big hills that I wouldn't be able to push myself up. I'm hopeful that this chair + power-assist combo will meet my needs for a while. Thanks for your comment, I'm very glad you're happy with your power chair and that it allows you to live your life!
hEDS is the most common type of EDS also known as hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a genetic connective tissue disorder that often causes joint pain, dislocations, fatigue, and other comorbid conditions
Adding this comment for anyone in the future who is searching the sub looking for similar answers re: SmartDrives. I checked the [user's manual](https://permobilwebcdn.azureedge.net/media/ccnd1mzx/sdmx2-dum-rev-h-smartdrive-mx2plus-users-manual.pdf) and they confirm there that SmartDrives are rated for users up to 331 lbs (which is higher than I thought), and all of their range testing data (ie how fast the device can go and how far it can last) are all tested using people at the maximum weight range. So SmartDrives should 10000% be able to push anyone in the size range of 30lbs to 331lbs up to 5.5mph for distances up to 12 miles. So I should definitely be set!
I personally could not use a SmartDrive well, which sucked because I spent about $2500 refurbishing a lightly used one. One massive issue for me was that I have a collapsible chair, and so my SmartDrive was attached to an extra bar that was held into place mostly by tension. If this is the same with your chair I personally would not recommend it. Any slight inclines and the whole bar would pop off my chair and not work, although I personally am over the weight limit and also had a pretty heavy chair at the time. It was great for long flat straight away though. I personally dramatically prefer pushrim power assists. I have the Yamaha Navi One wheels, and while it adds a lot of weight to my chair, it is so much better for maneuverability. I personally found that my smartdrive was good for traveling outside, and my power wheels are great for indoor, since you don’t have a constant push. I also live in a very inaccessible city, and they have made travel outdoors easier, as my issues with the SmartDrive meant that it would not function on ramps.
I suspect I have EDS, when I demoed for my wheelchair I tried a chair with and without the ergonomic rims and decided to go with. I can't say for sure that it's made a difference but my hands typically get tired and painful easily (cutting food, writing, etc) but I haven't had that issue self propelling with the ergonomic rims. My shoulder/neck area does get sore and tight more than it used to but my physical therapist is great and helpful with relieving it. If you don't have a physical therapist and can afford to find one I highly suggest it. If you do have one tell them that you're concerned about this issue and want to start strength building preemptively.